Epigenomics of Common Diseases

ECD 2025, our 13th conference on common diseases will highlight how technological advances in epigenomics are being applied to various diseases, and how research is being translated into novel treatments. Discussions will also focus on epigenetic mechanisms in complex disease, the role of epigenetics in disease inheritance, and epigenetic epidemiology, including the role of the environment in common diseases. New research on how epigenetic variation can be linked to complex traits will be further explored.

The presentations by global leaders will be complemented by stimulating short oral presentations selected from offered abstracts. We also encourage submission of abstracts on all areas of the programme for posters and poster pitch talk sessions as these are an excellent opportunity to present research findings, or to get feedback on ongoing projects.

This friendly meeting aims to be highly interactive to improve inter-disciplinary knowledge-dissemination between scientists and clinicians working in basic and therapeutic epigenetic research. There will be plenty of face-to-face networking opportunities with inclusive meals.  Optional on-site accommodation is available.

This conference will run back-to-back with Genomics Imprinting – from Biology to Disease 2025.

The conference will run from 12:50 GMT on Wednesday 12 March 2025 and will run until approximately 13:50 on Friday 14 March.

Discussions will focus on a variety of exciting topics, including:

• Epigenetics and common disease: establishing causality
• New frontiers in epigenomic technologies
• Epigenetic epidemiology
• Genetics, epigenetics and environment
• Epigenetics: from development to disease
• Epigenomic mechanisms in ageing

Scientific programme committee

Bas Heijmans
Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands

Charlotte Ling
Lund University, Sweden

Claudia Kleinman
McGill University, Canada

Jordana Bell
Kings College London, UK

Keynote speakers

Edith Heard
EMBL, Germany

Jonathan Mill
University of Exeter, UK

Xiaowei Zhuang
Harvard Univeristy, USA

Confirmed Speakers

Alexander Meissner
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Germany

Alexander van Oudenaarden
Hubrecht Institute, Netherlands

Angelo Lombardo
IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Italy

Brandon Pierce
University of Chicago, USA

 Carol Chen 
University of British Colombia, Canada

Daniel Belsky
Columbia University, USA

Efrat Shema
Weizmann Institute of Science

Janine Felix
Erasmus MC, Netherlands

Miina Ollikainen
University of Helsinki, Finland

Ryan Lister
Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Australia

Tuuli Lappalainen
New York Genome Center, USA | Scilifelab, Sweden

Wolf Reik
Altos Labs, UK

Organiser - Wellcome Connecting Science

Jane Murphy – Programme Developer
Laura Wyatt – Event Manager

Registration deadline:  11 February 2025 (In-person)| 4 March 2025 (Virtual) at 23.59 GMT

The in-person registration fee includes:

• Full access to scientific programme: oral and poster presentations, and networking on campus
• Access to the online conference portal to network with online participants
• Meals (lunch and dinner) and refreshments during the conference. Breakfast will be provided for delegates who have booked onsite accommodation.
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, which will be available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends

Virtual registration fee includes:

• Access to the virtual event portal (Log in details will be emailed a few days before the event starts)
• Live-stream sessions, including posters and online networking channels
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends.

* To promote more inclusive scientific discussions with international colleagues at our conferences, delegates based in Lower and Middle-Income Countries can register for free (see list of countries here).

Payments: Please note that payment can only be made with Mastercard or Visa credit cards.

If you are an editor or journalist, please contact the conference organiser for more information about the discounted fee.

Accommodation

Booked accommodation is for the nights of 12 and 13 March 2025.
Please note: there is limited onsite accommodation and this will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore, early registration is recommended. If you wish to book campus accommodation either side of the conference dates, please contact the Hinxton Hall Conference Centre directly.

Accommodation services phishing scam – please be vigilant. More information.

Travel visas

Citizens of many countries can travel to the UK for a course without needing a visa.
Please check the UK government website for visitor information
https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor. 

Confirmed attendees requiring a letter to support a visa application should contact the conference organiser.

Bursary deadline: 10 December 2024 at 23.59 GMT

Wellcome Connecting Science offers registration bursaries (usually up to 50% of the registration fee) to those who would benefit from attending the conference but face financial barriers to attending events.

To apply for funding support, please register and then select that you want to apply for a bursary. This will direct you to the online application form. Please be prepared to explain why you need support and how you will benefit from attending the conference. Once you have submitted the application form, you will be emailed an abstract portal link. Please use this to submit an abstract before bursary deadline. Applications without abstracts will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

Final edits can be made to the abstract up until the abstract deadline. 

Priority will be given to PhD students, applicants from lower and middle income countries, or those from underrepresented / minoritised groups. Other early career researchers will be considered if funds allow.

Visit our support page for information on financial support, including carer grants to help delegates with the costs of caring for children or dependent family members while attending a course or a conference.

Abstract deadline: 14 January 2025 at 23:59 GMT

We welcome abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the meeting for both oral and poster presentations. Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted.

To submit an abstract, you must first register for the conference. Once your registration is completed, you will be emailed a link to submit to the abstract submission portal. If you wish to edit your abstract following submission, please use the link in the abstract acknowledgement email.

All abstracts must be submitted and, if desired, edited by the deadline. The scientific programme committee will then assess your abstract and you will be notified about 2 weeks after the deadline whether you have been selected to present an oral or poster presentation.

If you require acknowledgement that your abstract has been accepted earlier than this, please contact the conference organiser.

Poster boards onsite will accommodate 118 cm high by 84 cm wide (A0-portrait) of printed material. Accepted abstracts will appear in the conference programme book; poster board numbers will be allocated at the conference. All those accepted for a poster presentation will be given the opportunity to upload a short video describing their work.

With thanks to our sponsors:

If you are interested in supporting this meeting, please contact us.

For more information about the benefits of having a presence at this meeting, see our sponsorship page.

Feedback from our last Epigenomics of Common Disease conference in 2023:

‘I have attended the meeting since 2019 and it seems that every year the program improves’.

‘I love epigenetics and everything associated to it so I already knew that this conference would meet my expectations. But, what really exceeded my expectations was the atmosphere of the whole conference. Everyone were so approachable and friendly, they were all ready and enthusiastic to talk about their research and give me feedback about mine. I just loved the whole experience’.

‘I think the poster pitch sessions were particularly useful to PhD students and early career researchers as it gave a little insight into their work which you could later discuss in the poster session or networking throughout the conference’.

‘The conference was very well run and packed with different activities and talks which really held my interest. The facilities were all beautiful and I really enjoyed my experience – I would love to come back next year’.

Everyone attending dinner at the same time felt communal and was a good opportunity to network informally’.