Source: Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center
Written by: Wang Jiawei
Photo by: Wei Xianjing
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On October 15-17, 2015, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center successfully held the International Conference on “Epigenetics of Cancer and Aging” in Beijing.

Leading scientists and scholars in the fields of Epigenetics, Cancer and Stem Cell from the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Australia, Japan and Singapore were invited to the conference. The participants included Stephan Beck (University College London, UK), Francesca Cesari (Nature, UK), Peter Jones (Van Andel Research Institute, USA), Tom Rando (Stanford University, USA), Magdalena Skipper (Nature, UK), Yizhi Liu (Director of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, China), Kang Zhang (University of California, San Diego, USA), and etc.

This Conference, as a platform, engaged with all the participants in an open and constructive dialogue about epigenetics of Cancer and aging in the spearhead new directions of investigation and how to set standards. The Conference had six sessions: Chromatin structural changes in aging and cancer; DNA methylation in aging and cancer; Epigenetic drivers of cancer and clonal variation; Environmental influences on the epigenome; Reprogramming the epigenome during gametogenesis and transgenerational inheritance; and Epigenetic role in late onset disease.

Epigenetics is still an emerging discipline; despite many publications we continue to have limited understanding of the role it plays in normal development and physiology, and in disease. While cancer epigenetics is somewhat more mature than epigenetics of aging, fundamental unanswered questions abound in both areas. This Conference is designed to bring together key experts in these fields to discuss the status quo, to spearhead new directions of investigation, and to set standards.