Dr. Bhattacharjee did her B.Sc in Biotechnology from Bangalore University in 2006 and M.Sc in Applied Genetics from Bangalore University in 2008. She then moved to England to pursue her DPhil (PhD) in Biochemistry from Oxford University where she studied the role of Fml1 and its partner proteins Mhf1 and Mhf2 in promoting genome stability. She was awarded her DPhil in 2012. During her time at Oxford, she was also a tutor at Greene’s College, Oxford. In 2013, Dr. Bhattacharjee moved to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York. At CSHL, her work has focused on understanding the epigenetic regulation of DNA repair. She is also an academic tutor at the Watson School of Biological studies, the school for graduate studies at CSHL.

Cancer, Genetics, Epigenomics, and Genomics

In the year 2005 Dr Sirma Angelova graduated her higher education at the University of Economics in Varna, Bulgaria and gained a Master degree of International Financial Affairs. In the year 2011 Dr Angelova graduated her higher education and gained a Master Degree of Dental Medicine at the Medical University-Varna, Varna, Bulgaria. Since 2011 Sirma Angelova has been working as an Assistant-Professor. Dr Angelova gained a Certificate of Specialization of Pediatric Dentistry in December 2015. In 2017 Sirma Angelova gained a postgraduate degree, PhD, after accomplishment of an independent research on the topic of “Caries Risk Assessment and Prevention in Children Suffering from Some Renal Disorders”. In the year 2018 Dr Sirma Angelova gained an academic degree of Chief-Assistant at the Medical University-Varna.

Epigenetics

Professor Indraneel (Neel) Mittra is Ernest Borges Chair in Translational Research and Professor Emeritus Department of Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai. Professor Mittra obtained his medical degree from University of Delhi, is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and holds a PhD degree from University of London. He did his post-doctoral research with Dr Renato Dulbecco, Nobel Laureate, at the Imperial Cancer Research Laboratories in London. Professor Mittra’s current research interests are in the area of biology of extracellular nucleic acids and their role in ageing, inflammation, degenerative disorders and initiation and metastatis of cancer. Professor Mittra has published in high impact journals such as Nature, Cell, Lancet and Br Med J. He was conferred The Roll of Honours by the International Union against Cancer. Professor Mittra is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and Indian Academy of Sciences.

Cancer, Aging, Chromatin.

As Surgical Chief, Dr. Schrump oversees clinical and translational research pertaining to thoracic and gastrointestinal malignancies, including the development of innovative molecular approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of these neoplasms. He has pioneered the development of epigenomic therapies for thoracic cancers. Using unique in-vitro models and correlative experiments with surgical specimens, he has characterized epigenetic responses to tobacco carcinogens, and identified novel therapeutic targets in lung and esophageal cancers and pleural mesotheliomas. His clinical protocols have demonstrated that chromatin remodeling agents simultaneously induce growth arrest and augment immunogenicity of thoracic malignancies; these efforts have provided rationale for combining epigenetic regimens with immunotherapies for these neoplasms.

1) thoracic surgery, 2) cancer epigenetics, 3) microRNA, 4) lung cancer, 5) esophageal cancer, 6) malignant pleural mesothelioma

Jörn Walter (PhD) is professor and head of the Department of Epigenetics/Genetics. He has a strong record on DNA-methylation biology and mapping, marker development and epigenomic data interpretation. For BLUEPRINT he is leader of WP16 (training, communication & networking)

Genetics, Molecular Biology

Dr. Bennani-Baiti, a former Howard Hughes Scholar and Human Genetics Fellow at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, carried out research into the molecular mechanisms of gene regulation at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He later joined the faculty of St. Louis University School of Medicine wherein he continued this work. He currently leads several research programs at the Children′s Cancer Research Institute into the systems biology of childhood cancers, with a particular interest in sarcomas and other mesenchyme-derived tumors. He is also interested in the deregulation of signaling pathways (e.g. p53, Notch) and miRNAs in cancer, in epigenetics and epigenomics, and in novel methods to inferring tumor biomarkers and drug targets from Omics datasets. Dr. Bennani-Baiti is an active member of the American Association for Cancer Research, AACR Pediatric Cancer Working Group, Epigenetics Society, International Society for Systems Biology, and Society for Mathematical Biology.

