In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we caught up with Bing Ren, Ph.D., from the University of California, San Diego and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research to talk about his work on identifying functional elements of the genome and higher order genome structure.
Dr. Ren’s lab invented an approach using chromatin immunoprecipitation-based methods for the identification of transcription factor binding sites and chromatin modification status genome-wide. His group was a major part of the ENCODE Project and the demonstration of this being an effective method for genome-wide mapping of cis-elements, has made their approach very popular among colleagues from the field.
His lab recently discovered Topologically associating domains (TADs), which partition the human genome into a few thousand megabase-sized domains. Interactions occur predominantly within TADs but seldom between them and are surprisingly stable during development and are evolutionarily conserved. This organisatorial pattern helps explain how enhancers, who are often located kilobases away, influence their target genes.
In this interview, we discuss the road of Bing Ren's scientific career, his role in the ENCODE Project and Roadmap Epigenome Consortia, and the discovery of Topologically associating domains (TADs).
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Effects of DNA Methylation on Diabetes (Charlotte Ling)
Nutriepigenetics: The Effects of Diet on Behavior (Monica Dus)
Investigating the Dynamics of Epigenetic Plasticity in Cancer with Single Cell Technologies (Céline Vallot)
Epigenetic Regulation of Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Differentiation (Margaret “Peggy” Goodell)
Genome-Wide Investigation of Epigenetic Marks and Nucleosome Positioning (Keji Zhao)
The Role of lncRNAs in Tumor Growth and Treatment (Sarah Diermeier)
Unraveling Mechanisms of Chromosome Formation (Job Dekker)
Transcription and Polycomb in Inheritance and Disease (Danny Reinberg)
The Epigenetics of COVID-19
Epigenetic Reprogramming During Mammalian Development (Wolf Reik)
In vivo Nucleosome Structure and Dynamics (Srinivas Ramachandran)
Pioneer Transcription Factors and Their Influence on Chromatin Structure (Ken Zaret)
The Role of Small RNAs in Transgenerational Inheritance in C. elegans (Oded Rechavi)
Development of Site-Specific ChIP Technologies (Hodaka Fujii)
Regulation of Chromatin Organization by Histone Chaperones (Geneviève Almouzni)
How the "Fragile Nucleosome" Science Community Came to Life (Christine Cucinotta, Melvin Noe Gonzalez)
Epigenetic Influence on Memory Formation and Inheritance (Isabelle Mansuy)
Influence of Dynamic RNA Methylation on Gene Expression (Chuan He)
How to Publish in Nature: Lessons from the ENCODE Consortium (Michelle Trenkmann, Senior Editor at Nature)
The Role of Non-Histone Proteins in Chromosome Structure and Function During Mitosis (Bill Earnshaw)
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