The Cancer Epigenetics Society is happy to announce the appointment of Dr. Stephan Beck to the Editorial Board of Cancer Epigenetics.
Dr. Stephan Beck is Professor of Medical Genomics at University College London Cancer Institute (London, UK), and is one of the pioneers and a leader of the field of epigenomics.
Dr. Beck headed the human genome sequencing project at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, co-founded the Human Epigenome Project, and co-authored the paper reporting the initial human genome sequence cited more than 20,000 times.
Dr. Beck is also leading the British Personal Genome Project (PGP-UK), currently one of only five worldwide initiatives. PGP-UK aims at recruiting 100,000 people for the first open-access database combining genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, environmental, social, and medical data, thus allowing for the first-time researchers around the globe to link genetic and epigenetic variants to specific conditions in highly-powered genome-wide (GWAS) and epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS).
Additional high-impact epigenetics projects championed by Dr. Beck include the development of eFORGE, a bioinformatic tool for the analysis of EWAS, EpiMatch to predict hematopoietic stem cell transplantation donor-recipient compatibility based on epigenetic biomarkers, and the use of Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) DNA methylomes to assess iPSC reprogrammability.
Dr. Beck is also leading several cancer epigenetics initiatives, including single base resolution bisulfite sequencing of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for cancer diagnostics and prognosis from liquid biopsies. He is also running a large epigenetics program in urological cancers, and developing blood test-based diagnostics for colorectal cancers. He is also a member of Oncotrak, a consortium that advances personalized medicine through the integration of large-scale genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic data.
Dr. Beck is a leading figure in several national and international cancer or epigenetics networks. These include EpiTrain, a training and career development epigenetics research network for junior scientists, Epigenesys, the European network of excellence for epigenetics and systems biology, Blueprint, a European component of the International Human Epigenome Consortium, and IDEAL, a consortium focused on the analysis of epigenetic bases of aging and longevity.
Dr. Beck is also a member of faculty of 1000 (f1000), and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
The Cancer Epigenetics Society is excited to have Dr. Stephan Beck on board, and looks forward to his leadership to publishing the latest cancer epigenomics breakthroughs (Cancer Epigenetics Society news, September 6, 2017).