Dr. Bennani-Baiti is interested in the mechanisms of tumor pathogenesis, as well as in tumor, metastasis, and prognosis markers, with a current focus in childhood cancers. He has recently developed bioinformatic and mathematical methods to uncovering genes significantly associated with particular disease states from small-size cohorts (which cannot be analyzed with conventional statistical methods for lack of statistical power), the only cohorts available for most childhood and adult cancers. Using such methods, he has for example discovered the first metastasis and prognosis molecular markers of Ewing′s sarcoma, a highly aggressive tumor of bone and soft tissues that afflicts mostly children and young adults. He is also interested in inferring signaling pathway status and connectivity directly from tumor specimen. He is also conducting investigations into the epigenetic mechanisms of tumorigenesis.

Kári Stefánsson, M.D., Dr. Med. has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director since he founded deCODE genetics in August 1996. Dr. Stefánsson was appointed the Chairman of the Board of Directors of deCODE genetics in December 1999. From 1993 until April 1997, Dr. Stefánsson was a professor of Neurology, Neuropathology and Neuroscience at Harvard University. From 1983 to 1993, he held faculty positions in Neurology, Neuropathology and Neurosciences at the University of Chicago. Dr. Stefánsson received his M.D. and Dr. Med. from the University of Iceland and is board-certified in neurology and neuropathology in the United States. He has published numerous articles on the genetics of common/complex diseases and has been among the leaders of the world in the discovery of variants in the sequence of the human genome that associate with the risk of common/complex traits. Dr. Stefánsson was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential men of the year for 2007 and by Newsweek as one of the 10 most important biologists of the 21 century. He was the recipient of the Jakobus Award 2007, The World Glaucoma Association Award for present scientific impact 2007, The European Society of Human Genetics Award 2009, and The Andre Jahre Award 2009.

neurology, neuropathology, and neurosciences

H.E. Dr. Maryam Matar is the former Director General of the Community Development Authority (CDA), which undertakes to formulate social policies and deliver social services that are in line with and contribute to the achievement of the social development objectives of Dubai Strategic Plan 2007 – 2015, launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum on February 3rd, 2007. In 2005, Dr. Matar was the leader of the executive team that set up social development strategies for Dubai Strategic Plan. Born in 1975, Dr. Matar holds a B.A. in Medicine and Surgery (1993-1998) and a degree from the Family Medicine Residency Program with distinction. She is also a graduate of the H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development with distinction, second batch (2003-2004). Furthermore, Dr. Matar is the founder and Executive Director of two non-profit civil associations, “UAE Down’s Syndrome Association” and “UAE Genetic Diseases Association”, which support families from 17 different nationalities. In addition, she has initiated several national community outreach programs such as “UAE Free of Thalassemia by 2012” and established a number of Wellness Centers in Higher Colleges of Technology and Dubai Ladies Club.

Genetics

Dr. Kaina obtained his Ph.D. in Genetics in 1976 from the Universtity of Halle, Germany. He completed his postdoctoral training at the Institute of Genetics in Gatersleben and continued his studies on DNA repair at the Department of Molecular Biology in Leiden, Netherlands, at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and, as a Heisenberg fellow, at the Department of Genetics of the Nuclear Research Center in Karlsruhe, Germany. In 1993, he obtained a full professorship at the Institute of Toxicology of the University of Mainz and, since 2003, he acts as a director of the Institute. His research program focuses on MGMT and the regulation of repair genes, DNA damage signaling, genotoxicity, cancer formation and death of cells exposed to radiation, chemical genotoxins and anticancer drugs. In a translational research program, his group studies the mechanisms of resistance of glioma, melanoma and other cancer cell types to alkylating anticancer drugs.

