Epigenetics lab receives NIH Bipolar grant
The Krembil Epigenetics Laboratory (Head: Prof. Arturas Petronis) received a $4.2
million National Institute of Mental Health grant for a project that studies the DNA
methylome in bipolar disorder. The project is led by Dr. Axel Schumacher and will identify major
etiological epi-mutations in bipolar disorder. The project uses cutting-edge microarray technology and next generation sequencing technologies that allows to perform millions of measurements in one single experiment. This research may lead to a better understanding of the changes in the
regulation of genes and genomes that occur in bipolar disorder. In this context, epigenetics provides a new theoretical framework that addresses the vast complexities, irregularities, and controversies detected in the disease.
31. Nov 2009:
Dr. Schumacher accepts position at Centre for Addiction & Mental Health/Toronto
Dr. Schumacher accepted a project-leader position at the Neuroscience Department of CAMH/University of Toronto.
He will lead several research efforts, including project on epigenetics of Bipolar disorder, mammalian 5'-hydroxyl-methylation (5-hmC) and single cell epigenetics (e.g. single-cell Methylome, WGA).
31. August 2009:
Important notice !
Although our lab was very successful in recent times, we regret to inform you about some disturbing developments.
Due to the recessions combined with mismanagement,our epigenetics group at the Klinikum rechts der Isar was - without warning - closed down practically instantaneously.
This development came unexpected and, of course, was shocking for all people of our group and collaborators, especially because we were doing very well.
This means that all employees, including the group-leader are left without contract. This also implicates that all ongoing projects and grants are terminated or postponed until the group relocates to a new institute.
18. August 2009:
There is an interesting discussion about Alzheimer and epigenetics going on at the Alzheimer research Forum with a long interview with Dr. Schumacher on their site. Maybe check it out.
03. March 2009:
Today, a new Master student, Judith Krinner, joint our team. Judith will work on epigenetic factors involved in aging, chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Welcome!
01. March 2009:
Today, a new undergrad student, Patrick Winterhalter, joint our team. Patrick will work on epigenetic technologies and epigenetic mechanisms involved in aging and chronic pancreatitis. Welcome!
05. February 2009:
A new article about our work was published in the German TUM Campus magazine (Edition 1-2009 p30-31).
(The article is in German ).
A PDF copy of this article can be found here:
17. November 2008:
We are pleased to announce that our paper on epigenetic drift in late-onset Alzheimer's disease has been selected by the "Faculty of 1000 Medicine" as a landmark "MUST READ" paper.
The Faculty of 1000 Medicine, a web service where leaders in clinical practice and research select the most influential articles, selected our paper for the first detailed investigation into the role of epigenetics among late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Only a very few articles selected by F1000 make it into their list of recommended papers, of whom only a small subset (less than 10%) get selected as landmark 'Must Read' publication.
A F1000 review on our study can be found here (requires a trial account):
You can access the original publication HERE.
02. September 2008:
We are pleased to announce that our paper on epigenetic drift in late-onset Alzheimer's disease has been selected by the Alzheimer research Forum as an "ARF Recommends" paper.
A transcript of that news story can be downloaded here as PDF (149K):
01. September 2008:
Today, a new Diploma student, Emre Anbarci, joint our team. Emre will work on epigenetic factors involved in chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Welcome!
24. July 2008:
We were pleased to find out that we got a lot of feedback on our Alzheimer study, which was featured in several newspapers and online news around the world.
For example, have a look at the very well made news coverage that can be found at the Alzheimer research Forum
A transcript of that news story can be downloaded here as PDF (149K):
16. July 2008:
Today our study on epigenetic drift in late-onset Alzheimer's disease was published on the PLoS ONE webpage.
You can access the paperHERE.
The complex, non-Mendelian disease etiology of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) suggests that an epigenetic component could be involved. Using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in post-mortem brain samples and lymphocytes, we have performed an analysis of DNA methylation across potential Alzheimer's susceptibility loci. In the LOAD brain samples we identified a notably age-specific epigenetic drift, supporting a potential role of epigenetic effects in the development of the disease. Additionally, we found that some genes that participate in amyloid-beta processing (PSEN1, APOE) and methylation homeostasis (MTHFR, DNMT1) show a significant interindividual epigenetic variability, which may contribute to LOAD predisposition.
Why we chose to publish in PLoS ONE?:
Although this study would justify publication in a high impact factor journal, we think that publishing it in PLoS ONE under open acess is the better choice. Open access means that our work will always be freely available to the world from our Web site, PLoS ONE and from PubMed Central.
Also, PLoS strives to set the highest standards for excellence in content, style, and aesthetics of presentation; in editorial performance at every level; in transparency and accessibility to the scientific community and public; and in educational value. PLoS is committed to a fair, rigorous editorial process. Scientific quality and importance are the sole considerations in publication decisions.
9. July 2008:
We have a new position (Master/Diploma-student or PhD-student) open. If interested, have a look at our carreers page (Link on the bottom of this page).
27. March 2008:
Read about our latest study on epigenetics of major psychosis that we conducted together with our collaborators Art Petronis/Toronto and Jon Mill/London which was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. This is the first epigenome-wide investigation in psychiatric research, and our data may be a significant step on the journey to fully understanding major psychosis. Our study provides evidence of total or partial silencing of genes responsible for communication with the brain, brain development and other processes linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
This report was covered in several news stories around the world. Here you can have a look at some of them (PDF-Files):
22. January 2008:
We have a new member in our group. Dipl. Biol. Nicole Rösing joined us to help in our research on the cancer epigenome. Nicole worked previously on the dynamics of Dnmt1 interaction with the replication machinery and its role in postreplicative maintenance of DNA methylation. 4. September 2007:
The Epigenetics group moved. Dr. Axel Schumacher took the offer from the Department of Medicine II, to join the cancer unit of the institute. The new group will be located in the main building, 3rd floor of the Klinikum rechts der Isar. Next to the old topics, our group will also study the stability of epigenetic patterns in cancer and environmental effects on the human epigenome.
13. December 2006:
Dr. Axel Schumacher and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health announce licensing of their patent to Epigenomics. Read more
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