An ambitious EC-funded research initiative on epigenetics advancing towards systems biology

EpiGeneSys—Advancing Epigenetics Towards Systems Biology

As an FP7 European Community-funded Network of Excellence, EpiGeneSys’s goals go further than simply funding a research project—our extensive training program is helping to build a bridge between the fields of epigenetics and systems biology and our public education mission will communicate the science in an accessible and interesting fashion while awakening young pupils’ interest in research.

The network is advancing research by drawing together Epigeneticists and Systems Biologists while focusing on several scientific questions.

• How does dynamic binding of regulators enable both stability and flexibility of chromatin states?
• How can we predict epigenetic states from the DNA sequence?
• How does the extracellular milieu shape the epigenome?
• How can we analyze and model data coming from diverse fields and using disparate data types?

Two rounds of competitive recruitment award Young Investigators with a 3-year research grant of 150,000€ and full access to EpiGeneSys activities. Associate Members who are recruited through open calls also have full access to EpiGeneSys activities. Two Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) will be recruited through open calls for collaborative projects with a 3-year 150,000 award. Our Training Program for students and postdocs includes systems biology and epigenetics courses, plus summer schools and workshops. Since the training advisory board is comprised entirely of students and postdocs, they are integral to the design and implementation of training activities.

An ongoing network goal is to foster lasting interactions between Epigeneticists and Systems Biologists that would not have been possible without EpiGeneSys, so our meetings pay particular attention to helping enhance collaboration and discussion across the two fields.

As an EC-funded Network of Excellence we also have a mission to build public support for scientific research and change the public’s perception of science through education. To this end, we are pleased to re-launch this website [www.epigenesys.org] to include in-depth sections on bioethics, science & art, epigenetics teaching tools, and “Ask a Scientist” + FAQs. We’re aiming to be a point of reference for not only the scientific community, but also to enlighten the public about epigenetics and systems biology.

The EpiGeneSys Network of Excellence is coordinated by the CNRS.