DNA repair and genotoxic signaling Mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis Mechanisms of anticancer drugs and DNA damage-triggered apoptosis

Alyssa Alabassi is British entrepreneur and UK trained & qualified practicing surgeon with extensive knowledge of the various layers of the health system in the UK. She worked in an advanced computation laboratory at Cancer Research UK devising IT solutions for connected and integrated care pathways. She chaired international business discussions on Big Data, Population Based Solutions, Predictive Analysis and Connected Objects in healthcare delivery. Alyssa’s specialty is Breast Cancer and Familial Breast cancer and has successfully setup prevention clinics for patients at high risk of developing breast cancer.

Cancer

Epigenetic and transcriptional regulation in cancer.

Scientific Director Department of Urology, Director Center for Clinical Research Speaker. Prof. Schüles working group is specifically focused on finding out whether this is due to the removal of methyl groups from the chromatin or more likely due to the lack of demethylation. The group aims to obtain detailed information about the role of LSD1 by specifically looking at the dysregulation of it. As overexpression of LSD1 leads to the development of prostate and lung tumours in old mice the researchers will focus on finding out why this happens.

Basic epigenetic mechanisms in cellular assays and explorative mouse models Validation of epigenetic control in animal models of disease Transfer of epigenetic principles to clinical applications

M. Cristina Cardoso studied Biology at the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and did her post-doctoral training at the Harvard Medical School (Boston, USA) where she worked on cell cycle regulation during terminal differentiation and functional organization of the mammalian nucleus. She then became a group leader at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (Berlin, Germany) and since 2008 she is a full Professor for Cell Biology and Epigenetics at the Department of Biology of the Technische Universität Darmstadt (Germany). Her main research area is the cell biology of the mammalian (epi)genome. She is also interested in developing methods for the intracellular delivery of peptides and proteins and studying protein-protein interactions in living cells.

Replication, Translation and Reprogramming of the Epigenome

Mario Bauer is a specialist in environmental health at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research. His scientific work is focused on identification and risk assessment of environmental and individual genetic dispositions accounting for environment-related diseases. He is an expert in toxicology. Beyond his research interests he gives private lectures and seminars in environmental medicine at the University of Leipzig.

Environmental epigenetics, Aryl hydrocarpon receptor signaling

Barbara Burwinkel is the head of the Molecular Epidemiology Group at the German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ, and head of the founder professorship “Molecular Biology of Breast Cancer” at the University Clinic Heidelberg. She has working experience both in biotech and academia and has been awarded several research awards. Her research focus is the development of blood-based molecular marker sets for diagnosis, early detection, prognosis and prediction of breast and ovarian cancer including the development of new methods like CATS (Capture and Amplification by Tailing and Switching) for NGS library generation.

Human Genetics, Next Generation Sequencing,Cancer Biomarkers, Genetic Epidemiology, Genetics, Cancer Genetics, Epigenetics, Cancer Cancer Diagnostics, Cancer Epigenetics, PCR, Gene Expression, Breast Cancer, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, Oncology, Genotyping

Shu-Chun Chang is Assistant Professor of Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University. Dr. Chang trained in extracellular biology and glycobiology and began work on cancer research as her PhD study in Imperial College Lonfon from 2007 to 2011. She continued to work in the field of Immunology/inflammation as a Post-Doc at National University of Singapore (NUS, 2011-2015). She has published more than 10 papers in reputed journals. Her current interests are in chronic inflammation-associated tumors (e.g., colon cancer and breast cancer), and this has a profound impact in identifying new molecular therapies for autoimmune diseases, immunodeficiency and cancers.

