Organizer Description: One of the most fundamental and remarkable processes in biology is the development of a single fertilized egg into a complete multi-cellular embryo. Early embryonic development in mammals is implemented through robust acquisition of specialized cellular properties that are specified, memorized and modulated by complex layers of epigenetic modifications. The challenge of understanding embryonic development thereby involves linking intrinsic cellular programs within the broader contexts of space and time that entails the developing embryo.
These are particularly exciting times for holding such a meeting. Revolutionary technologies now offer unprecedented opportunities for understanding the roles of epigenetics in specifying, memorizing, and modulating functional embryonic programs. One aspect of these technologies involves transcriptional and epigenomic analysis at single-cell resolution, which is rapidly becoming available. These powerful tools motivate further development of novel experimental systems to integrate single-cell monitoring with flexible engineering of markers, reporters, and perturbations, to precisely target key rare embryonic cell populations for in-depth analysis. Such systems can leverage the power of single-cell in-vivo analysis together with systems for in vitro differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. First by characterizing, and then recapitulating the intrinsic and extrinsic factors driving the system in-vivo. The meeting will bring together some of the most innovative scientists working on the interface between these fields to discuss fundamental open questions in the field:
How are the basic embryonic lineages being determined and when do cells truly commit to their lineages?
Which computational models can most fatefully describe these key processes?
What is the role of different epigenetic mechanisms in regulating pluripotency, lineage specification, and commitment?
How can we emulate fatefully embryonic development in artificial settings?
Which novel technologies are the most effective for characterizing and manipulating different embryonic and multi-potent niches?