JULY 2021 | ISSUE 85 GENETICS SOCIETY NEWS In this issue The Genetics Society News is edited by • Presidential handover Margherita Colucci and items for future • Genetics Society Summer Studentship - Share your story, Part 1 issues can be sent to the editor by email • A chat with Dr Stuart Ritchie - Exploring “Science fictions” to [email protected]. • Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer The Newsletter is published twice a year, Products and the Environment (COM) with copy dates of July and January. • How genetic linkage was discovered Genetics Society Summer Studentship - Share your stories, Part 1. Read the interviews on page 27 A WORD FROM THE EDITOR A word from the editor Welcome to Issue 85 elcome to the latest issue of the world that cry for change: with WGenetics Society Newsletter! Dr Stuart Ritchie, we explore In this issue, “change” is the keyword. misconduct and fraud in science and the solutions that “open science” Through a series of interviews, we proposes, talking about his latest explored the changes from their book “Science fictions: how fraud, undergraduate role and the career bias, negligence and hype undermine evolution of the past years Summer the search for truth”. Studentship grant winners. Where are they now? What impact that research I would like to draw your attention experience had on them? Find out to the opportunity of contributing more in “Genetics Society Summer to the special issue of Heredity. In Studentship - Share your story, July 2022, this special issue will be Part 1”, page 23. celebrating Mendel’s 200th birthday with short essays, reviews and Big changes happened in the Society research articles on “exceptions” too. While we say goodbye to our to Mendel’s laws. We would like to previous president, Laurence Hurst, invite you to submit your piece (more and thank him for all his great work information on page 20). and dedication to the society, we have welcomed our new President, Anne Looking forward to this special issue, Ferguson-Smith. Anne is the Pro- we propose “How genetic linkage Vice-Chancellor for Research and the was discovered” by Antonio Marco Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics (page 39): focusing on Mendel’s laws at the University of Cambridge. She is of heredity, this is an overview of the an expert on genomic imprinting and discovery of genetic linkage in which focuses on mammalian developmental William Bateson, the founder of The geneticist and epigeneticist. Please, go Genetics Society, was also involved. to page 22 to know more about her Enjoy! and what she hopes to achieve over the Best wishes, next 3 years. Margherita Colucci Finally, there are aspects in research and, more generally, in the scientific 2 . GENETICS SOCIETY NEWS . ISSUE 85 ISSUE 85 . July 2021 For more details please contact: The Genetics Society 1 Naoroji Street London WC1X 0GB CONTENTS Switchboard: +44 0203 793 7850 Email: [email protected] Web: www.genetics.org.uk The Genetics Society Journals Meeting Announcements 4 Heredity Genetics Society Scientific Meetings www.nature.com/hd External Meetings Diary Editor-in-Chief: Prof Barbara Mable Heredity Editorial Office, University of Glasgow, Sectional Interest Groups 8 Graham Kerr Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland Genes and Development Genetics Society Business 13 www.genesdev.org Honorary Secretary’s Notices Editor: Dr Terri Grodzicker Life Membership Genes & Development, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Lecture and Medal nominations 500 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, New York, 11797, USA Local Representatives Committee members Features 22 President Prof Anne Ferguson-Smith, University of Cambridge Presidential handover A chat with Dr Stuart Ritchie - Exploring “Science fictions: Vice-Presidents how fraud, bias, negligence and hype undermine the Corporate Affairs search for truth” Prof Aziz Aboobaker, University of Oxford Genetics Society Summer Studentship - Share your story External Relations Prof Anne Donaldson, University of Aberdeen Industrious Science: A day in the work-life of a Chief Public Understanding of Genetics Executive Officer, Jackeline Palma Prof Alison Woollard, University of Oxford How genetic linkage was discovered Honorary Secretary & Website Editor Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Dr Kay Boulton, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh Consumer Products and the Environment (COM) Honorary Treasurer Grant Reports 52 Dr Alexander Lorenz, University of Aberdeen One-off Meeting Reports Policy Officer Training Grant Reports Prof Rebecca Oakey, King’s College London Heredity Fieldwork Grant Report Scientific Meetings Secretary Genes and Development Summer Studentships Prof Stefan Hoppler, University of Aberdeen Contacting the Genetics Society 73 Newsletter Editor Margherita