Epigenetic Mechanisms in Health and Disease

Rob Martienssen Ph.D.

Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Rob Martienssen is a Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Dr. Martienssen obtained his PhD at the Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge University. He received postdoctoral training at the University of California, Berkeley, and joined the faculty at Cold Spring Harbor in 1989. Research in Dr. Martienssen's laboratory focuses on epigenetic mechanisms that shape and regulate the genome, and their impact on development and inheritance. His work on transposable elements in plants and repetitive sequences in fission yeast revealed a link between heterochromatin and RNA interference. He received the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Award in 2003, and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2006.

Talk Title: "Reprogramming heterochromatin with RNA interference"