Immune-overactivation and protumorigenesis, chronic inflammation-associated tumors, tumour microenvironment

Dr. Ting-Yuan (TY) TU is currently an Assistant Professor at Department of Biomedical Engineering at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan. In collaboration with Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Centre (SMART), he received his Ph.D. in Mechanobiology from National University of Singapore in 2015, Singapore. Prior to joining NCKU, he was an Application Scientist at Clearbridge Biomedics, in which his role was focused on developing downstream assays for analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) for clinical applications.

In addition to studies on the clinical applications of circulating tumor cells, Dr. Ting-Yuan (TY) TU’s current research interests lie in the development of better biomimetic tumor microenvironment for cancer drug discovery, including the development of in vitro tumor models, 3D tumor invasive co-culture microfluidic platforms, and the investigation on migration of 3D tumor in hydrogels.

Dr. I.M. Bennani-Baiti currently serves as the Executive Editor of Cancer Epigenetics and Clinical Cancer Epigenetics. Dr. Bennani-Baiti has longstanding interests in pediatric cancer, epigenetics, epigenomics, chemistry, and biomathematics. He has extensive experience in reviewing and editing research papers, serving since 2009 as Executive Editor or Editor to nine biomedical journals, and as a Reviewer to more than a dozen other journals. AUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Human Genetics Fellow, he is also a Howard Hughes scholar who served on the Faculty of St. Louis University School of Medicine under the chairmanship of Dr. William Sly, a member of theNational Academy of Sciences, USA, who characterized the syndrome named after him. Other tenures include theMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York alongside Dr. Mark Ptashne, Lasker Award laureate and member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. Dr. Bennani-Baiti is a member of the Society for Mathematical Biology, the American Chemical Society, and the AACR Pediatric Cancer Working Group. He is also a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, USA, and President of the Cancer Epigenetics Society (https://ces.b2sg.org).

Dr. I.M. Bennani-Baiti is interested in all aspects of epigenetics research that may have a bearing on cancer biology, diagnosis, management, or treatment. He is also interested in bioinformatics methods that enable inference of biological significance from underpowered studies, as well as mathematical algorithms that help query cell signaling and gene networks directly in patient samples.

Dr Jenny Wang is Head of the Cancer and Stem Cell Laboratory at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. She returned to Australia in 2011 from Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, where she undertook postdoctoral research in Leukemia Stem Cell Biology (2005-2011). The main research focus in Dr Wang’s Laboratory is to develop novel therapeutic strategies specifically targeting leukemia stem cells that are often resistant to commonly used cancer therapies and that are now believed to be the engine driving the growth of a tumor and the major cause for treatment failure and relapse in leukemia.

cellular and molecular mechanisms, genetic and/or epigenetic genes, oncogenic pathways in leukaemia stem cells.

David Ligon brings more than 30 years of experience in Information Technology to the table, with a focus on Web and Systems design as well as Technical Documentation, Education, Grants and Leadership. David first gained global leadership experience and recognition by leading the iPad Revolution in Special Education. The collaborative presentation was delivered by colleagues Scott Meech and Eric Sailers at ISTE2011 in Philadelphia and was well received. While leading the IT Department for a school district in Phoenix's East Valley, David Ligon initiated an effort to bring 21st Century Technology into the schools by exploring appropriate use of social media for K-12. As part of that research, David established a global collaborative network of Education Technology Leaders, and other professionals, including John C. Maxwell, whom later included David as a contributor to his book on Leadership entitled "Everyone Communicates: Few Connect" on page 252. Once again David has risen to another global leadership effort, this time in the vitally important field of Epigenetics--the 21st Century science of approaching cancer diagnosis and treatment from a genetic-based viewpoint. Given David's passion for cutting-edge research and technology, it was only natural his direction would evolve in life to combine all these gifts into Epigenetically focused and Knowledge Management-based Cancer Research Portal of the 21st Century to foster communication and collaboration in the industry--all with the Goal of Saving Lives through Awareness and Knowledge-sharing.

