The Epigenetics Consortium of South Australia Incorporated (EpiCSA) hosted its Inaugural Seminar earlier this week in Adelaide.

On Wednesday 18th November, EpiCSA hosted its Inaugural Seminar at The Science Exchange in Adelaide. The Chairperson of EpiCSA, Tina Bianco-Miotto, opened the event by explaining that the objectives of the group, which was formed in June 2015, are to bring together South Australian epigenetics researchers from diverse disciplines and across all universities and research institutes; to provide a forum for researchers to present their work and to learn from and teach eachother; and to help epigenetics researchers to form networks and collaborations.

The evening was well attended and was a wonderful success, beginning with an inspiring talk from Carlos Rodriguez Lopez entitled Food and Epigenetics: From your fork to your grandchildren, and ending on a historical note with Bastien Llamas discussing Ancient Epigenetics, leaving the crowd with much to chat about over drinks and nibbles.

The field of epigenetics is constantly evolving and is a key area of research in many disciplines including health and medical research; epigenetics research is providing us with an understanding of gene expression disruption, with biomarkers for numerous health outcomes and with potential targeted therapeutics for disease intervention.

The huge success of the Inaugural Seminar wouldn’t have been possible without the sponsors: the Robinson Research Institute, the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the Australian Genome Research Facility. In 2016 EpiCSA will be running three workshops and a scientific meeting so visit their website or facebook page for more information and sign up for membership – it’s free!