Tackling adversity: Tales of the epigenome
2020 was a horrendous year. As the pandemic raged, millions of people around the globe faced, in addition to the threat of COVID-19, the longstanding adversity of chronic health disparities. But as we watched these populations’ disproportionate suffering, we also witnessed their resilience.
Our session will focus on how early-life adversity and stress at the genomic level influence susceptibility to diseases such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome and mental health that augment health disparities later in life. The sessions also will cover molecular resilience and how the genome is sufficiently dynamic to overcome these epigenetic roadblocks.
Keywords: epigenetic marks, health disparities, early-life stresses, nutrigenomics
Who should attend: anyone interested in learning how genomic and subgenomic stresses early in life lead to adversity and health disparities later in life and how the genome is dynamic and can overcome some of these roadblocks
Theme song: “Rain on Me” by Lady Gaga, featuring Ariana Grande. “Rain on Me” is a beautiful tribute to going through adversity, not giving up, and coming out the other side stronger. This energizing dance song is all about embracing life, imperfections and all.
This session is powered by the need to let everyone know that stress doesn’t define us and that we are resilient in the face of adversity.
Talks
- Intergenerational inheritance of altered metabolism phenotypes after early-life stress in Caenorhabditis elegans — Sarah Hall, Syracuse University
- Programmed epigenetic risk: Can stress exposures in utero predispose infants to obesity and metabolic disease? — Kristen Boyle, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus
- A sex-specific role for long noncoding RNA in depression susceptibility and resilience — Orna Issler, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Epigenetic mediators of risk for metabolic disease — Mary Elizabeth Patti, Harvard Medical School
- Rethinking the stress paradigm: Exploring new connections between epigenetic adaption and cellular stress — Kaushik Ragunathan, University of Michigan Medical School
- The role of maternal factors in epigenetic programming of neurodevelopment — Patrick McGowan, University of Toronto
- Epigenetic marks identify asthma susceptibility in African Americans — Ivana Yang, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
- Chronic stress, omics and asthma — Juan C. Celedon, University of Pittsburgh
- Live fast, die young: The role of epigenetics in stress and aging — Anthony Zannas, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Sex-dimorphism in aging: Are we missing half of the picture? — Berenice A. Benayoun, University of Southern California
- Consequences of early-life starvation on adult lipid metabolism — Ryan Baugh, Duke University
- Early-life stress and epigenomic regulation of behavior — Julie-Anne Balouek (Rodier), Princeton University
- Extracellular vesicles as stress signals: Identifying novel systemic mechanisms of trauma programming — Tracy L. Bale, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Learn more
Check out all ten thematic symposia planned for the 2022 ASBMB annual meeting:
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.
Learn moreFeatured jobs
from the ASBMB career center
Get the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Science
Science highlights or most popular articles
How lipid metabolism shapes sperm development
Researchers at Hokkaido University identify the enzyme behind a key lipid in sperm development. The findings reveal how seminolipids shape sperm formation and may inform future diagnostics and treatments for male infertility.
Mass spec method captures proteins in native membranes
Yale scientists developed a mass spec protocol that keeps proteins in their native environment, detects intact protein complexes and tracks drug binding, offering a clearer view of membrane biology.
Laser-assisted cryoEM method preserves protein structure
University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers devised a method that prevents protein compaction during cryoEM prep, restoring natural structure for mass spec studies. The approach could expand high-resolution imaging to more complex protein systems.
Method sharpens proteome-wide view of structural changes
Researchers developed a method that improves limited proteolysis coupled with mass spectrometry, separating true changes from abundance or splicing effects.
Discoveries made possible by DNA
The discovery of DNA’s double helix revealed how genetic information is stored, copied and expressed. Revisit that breakthrough and traces how it laid the foundation for modern molecular biology, genomics and biotechnology.
Unraveling the language of histones
Philip Cole presented his research on how posttranslational modifications to histones are involved in gene expression and how these modifications could be therapeutically targeted to treat diseases like cancer.