Epigenetics and Cancer

Dr. Mukesh Verma is a Program Director and Chief in the Methods and Technologies Branch (MTB), Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP) of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) with expertise in implication of epigenome, microbiome, metabolome, and genomic information for risk assessment and understanding disease etiology. He represents NCI in Common Fund Programs on (1) Epigenomics, (2) Metabolomics, and (3) Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity. Before coming to the DCCPS, he was a Program Director in the Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP), NCI, providing direction in the areas of biomarkers, early detection, risk assessment and prevention of cancer, epigenetics, epidemiology, and cancers associated with infectious agents. Since joining the NCI, he has sought to champion the visibility of and investment in cancer epigenetics research both within the Institute and across other federal and non-governmental agencies, and to raise public awareness about controlling cancer. Dr. Mukesh Verma holds a M.Sc. from Pantnagar University and a Ph.D. from Banaras Hindu University. He did postdoctoral research at George Washington University and was a faculty member at Georgetown University Medical Center. He has published 161 research articles and reviews and edited five books in cancer biomarkers, epigenetics and epidemiology field. Home Page http://epi.grants.cancer.gov/mtb/

Epigenome, Microbiome, Metabolome, and genomic information for risk assessment and understanding disease etiology.

Xu Dong Zhang received his PhD degree from the University of Sydney in 2001 and has been working on translational melanoma research since then. His major research interest is in regulation of programmed cell death and survival signal pathways in melanoma cells. He is a Professor and ta co-director of the Priority Research Center for Cancer of the University of Newcastle. He is also the Deputy Director of the Cancer Research Program of the Hunter Medical Research Institute. He has published more than 130 papers in reputed journals with a current H index of 36.

His major research interest is in regulation of programmed cell death and survival signal pathways in melanoma cells.

Liane Deligdisch graduated Medical School in Bucharest, Romania. Following positions were: Gynecologist and General Physician in Romania until 1963, Pathologist at the Ichilov Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical School, Israel 1963 to 1975, Visiting Professor Magee Women Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa.; 1975-6 Boston Free Hospital for Women, Harvard Medical School ; 1976 to present The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, full Professor of Pathology and Obstetrics-Gynecology and Attending since 1986. Founded the division of Gynecologic Pathology and directed the course of Gynecologic Pathology at the Medical School, Authored 143 peer reviewed articles , 7 textbooks on Gynecologic Pathology.

Gynecology, Obstetrics-Gynecology, Gynecologic Pathology

Dr. Alvaro Macieira-Coelho is a Research Director at the French National Institute of Health. He received an MD from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, and a PhD from the University of Uppsala Sweden. He made an internship at the University Hospital in Lisbon and was a research associate at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia (USA) and at the Department of Cell Biology of the University of Uppsala (Sweden). He became Head of the Department of Cell Pathology at the Cancer Institute in Villejuif (France) and was a visiting Professor at the University of Linkoping (Sweden). He published 150 papers in professional Journals and 9 books on cancer and aging. He received the following awards: Fritz Verzar Prize (University of Vienna, Austria), “Seeds of Science”, Career Prize (Lisbon, Portugal), Dr. Honoris Causa (University of Linkoping, Sweden), Johananof International Visiting Professor (Institute Mario Negri, Milano, Italy).

