Systems Epigenetics: Towards Precision Cancer Medicine Conference
The Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 27-30 November, 2018
We thank you for attending the conference 'Systems Epigenetics: Towards Precision Cancer Medicine' that we organized in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 27-30 November 2018.
Picture made by Cees Beuzekom
Pictures of the conference can be found here.
This conference brought together scientists from multidisciplinary fields employing different research strategies: (1) Epigenetic profiling at genome-wide and/or single cell level to identify complex dynamic regulatory interactions, (2) Bioinformatics and mathematical modelling to understand and predict observed (dynamic) phenotypic responses, (3) Innovative epigenetic interference tools using for instance CRISPR/dCas-based epigenetic editing tools to locally overwrite epigenetic signatures and to verify the impact of defined alterations in epigenetic regulation.
The meeting provided a platform for scientists focusing on fundamental and biomedical research, clinicians and private sector scientists.
Cancer progression and development of resistance to treatment is an urgent medical problem. Epigenetic reprogramming is an integral component of lineage-specific transcriptional programmes and its potential role to tumour evolution has now attracted substantial interest from many fields of science. The field of epigenetics including chromatin organization, transcription regulation and aspects of stem cell biology offers important insights for cancer biology, individualized patient stratification, monitoring and prediction of treatment outcome, thereby opening a largely unexplored field with great potential for precision medicine.
We aimed to create a vibrant environment to promote cross-talk between different disciplines. We discussed processes and mechanisms involved in various aspects of epigenetic regulation, such as higher order chromatin folding, chromatin enhancer regulation, dynamics of chromatin and nuclear organization and epigenomics in the context of cancer initiation, progression and treatment. The latest scientific developments to study epigenetic regulation were presented in keynotes and contributed presentations, and will set ground for precision medicine in cancer treatment.
The Systems Epigenetics: Towards Precision Cancer Medicine Conference was organized in the context of the EpiPredict EU H2020 Innovative Training Network (www.EpiPredict.eu) coordinated by Dr Pernette Verschure. EpiPredict employs a systems medicine approach to obtain a detailed mechanistic understanding of epigenetic regulation in resistance development against hormonal treatment in breast cancer estrogen receptor positive patients.
