Post-GWAS Horizons in Molecular Epidemiology: Digging Deeper into the Environment : Program

Sunday, November 11

Educational Session 1: Digging Deeper: New Approaches to Assaying Biospecimens in Epidemiology

Session Chairperson: David G. Cox, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, INSERM U1052, Lyon, France
1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

New assays, old specimens: Multiplexing for plasma and urine
Patrick M. Sluss, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

New specimens: Buccal cells, nasal swabs, fecal samples
David G. Cox

New assays, old specimens: Telomere length and activity
Jennifer A. Doherty, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH

Break

3:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Educational Session 2: Computational Horizons in High-Dimensional Data

Session Chairperson: David V. Conti, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Searching for GxE interactions in genome-wide association studies
David V. Conti

Identification of tumor-associated cassette exons in human cancer through exon-array and RNA-Seq data analysis
Graziano Pesole, CNR-IBBE, University of Bari, Bari, Italy

Integrative approaches for understanding the functional relevance of cancer susceptibility loci
Brooke L. Fridley, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS

Free Time / Dinner on Own

5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Keynote Session: Two Sides of the Same Coin: Genes and Exposures

Session Co-Chairpersons: Cornelia M. Ulrich, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany, and Shelley S. Tworoger, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
7:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

The state of GWAS: What have we learned and where can we go?
Stephen J. Chanock, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

The phenome and pleiotropy: Dissecting the architecture of complex traits
Marylyn D. Ritchie, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

Characterizing the exposome
Martyn T. Smith, University of California, Berkeley, CA

Opening Reception

9:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

Monday, November 12

Continental Breakfast

7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m.

Session 1: Novel Post-GWAS Tools and Molecular Technologies

Session Chairperson: David J. Hunter, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

Association and function in the post-GWAS era
David J. Hunter

Towards epigenetic epidemiology of cancer
Jean-Pierre J. Issa, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

microRNAs: From cancer susceptibility, detection, to progression
Hua Zhao, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

LINE-1 %5-methyl cytosine levels in pre-diagnostic leukocyte DNA and future bladder cancer risk among PLCO and ATBC cohort subjects *
Gabriella Andreotti, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

Pathway-based gene-environment interactions in ovarian cancer *
Marieke GM Braem, Julius Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Break

10:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Session 2: Challenges in Post-GWAS Studies

Session Chairperson: Joellen M. Schildkraut, Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, NC
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Tumor heterogeneity: Making the most of diversity
Fergus J. Couch, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN

Deciphering the signals from the GWAS hits: From function to epidemiology and back again
Simon A. Gayther, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Extracting predictive networks from high-dimensional data
John Quackenbush, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA

Framework for post-GWAS functional annotation of regulatory regions associated with susceptibility loci for colorectal cancer *
Stephanie A. Rosse, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA

Prioritizing SNPs for gene-environment interaction studies *
Matty P. Weijenberg, Maastricht Molecular Epidemiology Expertise group (M2E2), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Free Time / Lunch on Own

1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Session 3: The Exposome: Using Technology to Define Exposures

Session Chairperson: Martyn T. Smith, University of California, Berkeley, CA
3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Technology to assess physical activity and sedentary behavior
Patty Freedson, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Chemicals in the environment: BPA and other worries
Gail S. Prins, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL

Adipose tissue as a rich information source
Kristin L. Campbell, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Differential gene expression in adipose tissue of colorectal cancer patients dependent on disease stage *
Dominique Scherer, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany

Genetically-determined differences in arsenic metabolism efficiency influence risk for pre-malignant skin lesions in Bangladesh: Mendelian Randomization and gene-environment interaction *
Brandon L. Pierce, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Poster Session / Reception

5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Evening Off / Dinner on Own

7:30 p.m.-

Tuesday, November 13

Continental Breakfast

7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m.

Session 4: It’s a Small World: Microbiome, Viruses, and Bacteria

Session Chairperson: Wei Zheng, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

Introduction
Wei Zheng

The microbiome and its association with human metabolism and adiposity
Meredith A. Hullar, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA

The bacterial world and the genome
Nina R. Salama, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA

Lifestyle and dietary factors and antibody levels to oral bacteria in healthy individuals*
Dominique S. Michaud, Brown University, Providence, RI

Beta-diversity metrics of the upper digestive tract microbiome are associated with body mass index*
Shih-Wen Lin, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

Human papillomavirus-16 DNA methylation in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas*
Lauren Cole, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA

Break

10:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Session 5: Resources for Molecular Epidemiology: Potential and Successes

Session Chairperson: James Cerhan, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Large-scale familial whole genome sequencing to evaluate genetic risk
Joseph G. Vockley, Inova Translational Medicine Institute, Falls Church, VA

The Post-GWAS Consortium (U19): Assessing the functional relevance of gene variation
Alvaro Monteiro, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL

The NCI cohort consortium: Increasing power, enhancing collaborations, advancing science
Deborah Winn, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

Identifying breast cancer metastasis susceptibility genes using mouse models
Kent W. Hunter, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

Free Time / Lunch on Own

1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Panel Discussion: Gene-Environment: Where Do We Go from Here?

Session Co-Chairpersons: Cornelia M. Ulrich, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany, and Wei Zheng, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Panelists:

• James Cerhan, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN
• Hannelore Daniel, University of Munich, Munich, Germany
• David J. Hunter, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
• Joellen M. Schildkraut, Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, NC
• Martyn T. Smith, University of California, Berkeley, CA

Free Time / Dinner on Own

5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Networking Reception and Dance

7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, November 14

Continental Breakfast

7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m.

Professional Advancement Session: Meet-the-Speaker Roundtables

8:30 a.m.-9:45 a.m.

• Conducting International Studies: Wei Zheng, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
• Functional Epidemiology: Simon A. Gayther, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
• Funding Through the NCI: Deborah Winn, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
• International Career Options: Cornelia M. Ulrich, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
• Mentoring Networks: Shelley S. Tworoger, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
• More About MEG: James R. Cerhan, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN
• Risk Prediction Modeling: Joellen M. Schildkraut, Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, NC
• Telomeres: Jennifer A. Doherty, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH

Break

9:45 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

Session 6: The ‘Omics of Exposure

Session Chairperson: Hannelore Daniel, University of Munich, Munich, Germany
10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

From the genome to the metabolome: The promises and limits of metabolomics
Hannelore Daniel, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Using metabolomics in epidemiologic studies: An example for pancreatic cancer
Brian M. Wolpin, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA

Biomarkers of diet predict disease risk
Bruce S. Kristal, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA

Closing Remarks / Departure

11:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m.