Meeting report: 31st International Mammalian Genome Conference, Mammalian Genetics and Genomics: From Molecular Mechanisms to Translational Applications

Abstract

High on the Heidelberg hills, inside the Advanced Training Centre of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) campus with its unique double-helix staircase, scientists gathered for the EMBL conference "Mammalian Genetics and Genomics: From Molecular Mechanisms to Translational Applications," organized in cooperation with the International Mammalian Genome Society (IMGS) and the Mouse Molecular Genetics (MMG) group. The conference attracted 205 participants from 30 countries, representing 6 of the 7 continents-all except Antarctica. It was a richly diverse group of geneticists, clinicians, and bioinformaticians, with presentations by established and junior investigators, including many trainees. From the 24th-27th of October 2017, they shared exciting advances in mammalian genetics and genomics research, from the introduction of cutting-edge technologies to descriptions of translational studies involving highly relevant models of human disease.

Fig. 1

A timeline of microinjection projects performed at the University of Michigan Transgenic Animal Model Core Facility. The graph shows how technological advances such as homologous recombination in mouse ESC (late 1980’s) and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing (2013) have influenced production involving different transgenic procedures. This figure was kindly provided by Thomas Saunders.