Epigenomics of Common Diseases – I will never forget this conference because it was one of the best conferences that I had visited. As genetics and epigenetics are my top areas of interest, I was greatly interested in visiting this conference. It was organized by Wellcome Genome Campus and was held on 18-20th November. I had a pleasure to be a participant of that virtual occasion.
Three days were full of speakers and their speeches. All topics were divided in 6 sessions:
- Novel Methodologies
- Single Cell & Technology
- Chromatin Regulation in Disease
- Multi 'Omics' & Integrative Epigenomics, Reference Annotation
- Population Studies
- Epigenetic Classifiers
Listeners were able to ask questions in a chat and after whole session these questions were announced to appropriate speakers. Some of their answers helped me to understand several moments more clearly.
In the evening, after the sessions participants were able to listen to poster lightning talks and read posters that they liked the most.
During the days of the conference, I heard a lot about such diseases as cancer, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's Disease, Mendelian Disorders and type 2 diabetes. Of course, concentration was not only on diseases but also on important processes in the human body. For example, one of the topics was about chromatin modifiers in early T cell development. Another topic that I liked very much was about alcohol and its effect on epigenetic part of oocytes. I am strongly convinced that modern scientists should discover not only mechanisms of diseases but also prevention of ill-health and disease. Not less significant for me was explanation in general about mechanisms of epigenetic regulation in development and disease.
The experience of participating in the scientific conference was new and a little bit challenging for me. But I admire it because being in a science community (even just online) and listening to the newest discoveries from leading experts extremely motivates me. Also, these three days gave me a lot of information about how exactly epigenomics is related to diseases.
I am very grateful to the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation Biotech Initiative for such a great experience and I hope that one day I also will be a speaker on a conference like this one.
- Malva Doroshenko, student, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
In November 2020, I had the great opportunity to attend the conference Epigenomics of Common Diseases from the Wellcome Genome Campus. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this event was online.
The organization of the event and the approach to the conference were at the highest level. An intuitive interface of the site and a convenient chat for communication were easy to use. There was also a newsletter with a reminder and all detailed instructions a few days before the conference.
The organizers made an excellent decision to classify the reports into four sessions by topics: Novel Methodologies, Single Cell & Technology, Chromatin Regulation in Disease, Multi 'Omics' & Integrative Epigenomics. The sessions followed one after another, which was very convenient for mastering the entire layer of information.
Even though the conference touched on the epigenetic characteristics of various diseases, a lot of attention was paid to methylation in cancer. It is intertwined with the theme of my future bachelor's thesis, so I tried to benefit as much as possible.
I am grateful to the US-Ukraine Foundation Biotech Initiative for the opportunity to expand my circle of acquaintances and raise the level of knowledge in the direction I am interested in.
-Valeriia Svintytska, student, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy