Postdoctoral Fellowship: New Directions in Epigenetics

从20世纪80年代开始，大卫·巴克博士提出了一个理论，即早期发育期间的状况和暴露可能与表观遗传修饰有关，这些修饰会影响后来的生活结果。这种观点已经渗透到科学文献和实践中，催生了一个新的基础科学领域，并引起了公众的关注。通过对在这一领域工作的科学家的深入采访，在基础科学背景下的田野调查，以及对科学文献和大众媒体报道的内容分析，本研究考察了这一科学发展。随着关于遗传学的科学辩论和公众对话的继续，对占主导地位的表观遗传范式的更全面理解将有助于更广泛地理解健康和疾病的决定因素。随着人们对慢性病流行的日益关注，这一新兴科学涉及到紧迫的健康问题。

Beginning in the 1980s, Dr. David Barker theorized that conditions and exposures during early development may relate to epigenetic modifications that effect outcomes in later life. This view has permeated scientific literature and practice, precipitating a new field of basic science and capturing public attention. Drawing on in-depth interviews with scientists working in this area, fieldwork in basic science settings, and a content analysis of scientific literature and popular media coverage, this research examines this scientific development. As scientific debates and public conversations about genetics continue, a fuller understanding of the ascendant epigenetic paradigm will assist broader understandings of determinants of health and disease. With growing concern about the prevalence of chronic diseases, this emergent science engages pressing health concerns.