Colucci, University of Leicester Postgraduate Representative Ms Emily Baker, University of Oxford Ordinary Committee Members Gene Structure, function and regulation Dr Michelle Holland, King’s College London Dr Cristina Tufarelli, University of Leicester Genomics Dr Araxi Aruttia Odobachian, University of Bath Dr Colin Semple, University of Edinburgh Cell and Develomental Genetics Prof Paola Olivieri, University College London Prof Ros John, Cardiff University Applied and Quantitative Genetics Dr Lindsey Compton, University of Birmingham Prof Alastair Wilson, University of Exeter Evolutionary, ecological and population genetics Prof Jason Wolf, University of Bath Dr Maxim Kapralov, Newcastle University Corporate Genetics and Biotechnology Dr Alison Bentley, NIAB / CIMMYT Dr Marcus Guest, Sygenta Design and Print Collaborate Agency www.collaborate.agency www.genetics.org.uk . 3 GENETICS SOCIETY SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS 4 Meetings Announcements More detailed information and links to event websites can be found at www.genetics.org.uk/events_categories/conferences/ Genetics Society Carer’s Award It has become clear over the past five years that the genetic basis of these diseases does not primarily affect In recognition of carer’s responsibilities, an award of (up regions of the human genome that code for proteins but to) £60/day will be made available to enable members may affect the much larger part of the genome, called the and selected speakers to attend Genetics Society scientific regulatory genome, that controls where, when and by meetings and events (including virtual events). Awardees how much the expression of genes are turned on and off. can spend this money as they think will best support However, compared to protein coding sequences, which their attendance. Applications can be made through the make up only 1.5% of the human genome, the regulatory mysociety portal. genome remains poorly understood. Thus, the focus of this conference will be to invite Functional Regulatory Genomics international leaders in the interdisciplinary study of and Disease the genetics of disease, the exploration of the regulatory genome and the in-depth biology of its activity and Date: 15-17 November, 2021 function, to interact and discuss their work. Location: Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, By doing so it is hoped that we can reach a consensus on Cardiff University, Cardiff how we might coordinate international interdisciplinary Website: genetics.org.uk/events/functional-regulatory- efforts to understand the role of the regulatory genome in genomics-disease health and disease. Info: Complex heritable conditions such as obesity, diabetes, alcohol abuse, schizophrenia and depression affect a significant proportion of the UK population. REGISTER FOR MORE GENETICS SOCIETY EVENTS AT: www.genetics.org.uk 4 . GENETICS SOCIETY NEWS . ISSUE 85 5 EXTERNAL MEETINGS DIARY More detailed information and links to event websites can be found at www.genetics.org.uk/events_categories/external-meetings. We will happily include any announcements for genetics-based meetings in this section. Please send any items to [email protected]. CRISPR and Beyond: Perturbations at Scale to of viruses and will address the fundamental questions of viral Understand Genomes (Virtual Conference) origins, transmission and pathogenesis. Date: 1-3 September, 2021 Sessions will run online in afternoons for Europe and Africa Deadlines: 20 July, 2021 (Abstract and Bursary); | mornings for the Americas, enabling participation of 23 August, 2021 (Registration) evolutionary biologists, bioinformatics and public health Location: Online practitioners from across the globe. Website: https://coursesandconferences. This year’s meeting will focus on virus evolution, epidemics wellcomeconnectingscience.org/event/ and outbreaks and emerging viral infections and zoonoses. We Info: The development of CRISPR/Cas-based technologies will also explore new technologies to analyse viruses and large and DNA synthesis make it possible to modulate genomes datasets and discuss diagnostic methods to improve public with relative ease. These tools can help us understand how health. genetic variation influences phenotype and thereby answer long-standing questions in biology that impact human health, The 14th Annual Royal Marsden Breast Cancer laying the foundations for precision medicine for heritable Virtual Meeting: Hot Topics in Breast Cancer diseases and cancer treatment. Date: 8 October, 2021 This rapid advancement in gene-editing technology enables us Location: Online to begin to understand the functional implications of natural Website: https://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/14th-annual- and disease-related human genetic variation. This year’s royal-marsden-breast-cancer-virtual-meeting-hot-topics-