Genomic Imprinting – from Biology to Disease

Technical advances in various ‘omics’ techniques are rapidly progressing the field of genomic imprinting, and these developments are increasingly being applied to clinical medicine.

Our second conference on ‘Genomic Imprinting – from Biology to Disease’ will highlight advances in imprinting research.  Imprinting gene function and physiology, epigenetic mechanisms, and the life cycle of imprinting will be discussed.  We will explore disordered imprinting in human disease, potential therapies, and how research can best be translated into clinical benefit.

This multidisciplinary meeting will bring together basic research scientists, healthcare professionals and others from different disciplines. The conference will provide opportunities to share expertise in genomic imprinting and imprinting disorders, as well as the chance of forging cross-disciplinary collaborations.

The programme will include invited talks, oral presentations selected from abstracts, posters, poster pitches, panel discussion, presentation of clinical cases and networking opportunities. The conference will be a hybrid meeting – with onsite or virtual attendance.

The conference will start at approximately 12:00 on Wednesday 22 March 2023 and close at approximately 14.30 on Friday 24 March 2023.

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

• Imprinting gene function and physiology
• Life cycle of imprinting
• Epigenetics mechanisms and therapeutics of imprinting disorders
• Disordered imprinting and human disease
• Imprinting and beyond
• Translating research into clinical benefit (panel discussion)
• Clinical imprinting disorder cases

Scientific programme committee

Marisa Bartolomei
University of Pennsylvania, USA

Eamonn Maher
University of Cambridge, UK

David Monk
University of East Anglia, UK

Irene Netchine
Sorbonne University, France

Keynote speakers

Anne Ferguson-Smith
University of Cambridge, UK

Azim Surani
Gurdon Institute Cambridge, UK

Confirmed speakers

Marnie Blewitt – The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Australia
Frédéric Brioude – Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, France
Thomas Eggermann – University Hospital Aachen, Germany
Janine LaSalle – University of California Davis, USA
Martin Leeb – University of Vienna, Austria
Louis Lefebvre – University of British Columbia, Canada
Jorge Lopez-Tello – University of Cambridge, UK
Deborah Mackay – University of Southampton, UK
Rebecca Oakey – King’s College  London, UK
Andrea Riccio – University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Italy
Karen Temple – University of Southampton, UK
Mark Zylka – University of North Carolina, USA

Organisers – Wellcome Connecting Science

Registration deadline: 21 February 2023 (In-person) | 14 March 2023 (Virtual)

Deadlines close 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 22 and 23 March 2023.
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.

Bursaries

Bursary deadline: 24 January 2023

Registration bursaries are available to attend this conference in person. A limited number of full registration bursaries, dedicated to Bruce Cattanach, will be awarded to selected early-career researchers.  Wellcome Connecting Science is also offering a number of bursaries of up to 50% of the registration fee.  Priority for the latter will be given to PhD students submitting abstracts who are facing financial barriers.

To apply, please use the dedicated bursary application link on the registration site.

Please answer the bursary-related questions and submit an abstract before midnight UK time on the bursary deadline for your application to be considered.

Additional funding opportunities
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: 24 January 2023

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. Those giving oral presentations are expected to be onsite, whereas those presenting posters can do so in person or virtually.

Abstracts will only be considered from registered delegates. Please use our online abstract submission system and follow the instructions given to ensure your abstract is submitted correctly. All abstracts must be submitted by the deadline. If you are intending to submit more than one abstract, please contact the conference organiser prior to registration. You can make changes to your submitted abstract before the deadline by login into your account  and following the instructions.

If you have already completed your registration and subsequently wish to submit an abstract, or wish to submit a second abstract, please follow these instructions.

The scientific programme committee will assess your abstract after the deadline has passed and you will be notified whether you have been selected to present an oral or poster presentation.

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.

Delegate feedback from our last ‘Genomic Imprinting – from Biology to Disease’ conference 

‘Best scientists of the field’

‘The talks were a great way of showing the ongoing research. As I’m focusing on a particular disorder in my studies, this conference was a brilliant way of seeing research done on other disorders and syndromes’

‘The opportunity to watch the hard parts again’