Objective
Epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation are profoundly implicated in human health and disease. However, we are still far from a complete mechanistic understanding of many epigenetic processes. Without an understanding of mechanisms we cannot fully understand function in healthy cells, in disease states, and the effects and side effects of therapeutic interventions. This severely limits the development of healthcare strategies. Research in epigenetics has typically been based on experiments and not on theory. Although this has delivered large amounts of information, information alone is not sufficient. Further progress urgently needs a paradigm shift in the way in which we study epigenetics, namely: epigenetics needs mathematics. Mathematical models are essential to capture and understand the complex, dynamic and stochastic nature of epigenetic regulation. Models are immensely powerful because they identify unifying concepts and enable predictions of system properties. Modelling epigenetic processes not only holds the key to a deep mechanistic understanding, but also ultimately, to drug response predictions, patient-specific diagnoses and new therapies. One of the greatest challenges to uniting biology and mathematics is the barrier between disciplines, because education in each field has traditionally been mono-disciplinary. The PEP-NET ITN will overcome these barriers by uniting 16 outstanding European academic laboratories and companies who have pioneered the successful combination of theoretical and experimental epigenetics. PEP-NET will train a new cohort of 15 European researchers to combine quantitative experiments with predictive theoretical models, and to apply this knowledge to basic and applied questions of epigenetic function.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Call for proposal
H2020-MSCA-ITN-2018
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
MSCA-ITN-ETN - European Training NetworksCoordinator
10117 Berlin
Germany
Participants (10)
80539 Munchen
NR4 7UH Norwich
1165 Kobenhavn
4058 Basel
67404 Illkirch Graffenstaden
13125 Berlin
OX1 2JD Oxford
80138 Napoli
20132 Milano
4102 Seraing
Partners (5)
NR4 7TJ Norwich
OX2 8TA Oxford
OX4 2JZ Oxford
19104 Philadelphia
5005 Adelaide