CDB Symposium: Epigenetic landscapes in development and disease

March 20, 2011 –The RIKEN CDB hosted its ninth annual symposium, “Epigenetic landscapes in development and disease” on March 14–15. This year’s symposium was held on an abbreviated two-day schedule in the aftermath of the Great Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11, and opened with a moment of silence for those affected by the disaster.

Although a number of speakers and attendees were forced to cancel their participation due to travel disruptions and other concerns, more than 180 people were able to gather to share and discuss the latest developments in the study of epigenetics as it relates to ontogeny and pathology. In addition to the 21 talks, each day included a poster session in which nearly 70 poster presenters discussed their work.

The CDB symposium series, launched in 2003, was established as a forum for addressing diverse aspects of developmental biology and the mechanisms of regeneration and aims to promote the free, timely and borderless exchange of research achievements.

This year’s event was co-organized by the CDB’s Shin-Ichi Nishikawa, Hitoshi Niwa, Hiroki R. Ueda, and Jun-ichi Nakayama, along with Nikolaus Rajewsky of the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (Germany). Additional financial support was provided by 31 sponsoring organizations and exhibitors.

For more information and photos, visit the 2012 CDB Symposium website at: http://www.cdb.riken.jp/sympo2011/.