Grant: Operating Grant: CEEHRC (Epigenetics)

The DNA that makes up the genome is tagged with various chemical marks that are attached either directly to the DNA or to its packaging proteins. These marks, collectively called the epigenome, act as a kind of molecular mark-up language that tells the cell's proteins which genes to activate and which to silence. Unlike the genome, which remains largely the same throughout life, the epigenome changes with age, in response to environmental influences, and in many types of disease. The field of epigenomics has seen explosive growth in recent years, due in part to a series of discoveries linking the epigenome to environmental risk factors and disease progression. Altered patterns of epigenomic marks help to explain how environmental influences can affect an individual's risk of chronic disease; for example, tobacco smoke exposure can alter the epigenome in lung cells. Epigenomic changes are pervasive in many cancer types, and may even be one of the first changes to take place in some pre-cancerous cells. While recent technological advancements have allowed scientists to study the epigenome at unprecedented resolution, these techniques demand expertise and resources that have thus far limited their uptake in the Canadian research community. Through this proposal, we aim to establish a pan-Canadian network that links together existing Canadian Epigenetics and Environment Health Research Consortium components with Nodes of Genome Canada's Genomics Innovation Network and other research labs to drive epigenomic research forward in Canada, and to provide outreach and training resources to the broader research community. Funding provided by this initiative will ensure that Canada remains a world leader in epigenomics by giving Canadian researchers knowledge of, and access to, emerging epigenomic technologies and data that are essential to realize the promise of epigenomics research for future generations of Canadians.