The winter of 2009 has seen how the research developed at the PEBC has been recognized by the prestigious journals “Proc Natl Acad Sci USA”, “Genome Research”, “Cancer Research”, “Cell Stem Cell” and “Oncogene”. Para más información: -Epigenetic inactivation of the Sotos overgrowth syndrome gene histone methyltransferase NSD1 in human neuroblastoma and glioma.Berdasco M, Ropero S, Setien F, Fraga MF, Lapunzina P, Losson R, Alaminos M, Cheung NK, Rahman N, Esteller M. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Dec 22;106(51):21830-5. -Changes in the pattern of DNA methylation associate with twin discordance in systemic lupus erythematosus. Javierre BM, Fernandez AF, Richter J, Al-Shahrour F, Martin-Subero JI, Rodriguez-Ubreva J, Berdasco M, Fraga MF, O Hanlon TP, Rider LG, Jacinto FV, Lopez-Longo FJ, Dopazo J, Forn M, Peinado MA, Carreño L, Sawalha AH, Harley JB, Siebert R, Esteller M, Miller FW, Ballestar E. Genome Res. 2010 Feb;20(2):170-9. -Epigenetic inactivation of the circadian clock gene BMAL1 in hematologic malignancies. Taniguchi H, Fernández AF, Setién F, Ropero S, Ballestar E, Villanueva A, Yamamoto H, Imai K, Shinomura Y, Esteller M. Cancer Res. 2009 Nov 1;69(21):8447-54. -A robust and highly efficient immune cell reprogramming system. Bussmann LH, Schubert A, Vu Manh TP, De Andres L, Desbordes SC, Parra M, Zimmermann T, Rapino F, Rodriguez-Ubreva J, Ballestar E, Graf T. Cell Stem Cell. 2009 Nov 6;5(5):554-66. -Impaired recruitment of the histone methyltransferase DOT1L contributes to the incomplete reactivation of tumor suppressor genes upon DNA demethylation. Jacinto FV, Ballestar E, Esteller M. Oncogene. 2009 Nov 26;28(47):4212-24.

Sir Tim Hunt, Nobel Awardee in Medicine 2001 for his work with cyclins and kinases visited the PEBC during the “IDIBELL Cancer Conference (ICC) on Cell Cycle” chaired by Ethel Queralt (PEBC Group Leader) and Frank Uhlman (University of London). The Nobel “bonanza” started with the interest of Dr James Watson (Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine 1962 for the discovery of the double helix of DNA) in the PEBC activities during his stay in Barcelona before the summer and it was followed by the session chaired by Dr. Manel Esteller with the Nobel Prize winners Dr. Erwin Neher (Nobel in Medicine 1991 for his research in ion channels) and Dr. Avram Hersko and Dr. Aaron Ciechanover (both Nobel awardees in Chemistry 2004 for the discovery of ubiquitin) at the Campus of Excellence on November 30.

Manel Esteller, M.D., Ph.D., PEBC Director, has been bestowed with the Dr. Josef Steiner Cancer Research Award 2009 during a ceremony in Bern, Switzerland, for his work in the epigenetic changes involved in metastasis. Montse Sanchez-Cespedes, Ph.D., Leader of the Genes and Cancer Group at PEBC, has been endowed by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) to chair an international worshop on tumor suppressor genes. Laia Simó, Ph.D. student at the Cancer Epigenetics Group, has been awarded with the Extraordinary Graduate Prize from the School of Pharmacy in the University of Barcelona.

The summer of 2009 has seen how the research developed at the PEBC has been recognized by the prestigious journals “Genes & Development”, “Oncogene”, “Human Molecular Genetics”, “Human Mutation” and “Lancet Neurology”. For further information: -Calorie restriction and the exercise of chromatin.Vaquero A, Reinberg D. Genes Dev. 2009 Aug 15;23(16):1849-69. -Impaired recruitment of the histone methyltransferase DOT1L contributes to the incomplete reactivation of tumor suppressor genes upon DNA demethylation. Jacinto FV, Ballestar E, Esteller M. Oncogene. 2009 Sep 7. -Reciprocal imprinting of human GRB10 in placental trophoblast and brain: evolutionary conservation of reversed allelic expression. Monk D, Arnaud P, Frost J, Hills FA, Stanier P, Feil R, Moore GE. Hum Mol Genet. 2009 Aug 15;18(16):3066-74. -A gene-alteration profile of human lung cancer cell lines. Blanco R, Iwakawa R, Tang M, Kohno T, Angulo B, Pio R, Montuenga LM, Minna JD, Yokota J, Sanchez-Cespedes M. Hum Mutat. 2009 Aug;30(8):1199-206. -Epigenetic mechanisms in neurological diseases: genes, syndromes and therapies. Urdinguio RG, Sanchez-Mut JV, Esteller M. Lancet Neurology, Vol 8, 2009.

Dr. Manel Esteller, PEBC Director, has received the Premio de Investigación Biomédica Preclínica de la Fundación Lilly from Cristina Garmendia, Head of the Science and Innovation Department of the Spanish Government during a ceremony at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) in Madrid. Dr Esteller has also been bestowed with the Premi Gaudi Gresol to Social Excellence, together with other awardees such as the Duc de Palma Iñaki Urdangarin or the arquitect Joan Bassegoda, in the city of Reus, hometown of the genious Gaudi. Esteller’s research, together with his collaborator Dr Santiago Ropero from the Universidad de Alcala de Henares, has also been recognized with the Premi d’Investigació de la Fundacio Dr. Antoni Esteve. Finally, la Real Academia de Medicina de Catalunya, an institution with more than two hundred years of history, has elected Manel Esteller as an academic.