Tuesday, October 6, 2015
CELEBRATING SCIENCE Benefit Lecture and Dinner
Honoring James and Marilyn Simons
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Hall
1230 York Avenue at 66th Street
The Rockefeller University
Epigenetics Changes Everything
Revisiting the Nature vs. Nurture Debate
New York, NY 10065
It is widely assumed that a person’s genome,
composed of DNA, is the sole source of inherited
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C o c k tail R ece p ti o n
predispositions for health and disease. But the story
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Pr o gram
is much more complex than that. Epigenetic changes,
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D inner
which can redirect the activity of genes without
altering the DNA sequence itself, are prime regulators
of biological function. These changes have been
HoNoREES
associated with numerous health conditions, ranging
James and Marilyn Simons
from cancer to heart disease to autism.
SPEAKER
Rockefeller University scientist David Allis, recipient of a 2015 Breakthrough Prize in
C. David Allis, Ph.D.
the Life Sciences, is renowned for his groundbreaking research on epigenetic changes.
The Rockefeller University
At the Parents & Science CELEBRATING SCIENCE Benefit Lecture, Dr. Allis will
explain how epigenetics research has raised the possibility of new therapies designed
H o sts
to control disease by shutting down specific genes or allowing others to be expressed.
Alan Alda
Certain epigenetic modifications, for example, have been found to play an important
Marc Tessier-Lavigne
field of regenerative medicine.
The Rockefeller University
role in stem cell reprogramming and are already having an impact on the emerging
Recent research has also led to the surprising revelation that epigenetic changes can
occur in rapid response to shifting environmental and lifestyle factors, such as diet,
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exercise, or stress. Studies have shown that—contrary to all expectations—epigenetic
modifications can be passed from one generation to the next. The child of a cigarette
smoker, for example, could inherit epigenetic traces that reflect the parent’s level of
exposure to tobacco. Research conducted by Dr. Allis, a member of the National
Academy of Sciences, is revising our understanding of heredity and bringing fresh
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perspectives to the study of evolution. His contributions to the rapidly advancing
more information, please
field of epigenetics also have vital implications for medicine’s future.
contact Ainslie Durnin at
(212) 327-8698 or
[email protected]
The evening’s hosts will be Rockefeller University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne
and special guest Alan Alda. The lecture will be followed by a dinner
honoring James and Marilyn Simons for their philanthropic leadership in the fields
of biomedical research and math and science education.