Project Summary This proposal requests partial support for the 2017 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Epigenetics, entitled Epigenetics in action: from mechanisms to biological impacts. This conference began in 1995 and has earned an international reputation as a premier meeting in its field. The Epigenetics GRC is known for the quality of scientific presentations that embrace the philosophy of reporting unpublished exciting new discoveries at the forefront of epigenetics. This conference is central to the NIH mission because epigenetics brings understanding to mechanisms used in decoding and regulating genomes during differentiation and development, processes critical for human development and health. The major goals of the 2017 Epigenetics GRC are to establish a rich scientific program that captures the breadth of epigenetics, foster new cross disciplinary collaborations by bringing together investigators who might not normally interact, and promote careers of young investigators through initiatives that integrate attendees of the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), a preconference held for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The Epigenetics GRC will include invited speakers at all career levels, with efforts to ensure diversity and balance among speakers. The scientific program will reflect resolve to support women scientists and participants in underrepresented populations, using strategies to build a strong participant pool that will be used to select speakers. Together, these aims will provide a highly dynamic conference that motivate the field and energize the new generation of investigators.

Narrative Epigenetics is the study of interactions between the genome and the environment that result in changes in gene expression without changes in DNA sequence. Epigenetic mechanisms are central to the interpretation of the genome during cell specification and tissue differentiation during animal development, with disruptions in these mechanisms associated with birth defects, cancer, accelerated aging. The goal of the Epigenetics GRC is to provide a platform to bring together a diverse group of investigators for research presentations and discussion that stimulate new advances, promote collaboration and foster development of new investigators in the field of epigenetics.