epigenetics@dkfz - the cross-topic network on all things epigenetics & chromatin
Mission
Epigenetic research has become a major component of many scientific fields in medical and biological sciences. Understanding epigenetic determinants of gene (de)regulation is of fundamental interest to many groups working in these research areas. Thus, epigenetic signaling needs to be integrated with other data sets to achieve a comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms and to identify pathological alterations in cancer genomes. Advances in epigenetics are driven by technological improvements that reveal a growing number of epigenetic factors involved in establishing functional cell states as well as the deregulation of this process in diseases including but not limited to cancer. In order to cope with the rapid development of the field, and to integrate novel tools and insights into ongoing research topics, several research facilities worldwide have formed 'Epigenetics Centers' that operate as hubs for knowledge and technology transfer. As an initial step towards a concerted activity in the epigenetic community at DKFZ (and the biomedical research community in Heidelberg) we brought together researchers with interest in epigenetic questions under the designation Epigenetics@dkfz. The goal is to combine various activities related to epigenetic research at DKFZ and to foster rapid exchange between groups. This initiative was established in early 2009 with a founding workshop in January, which was attended by over 70 participants and featured presentations and discussions from various DKFZ groups. This was followed with a series of further seminars during the course of the year. A workshop has been held every January since 2010 with keynote lectures by Jörn Walter, Joseph Costello, Manel Esteller, Paul Soloway, Axel Imhof, Yasuhiro Yamada and Marc Timmers.
The overall goal of Epigenetics@dkfz is to strengthen epigenetic research at DKFZ and its collaboration partners (both at the national and international level) and to develop a virtual epigenetic center. This will include strategies to foster training, international interactions and high impact research as well as support for research funding applications in the field of epigenetics.
Coordinators
- Dr. Angela Risch, C010, Division of Epigenomics and Cancer Riskfactors
- Dr. Karsten Rippe, B066, Division Chromatin Networks
- Dr. Christoph Plass, C010, Division of Epigenomics and Cancer Riskfactors
Activities
- Foster interactions and collaborations between DKFZ groups working on epigenetic topics within the DKFZ via the epigenetics@dkfz community
- Yearly epigenetics@dkfz workshops in January at the DKFZ
- 2nd European Cancer Epigenetics Conference (ECEC) May 11-13 2017 held in Heidelberg
- Jun 17-19, 2013: Epigenetics Symposium in Heidelberg with participants from Barcelona and Freiburg
- Support education and training in epigenetics for students and scientists at the DKFZ
- Establish, improve and maintain expertise and core technologies needed for epigenetic research in both individual laboratories and DKFZ core facilities (e.g. genome-wide sequencing, bioinformatic analysis, biobanking of materials suitable for epigenetic analyses etc.).
- Support of researchers in Heidelberg to obtain national and international funding for epigenetic research projects.
- Increase the visibility of DKFZ epigenetics activity on the national and international level
- To register send an e-mail to epigenetics (at) dkfz.de
