Epigenomics and Epigenetics
In January 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced it will invest more than $190 million over the next five years to accelerate an emerging field of biomedical research known as epigenomics. The NIH is making this a priority in its research portfolio, taking it on as an NIH Roadmap initiative. The overall hypothesis of the NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Program is that the origins of health and susceptibility to disease are, in part, the result of epigenetic regulation of the genetic blueprint.
Epigenetics focuses on processes that regulate how and when certain genes are turned on and turned off, while epigenomics pertains to analysis of epigenetic changes across many genes in a cell or entire organism. View an illustration of how epigenetic mechanisms can affect health.
Epigenetic processes control normal growth and development and this process is deregulated in diseases such as cancer. Diet and exposure to environmental chemicals throughout all stages of human development among other factors can cause epigenetic changes that may turn on or turn off certain genes. Changes in genes that would normally protect against a disease, as a result, could make people more susceptible to developing that disease later in life. Researchers also believe some epigenetic changes can be passed on from generation to generation.
Funding opportunity announcements of interest to epidemiologists include:
- Epigenetic Approaches in Cancer Epidemiology – expires January 8, 2010 unless reissued
- Epigenomics of Human Health and Disease – expires October 29, 2008
For general questions about cancer epigenomics, contact EGRP's Mukesh Verma, Ph.D., Chief, Methods and Technologies Branch, and Acting Chief, Host Susceptibility Factors Branch; e-mail: vermam@mail.nih.gov.
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