How the Social Becomes the Biological: The Interaction between the Genome and the Environment

Abstract

Dr. Legato: The discussion is meant to address the interaction between the genome and the environment and is essentially a discussion of the role of epigenetics in modifying the phenotype. We think it is one of the most important issues in molecular biology, and resolves the artificial division between what is biological sex and what the role of the environment is in producing the final phenotype. So, with that introduction, I would like to introduce the moderator of this discussion, Gillian Einstein, the Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Chair in Women’s Brain Health and Aging. Gillian, I am going to also introduce and describe the areas of interest of Robert-Paul Juster, Bruce McEwen, and Dr. Barros. Dr. Juster’s research program focuses on chronic stress among diverse social groups. Over the last decade, he has developed expertise in measuring chronic stress, known as the allostatic load, which describes the physiological dysregulations related to chronic stress and unhealthy behaviors. Dr. Bruce McEwen is the Alfred Mirsky Professor and the Head of the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at the Rockefeller University. He has studied extensively the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the effects of stress and sex hormones on the adult and developing brain. His particular contribution for the purposes of this roundtable is his creation of a new understanding of how the brain changes in adult life and during development, with particular emphasis on understanding the impact of stress on the brain and sex differences in human brain function. Dr. Barros is an expert on the link between inflammation and cancer insights into the role of epigenetics in cell differentiation. She is in the Department of Periodontology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gillian, would you like to begin the discussion? Dr. Einstein: Yes. You might all say what is at the top of your list with respect to this topic. Bruce, do you want to go first?