Conference: 2007 Epigenetics Gordon Research Conference to be held on August 5-10, 2007 in Plymouth, New Hampshire

戈登表观遗传学研究会议是展示当今生物科学中最令人兴奋的领域之一的新发展的首要场所。该会议始于1995年，现在已经是第七次会议了，它在产生新的研究途径以及促进表观遗传学更成熟领域的进展方面赢得了国际声誉。这次会议之所以取得如此成功，是因为它始终提供了一个独特的环境，汇集了不同的科学家群体，并跨越了有机体和方法论的界限，拓展了表观遗传学研究的前沿。2007年的会议将由剑桥大学的哺乳动物生物学家Anne C Ferguson-Smith和加州大学洛杉矶分校的植物遗传学家Steve Jacobsen共同主持，他们都是表观遗传学领域的领军人物，也是本次会议的长期参与者。表观遗传学的研究导致了对基因组功能的理解。近年来，表观遗传学分析揭示了一些最不寻常的基因调控形式，并迅速成为遗传学和发育生物学中最令人兴奋的研究领域之一。即使基因组计划提供了一个又一个生物体的完整核苷酸序列，研究人员正在转向表观遗传学领域，以了解该序列在细胞或生物体的背景下是如何解释的。表观遗传修饰如DNA的甲基化和核心组蛋白的翻译后修饰影响染色体的组织和包装。这些染色体标记是动态的和可遗传的，这使得表观遗传学成为生物学中最有趣的方面之一，对发育、疾病和自然变异性有着广泛的影响。很明显，表观遗传过程包含了令人印象深刻的多种机制，包括rna介导的基因调控、DNA甲基化、基因控制新途径的鉴定、rna和蛋白质介导的表达状态的遗传、细胞和核组织以及对环境线索的反应。这些生物过程的丰富性和多功能性已经通过对各种生物的广泛研究得到阐明，本次会议以其包容性和对从各种模型系统中学习的思想交流和价值的尊重而自豪。本次会议一直非常强调年轻研究者的参与，因为正是这一群体经常定义了研究工作的前沿。组织者努力吸引学生和博士后到该领域，并通过让学生、博士后和新的主要研究人员参与口头和海报展示来促进他们的职业生涯。许多研究界的知名人士认为他们第一次参加这次会议是一个职业生涯的转折点，希望通过这次会议将类似的机会扩展到下一代的年轻同事。正在作出协调一致的努力，以支持女科学家，并包括在科学领域代表性不足的种族/民族背景的参与者。表观遗传学戈登会议有支持女性科学家的历史，在这个领域有许多女性首席研究员。在2007年的会议上，到目前为止，约30%的确认演讲者是女性。2005年，46%的参会者是女性，预计2007年参会者的总体比例至少会达到这个水平。这次会议是对未来基础研究和应用研究的投资。也许最重要的是，它将启动这一前沿领域年轻科学家的职业生涯。

The Gordon Research Conference on Epigenetics is the premier venue for presenting new developments in one of the most exciting areas of the biological sciences today. Started in 1995 and now meeting for the seventh time, this conference has earned an international reputation for generating new research avenues as well as fostering progress in the more established areas of epigenetics. The conference has achieved this level of success by consistently providing a unique setting for bringing together a diverse group of scientists, and by cutting across boundaries of organism and methodology, to expand the frontiers of epigenetics research. In 2007 the conference will be co-chaired by mammalian biologist Anne C Ferguson-Smith of University of Cambridge, and plant geneticist Steve Jacobsen at the University of California Los Angeles, both leaders in the field of epigenetics and long time participants of this conference. The study of epigenetics leads to an understanding of genome function. In recent years, epigenetic analysis has revealed some of the most extraordinary forms of gene regulation and quickly become one of the most exciting research areas in genetics and developmental biology. Even as genome projects are providing the complete nucleotide sequence of organism after organism, researchers are turning to the field of epigenetics to understand how that sequence is interpreted in the context of the cell or the organism. Epigenetic modifications such as methylation of the DNA and posttranslational modification of core histones affect the organization and packaging of the chromosome. That these chromosomal marks are both dynamic and heritable leads to epigenetics being one of the most intriguing aspects of biology with a wide range of implications for development, disease and natural variability. It has become clear that epigenetic processes encompass an impressive diversity of mechanisms including RNA-mediated gene regulation, DNA methylation, identification of new pathways in gene control, inheritance of expression states as mediated by RNAs and proteins, cellular and nuclear organization, and response to environmental cues. The richness and versatility of these biological processes has been elucidated through the study of a wide range of diverse organisms and this conference prides itself on its inclusiveness and its respect for the exchange of ideas and value of learning from the full range of model systems.Broad Impacts of the proposed activity: This conference has always placed a strong emphasis on the prominent participation of young investigators, as it is this group that so often defines the leading edge of research efforts. The organizers strive to attract students and postdoctoral fellows to the field and promote the careers of students, postdoctoral fellows, and new principal investigators, by involving them in both the oral and poster presentations. Many established members of the research community consider their first attendance at this meeting to be a career turning point, and it is hoped that similar opportunities are extended to the next generation of young colleagues via this conference. Concerted efforts are being made to support women scientists and to include participants of racial/ethnic backgrounds that are underrepresented in science. The Epigenetics Gordon Conference has a history of supporting women scientists and there are many women principal investigators in this field. For the 2007 conference, ~30% of the confirmed speakers thus far are women. In 2005, 46% of the total attendees were women, and at least this level of overallrepresentation is expected in 2007. This conference serves as an investment in the future of basic and applied research. Perhaps most importantly, it will launch the careers of young scientists in this frontier area.