International Conference on Drosophila Heterochromatin

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World-renowned scientists and young researchers from around the world meet every two years at Gubbio appointment with the "International Conference on Drosophila Heterochromatin" to exchange their experiences, the latest scientific discoveries and establish international collaborations that lead to useful continually results not only in basic biological research, but also useful for practical applications in the field of genetic diseases.

Heterochromatin is a major part of the genome of all organisms including man. The study of this genetic material has provided, and provides continuous, fundamental contributions to the understanding of epigenetic mechanisms that underlie the regulation of gene expression. It was discovered recently that changes in these mechanisms lead to the onset of various diseases in humans.

Therefore, this type of study is essential, not only to fully understand the control mechanisms of gene expression, but also to understand the molecular changes that lead to the onset of several genetic disorders. It 'important to stress that the understanding of these changes is a prerequisite to develop effective therapeutic strategies.

The next meeting is scheduled for the month of June 2011, 12 -18 and will be held for the fourth time in the beautiful medieval town of Gubbio, in Umbria.

The papers presented at the conference, as in the past, are conveyed and advertised in several prestigious international journals, eg. the German magazine "chromosome," the American "Genetics" and "Fly" and Dutch "Genetics."

The 'scientific organization of the event is paid by the Department of Molecular Genetics, University La Sapienza of Rome, which makes use of the aid of Gubbio Services Ltd (ex-Centro Servizi S. Spirito organization) for logistics and hospitality.

Note that belonged to the group of scientists who usually participate in the conference also Elisabeth Blackburn, Nobel prize for medicine in 2009. The 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to Carol Greider and Elizabeth Blackburn and Jack Szostak, three scientists who have solved one of the major mysteries of biology that is, as the chromosomes can be copied in full during cell division and how they are protected from degradation .

The Department of Molecular Genetics, University La Sapienza of Rome, as always, I wish to thank for their active collaboration, the city of Gubbio which has for many years to research and researchers should have the right location for the study and comparison of the various scientific discoveries.

The meeting will take place to the Santo Spirito Congress Centre in Gubbio.
It will be similar in format and size to the previous ones with 50-60 speakers and no more than 140 participants.
The meeting will give the opportunity to discuss the latest advances in Heterochromatin Biology and the Epigenetic Mechanisms of gene regulation.

Major topics:

Position effect variegation and chromatin structure
RNAi and heterochromatin
Chromatin structure and gene expression
Heterochromatic genes
Centromeres
Telomeres
Heterochromatin and chromosome pairing
Euchromatin/heterochromatin interaction system
Highly and middle repetitive DNA and heterochromatin
Heterochromatic genome sequencing.

For reservations, please contact:
Gubbio Servizi Srl
tel 0039 075 922 2027
or info@inumbria.net

Sergio Pimpinelli

Professor of Genetics
Sezione di Genetica, Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "Charles Darwin"
Università di Roma "La Sapienza" - Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5 - 00185 Roma, Italy
Tel.0039-06-49912876 - Fax. 0039-06-4456866
Sergio.Pimpinelli@uniroma1.it

Conference Program Photogallery Conference