Invitation to Webinar on Environmental Epigenics from the EPA

  • News
  • by BPC Staff
  • on October 19, 2012
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EPA’s Office of Research and Development/National Center for Environmental Research invites you to participate in the following research results webinar:

EPA STAR Applied Science Webinar: Environmental Epigenetics Methods and Tools

 

The webinar will be held Monday, October 22, 2012 from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT

What will you learn?

1. How environmental contaminants can alter gene expression without changing the DNA sequence

2. What methods and tools are available to detect epigenetic effects in this fast-changing field

3. What epigenetic effects have been linked to exposure to air pollutants

 

Free And Open to the Public

To Participate in the Webinar please register at:

    https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/302986958

 

Epigenetics is the study of changes in the way information stored in DNA is expressed, without direct modification of the genetic code. Some epigenetic changes are part of normal development and aging, but environmental health scientists are most concerned with studying how environmental factors can cause negative epigenetic changes. Epigenetic markers are heritable changes in phenotype or gene expression in the absence of changes in DNA sequence.

Environmental contaminants can program the expression of genes without altering the genetic material itself, and lead to different health responses among similarly exposed individuals.

 

The recent and fast evolving field of environmental epigenetics can help clarify a number of policy relevant issues, from mechanisms of effects, to individual susceptibility, to gene-environment interactions. Andrea Baccarelli, Professor of Environmental Epigenetics at the Harvard School of Public Health, will present a general introduction to the methods and tools used to identify environmental programming of health and disease.

 

The following scientist will be presenting during this Webinar:

Andrea Baccarelli MD, PhD

Mark and Catherine Winkler Associate Professor of Environmental Epigenetics Department of Environmental Health Department of Epidemiology Harvard School of Public Health

 

Dr. Baccarelli’s laboratory of Human Environmental Epigenetics investigates the molecular mechanisms and biomarkers that reflect reprogramming of health and disease trajectories in response to environmental exposures. The laboratory research activities are specifically focused on epigenetics and environmental mitochondriomics.

 

Dr. Baccarelli’s research focuses on epigenomics as a unique molecular substrate reflecting the impact of environmental exposures on human health.

Epigenetic marks, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs, modify chromatin structure and gene expression without changing the underlying DNA sequence. Dr. Baccarelli’s laboratory is dedicated to the investigation of environmental epigenetics at different life-stages.

Ongoing projects range from the investigation of the effects of in-utero exposures to toxic metals, second-hand smoking, and psychosocial stress on the methylome of human fetal tissues to the study of the influences of air pollution on non-coding miRNA in adult and elderly individuals. Epigenetic mechanisms are investigated in relation to fetal growth and perinatal outcomes, cardiovascular function, obesity, and neuro-cognition. Active studies include investigations in the U.S., Mexico, China, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland, Thailand, Oman, and Bangladesh. Since 2010, Dr. Baccarelli’s laboratory has produced more than 60 publications in epigenetics, environmental health, and epidemiology.

 

For more information about this webinar see:

   http://www.epa.gov/ncer/events/#oct2212