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A consortium of 25 leadingEuropean scientists in epigeneticresearch last month signed acontract with the EuropeanCommission to establish theEpigenome Network ofExcellence. The network kickedoff with a meeting at Brno, CzechRepublic, the town made famousby the abbot and geneticistGregor Mendel. This initiative hasbeen coordinated by ThomasJenuwein at the Institute ofMolecular Pathology in Vienna,together with colleagues in Paris.The project will receive 12.5million euros from the EU’s SixthFramework programme over thenext five years.

Epigenetic research questionsthe traditional view that the DNA

sequence is the exclusive sourceof heritable information.Epigenetic changes areindependent of the genetic code,but nevertheless can be passedon to offspring. “There may evenbe an epigenetic code that candetermine patterns of geneexpression over many cellgenerations,” says Jenuwein.

The new network will create avirtual institute with three centralactivities: a joint researchprogramme to advance insightsinto epigenetic mechanisms; aninitiative to integrate 22 ofEurope’s most promising newlyestablished teams (NET) inepigenetic research and theestablishment of an interactivewebsite that will allow transfer of

up-to-date knowledge in the fieldof epigenetics to the scientificcommunity and the generalpublic.

The support of newlyestablished teams forms a keypart of the new network. Morethan 25 per cent of the projectfunds will go towards support forthese groups over three years.Young scientists frequently faceproblems securing funds incompetition with moreestablished teams, saysJenuwein. “With the NETprogramme we reversed thissystem, established teams willmake funds available for the mostoutstanding young colleagues inEurope,” he says.

For decades DNA wasconsidered the exclusive sourceof inherited information, butrecent advances in epigeneticresearch have changed the way

News focus

Network plan for genome progress

The launch of a new research network in Europe bolsters thecontinent’s commitment to epigenetic research which kicked off lastyear. Nigel Williams reports.

DNA plus: Researchers are studying mechanisms of epigenetics that may be important in controlling a cell’s fate. Shown here arehuman pancreatic cells. (Picture: Science Photo Library.)

scientists think about heredity.Epigenetic mechanisms provide amemory for cells to remembertheir gene expression pattern andtherefore their identity. When thiscellular memory fails it can lead toperturbed development ordisease. The implications ofepigenetic research for humanbiology and health, includingstem cells, cancer and ageing,are far reaching and may be ofmajor importance in the post-genomic era.

The new network bolsters theHuman Epigenome Project whichwon financial backing late lastyear. The project is apublic/private collaboration thataims to identify and cataloguemethylation variable positions(MVPs) in the human genome. As aprelude, researchers in theconsortium recently completed apilot study of the methylationpatterns within the majorhistocompatibility complex (MHC)— a region of chromosome sixassociated with more diseasesthan any other region in the humangenome — funded by the EU.

They have identified MVPs inthe vicinity of the promoter andother relevant regions ofapproximately 150 loci within theMHC in tissues from a range ofindividuals. This will provide aninsight into the complexrelationship between geneticsand epigenetics that underliesboth normal and cellularhomeostasis and disease states,in particular autoimmunediseases. For the pilot project theteam developed an integratedgenomics-based technologyplatform.

The key company involved isEpigenomics, a transatlanticbiotechnology company withheadquarters in Berlin.

Amanda Fisher at the BritishMedical Research Council’sClinical Sciences Centre inLondon and Wendy Bickmore atthe Human Genetics Unit inEdinburgh are leading the publicscience activities associated withthe epigenetics project. “Thisexciting collaboration will help usunderstand how, despite havingthe same DNA, cells receive theirdifferent instructions to fulfil theirown unique jobs,” says Fisher.

London, trying to reinvent itself tocome up with a winning bid forthe 2012 Olympic Games, is alsorethinking its role in highereducation and research and thepossibility of greatercollaboration to strengthen thecity’s standing. One recentstatistic stands out: Londonattracts more than 65,000international students each year— more than any other city.

Historically, London’suniversities have been so busycompeting with one another thatthey do not give a secondthought to the possibility ofcollaborations. That’s theconventional wisdom. But anumber of new initiativesdemonstrate a growing collectivespirit in the British capital’spowerful higher education sector.

Universities and colleges inLondon employ more than 58,000academic and non-academic staff— about 20 per cent of thecountry’s total. The 42universities and colleges winmore than £600 million inresearch funding each year — aquarter of the national total. Andmore than half of theseinstitutions are involved inbiomedical research.

The capital’s institutions rangefrom specialists, such as the TrinityCollege of Music and WimbledonSchool of Art, to the world-classmultidisciplinary institutions suchas Imperial College London andUniversity College London. Thereis fierce competition for the beststudents, academics and researchgrants, and many see their rivals asthe best institutions in Europe andthe US, not just Oxford andCambridge.

Among those backingpartnership is Adrian Smith,

principal of Queen Mary,University of London, who ischairman of London Higher, theumbrella group that promoteshigher education in the capital.The group now includes all 42eligible universities and collegesand is the largest regional highereducation association in the UK.Smith argues that universities inthe capital face commonproblems that can be tackled byworking together.

International studentrecruitment is one example —London Higher’s research hasfound that very few potentialstudents know any Britishuniversities other than Oxford andCambridge. Smith said thatcollectively promoting London asa destination was more rewardingthan individual institutions tryingto sign up students themselves.“In some sense, London has beenbackward in parading its waresand making the positive casethat’s there. Part of what LondonHigher is about is getting the datatogether,” he says.

The StudyLondon campaignand website is an example of thebenefits of collaboration. Thewebsite is a virtual shop windowfor higher education in London,offering potential studentseverything from visa applicationforms to guides to the best pubsand clubs.

In addition, institutions have setup a number of partnerships thathave benefits for students andacademics. They include the jointfacility of health and social caresciences created by KingstonUniversity and St George’sHospital Medical School. Thenthere is the strategic alliance inthe health sciences betweenQueen Mary and City University.Smith says there was a “stackedup queue” of initiatives waiting tobe implemented.

The London DevelopmentAgency, set up four years ago asthe last of the nine regional bodiescharged with driving economicgrowth and competitiveness, isresponsible for nurturing some ofthe projects.

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New studies recommend thatgreater collaboration betweenthe city’s higher educationinstitutions could help it achievethe status of one of the globallearning capitals. Biomedicineand science history should winout too. Nigel Williams reports.

London’s global bid