Cancer Research, Cell Biology, Cancer and Aging, Molecular Biology

Dr. Sherry Bradford attended undergraduate school at SUNY at Buffalo and was awarded a full tuition scholarship to pursue her PhD graduate degree (Biochemistry) from the University of Buffalo/ Roswell Park Cancer Institute Division of SUNY at Buffalo School of Medical and Biomedical Sciences. During her clinical laboratory vocation, she was solicited by the Chief of Surgery at Millard Fillmore Hospital, Buffalo, NY, to direct the Surgical Research laboratory. There she successfully led the research on the use of human micro vascular umbilical cord endothelium for lining stents. It was while Sherry was at Millard Fillmore Hospital, that she was awarded the “1st Place - Award for Excellence in Research” from the American Federation for Clinical Research In 1997, Dr. Bradford was approached by the Department of Pharmacokinetics, at Millard Fillmore Hospital, to lead their newly formed Pharmacokinetics Oncology Department. As the Principal Investigator, she was charged with the responsibility to develop an in vitro chemo sensitivity test on tumor cells using the flow cytometer. In 2008, Dr Bradford and colleagues form AccuTheranostics and the idea on Oncology Personalized Medicine based on the specific patient’s own biochemical and genetic profile to administer Personalized treatment regimens.Currently, Dr. Bradford sits on the EDITORIAL BOARD of the International Journal of Medical and Health Sciences Research; commence on July 20 2014; and on the EDITORIAL BOARD of Insights in Cancer Research, and has authored and co-authored a number of scientific peer-reviewed manuscripts.She is also a member of many professional organizations including (but not limited to): International Metabolic Cancer Group, AACR, ASCO, and GLIFCA.

Human microvascular umbilical cord endothelium and in Pharmacokinetics Oncology

Eddy Shih-Hsin Yang, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Endowed Chair of ROAR Southeast Cancer Foundation, Medical Director of the UAB Molecular Tumor Board, and member of the Clinical Trials Review Committee for the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. As a physician-scientist oncologist, he has particular interest in targeting of DNA repair pathways to enhance the therapeutic ratio and understanding the contributions of DNA damage and genome instability to carcinogenesis. He also strives to uncover potential biomarkers to inform and guide therapy in a more personalized medicine approach. He directs the UAB Nanostring Laboratory, which houses the nCounter platform by Nanostring Technologies. This technology allows for targeted analysis of molecular pathways at multiple levels, including DNA copy number variation, gene expression, microRNA, and protein analysis. His research in these pathways has led him to focus on breast, genitourinary, and head and neck cancers. His work has been supported by various funding sources, including the NIH Breast SPORE at UAB, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the Department of Defense, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Sidney Kimmel Foundation. He also has an excellent track record of productivity in DNA repair and cancer research. Ultimately, as a translational researcher, he hopes to implement findings from the laboratory into the clinic, whether from a therapeutic or prevention perspective.

particular interest in targeting of DNA repair pathways to enhance the therapeutic ratio and understanding the contributions of DNA damage and genome instability to carcinogenesis

Dr. Garbett received a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Kent at Canterbury. She completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, University of Mississippi and University of Alabama at Birmingham before joining the University of Louisville School of Medicine where she is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine. Dr. Garbett’s research applies biophysical approaches to the study of biomolecules and their interactions, with emphasis on developing new technologies for medical diagnostics. She is a co-inventor of an emerging diagnostic tool utilizing differential scanning calorimetry for early detection, diagnosis and monitoring of patients.

Laboratory Operations, Disease Diagnostics

Xing Li has completed his PhD in Bioinformatics from The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He is an Assistant Professor in Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Science Research at Mayo Clinic which has been recognized as the best hospital for 2014-2015 by US News & World Report. He has published more than 18 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as Peer Reviewers of over a dozen of journals, such as Genomics, BMC Bioinformatics, Stem Cell Research, PLOS ONE, Physiological Genomics, etc.

Stem Cell Research

Dr. Sabine Mai is a tenured Professor at The University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada). She obtained her PhD at the University of Karlsruhe (Germany) and her postodctoral training at the Basel Instutite for Immunology (Basel, Switzerland).

Immunology, Genomics, Cancer

David I Smith, Ph.D. Is a Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the Mayo Clinic. He is also the Chairman of the Technology Assessment Group for the Center for Individualized Medicine also of the Mayo Clinic. His own research focuses on the different roles that human papillomavirus plays in the development of different cancers. He is also using next generation sequencing to examine the genomic alterations that occur during the development of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, and then using this information to better inform clinical decisions.

His own research focuses on the different roles that human papillomavirus plays in the development of different cancers.