Newswise — Bethesda, MD -- The Genetics Society of America’s (GSA’s) biennial meeting, “Model Organisms to Human Biology – Cancer Genetics,” June 17-20, 2012, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC, will bring together investigators who study cancer relevant biology in model organisms—such as fruit flies, yeast, fungi, mice and other organisms—with investigators studying human cancer. Each session includes two invited speakers -- one from the model organism research community and the other focusing on human cancer research.

The program also includes a mini-symposium on ModENCODE, with presentations by Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D., Director, National Human Genome Research Institute/National Institutes of Health (NIH); Robert Waterston, M.D., Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle; and Gary Karpen, Ph.D., Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In addition, there will also be a speaker from the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)/NIH.

I. MEDIA REPRESENTATION -- Representatives of the media are cordially invited to attend the scientific keynotes, plenary and poster sessions. Eligible media will receive complimentary registration (see III. MEDIA PARTICIPATION below). Media may register by contacting Phyllis Edelman, [email protected]

For hotel registration, please go to the meeting site at www.mohb.org.

II. SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM – For the complete program and Schedule of Events, see www.mohb.org/2012/pages/program.shtml .

Keynote Speakers: Sunday, June 17, 2012: Bert Vogelstein, M.D., Johns Hopkins University Monday, June 18, 2012: Angelika Amon, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (sponsored by NIGMS in celebration of their 50th anniversary)Tuesday, June 19, 2012: Eric S. Lander, Ph.D., Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Plenary Sessions:Invited Plenary Scientific Sessions will offer the opportunity to learn about the latest research in the fields listed below. In addition to the invited speakers listed below, each session will include four talks chosen from the submitted abstracts. All names listed are co-chairs and speakers.

• Session 1: Understanding Tumor Genomes: A View Into the Abysso Elaine Mardis, Ph.D., Washington Universityo Lynda Chin, M.D., MD Anderson Cancer Center

• Session 2: Cell Defects 1: Cell Proliferation and Cell Cycle Regulationo Stephen Elledge, Ph.D., Harvard Universityo Jacqueline Lees, Ph.D., MIT

• Session 3: Cell Defects 2: Genome Stability and DNA Repair o Michael Kastan, M.D., Ph.D., Duke Universityo Sue Biggins, Ph.D., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

• Session 4: The Tumor Epigenomeo Steve Baylin, M.D., Johns Hopkins Universityo Shiv Grewal, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health

• Session 5: Non-Coding RNA and Cancero Victor Ambros, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Medical Schoolo Phil Sharp, Ph.D., MIT

• Session 6: Signaling and Tumor Microenvironmento Tian Xu, Ph.D., Yale Universityo Zena Werb,Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco

• Session 7: Stem Cells and Cancero Allan Spradling, Ph.D., Carnegie Institution for Scienceo John Dick, Ph.D. Ontario Cancer Institute

• Session 8: Tumor Evolution and Mestastasiso Joan Massagué, Ph.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centero Denise Montell, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University

• Session 9: Therapeutics 1: Oncogene-Targeted Therapieso Charles Sawyers, M.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centero Scott Lowe, Ph.D., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

• Session 10: Therapeutics 2: Non-Oncogene Based Therapieso Alan Ashworth, Ph.D., FRS, The Institute of Cancer Research, Londono Mike Tyers, Ph.D., University of Montreal

III. MEDIA PARTICIPATION

A. Media Eligibility:

The Model Organisms to Human Biology – Cancer Genetics Meeting is open to media representatives who are bona fide representatives of print, broadcast, radio, and online venues and freelance writers on a verifiable assignment from an established news source. Freelancers must provide the GSA Communications and Public Relations Office a confirmation of assignment from their editor.

Complimentary meeting registration will be available to members of the media who provide appropriate press credentials and identification.• All scientific sessions at Model Organisms to Human Biology – Cancer Genetics Meeting are open to registered members of the media. o Registered journalists must wear/display their GSA press badge at all times while onsite at the meeting. o Exchanging, loaning or borrowing of the GSA press badge is strictly prohibited. • Camera crews filming in onsite meeting areas must make prior arrangements with the GSA Communications and Public Relations Office.o Photography and/or audio and/or video recording inside the scientific sessions is prohibited unless special permission has been granted by the GSA Communications and Public Relations Office. o Photography and/or audio and/or video recording inside the exhibit area is prohibited unless prior arrangements have been made through the GSA Communications and Public Relations Office.

• GSA reserves the right to bar from this and future meetings any journalist who deliberately promotes the viewpoint of one company or institution or who attempts to solicit manuscripts, advertising, or subscriptions from registrants or exhibitors.

Public information officers (PIOs) of any institutional affiliation of a presenter should contact the GSA Communications and Public Relations Office.

GSA does not issue media credentials to the following: any publication’s advertising, marketing, public relations or sales representatives; publishers, editors or reporters from exhibiting companies; “in-house” newsletters or promotional publications staff; public relations representatives of exhibitors; writers creating analyses or reports sold as a commodity to customers; financial analysts; medical education companies; or other individuals who are not actually reporting on the content of the Model Organisms to Human Biology – Cancer Genetics Meeting. NOTE: Bloggers or reporters who are plenary or poster presenters and have registered for the meeting as a participant should contact Phyllis Edelman at [email protected]

B. Media Contact Information: For all press registration and general media relations inquiries, or to request an interview with a particular speaker at the Model Organisms to Human Biology – Cancer Genetics Meeting, please contact:

Phyllis EdelmanManager, Communications and Public RelationsGenetics Society of AmericaE-Mail: [email protected]Tel: 301-634-7302

ABOUT THE MODEL ORGANISM TO HUMAN BIOLOGY MEETING: The GSA MOHB Meeting has been held every other year since 2006. The GSA Board developed this meeting to enable basic research scientists studying genetic diseases in model organisms and scientists studying these diseases in humans to have a forum for discussion of their findings and to forge collaborative investigations.

ABOUT GSA: Founded in 1931, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) is the professional membership organization for scientific researchers, educators, bioengineers, bioinformaticians and others interested in the field of genetics. Its nearly 5,000 members work to advance knowledge in the basic mechanisms of inheritance, from the molecular to the population level. The GSA is dedicated to promoting research in genetics and to facilitating communication among geneticists worldwide through its conferences, including the biennial conference on Model Organisms to Human Biology, an interdisciplinary meeting on current and cutting edge topics in genetics research, as well as annual and biennial meetings that focus on the genetics of particular organisms, including C. elegans, Drosophila, fungi, mice, yeast, and zebrafish. GSA publishes GENETICS, a leading journal in the field and a new online, open-access publication, G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics. For more information about GSA, please visit www.genetics-gsa.org. Also follow GSA on Facebook at facebook.com/GeneticsGSA and on Twitter @GeneticsGSA.