Genetics and Epigenetics Centre (GEC)

Epigenetic studies in the CLSA are timely and the CLSA will be the first study world-wide to measure the evolution of epigenetic markers in a large cohort of subjects for whom health-related, social and environmental measures will be obtained. Although it is a relatively new area of medical research that has heretofore been primarily focused on cancer, the tremendous impact of epigenetics on human health and disease is becoming widely appreciated.

While Epigenetics is a major focus of European Consortia (http://www.epigenome-noe.net/index.php) and has been included in the NIH Roadmap (http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/epigenomics/) no concerted effort has yet been undertaken in Canada to create an Epigenomics focus, despite the tremendous strength of individual researchers across the country. The CLSA provides the means to develop this focus. The data collected in the CLSA will create a unique Canadian approach to understand human population epigenomics.

The CLSA Genetics and Epigenetics Centre (GEC) led by Drs. Hayden, Kobor, and Cynader will be located in Vancouver at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics at the Children’s and Women’s hospital site and closely affiliated with the Brain Research Centre, taking advantage of the unique strengths embedded in the two sites. The GEC will enable hypothesis generation through the use of unbiased microarray-based approaches to measure the epigenome in subsets of CLSA subjects over time. Candidate genes hypothesized to be particularly sensitive for epigenetic alterations during aging will be derived from the genome-wide approaches, and quantitatively measured in all subjects enrolled in the CLSA.

Site Type

Genetics and Epigenetics Centre (GEC)

Site Principal Investigators

Dr. Michael Kobor, Dr. Michael Hayden

Site Contact

Dr. Michael Kobor

Contact Details

Email: msk@cmmt.ubc.ca

Phone: 604.875.3803