The ISM aims to demonstrate how the systems view of disease creates significant opportunities for the development of powerful new molecular diagnostic techniques designed to evaluate the health and transformation of cells toward disease, early detection of disease states and the early intervention needed to manipulate factors that cause disease.

Systems Medicine and Systems Biology are viewed in the scientific community as novel methods of understanding biology and approaching medicine. Systems Biology seeks to integrate different levels of information, studying the relationships and interactions between various parts of a biological system, to develop an understandable model of how biological systems function from the genetic level to the physiological level. While Systems Biology provides a holistic view of the health of an organism, Systems Medicine focuses on the causal, developmental, pathological and clinical aspects of disease from the molecular level to the physiological to the pathological level in a human.

Systems Medicine and Epigenomics

The ISM approach to Systems Medicine will include a focus on Epigenomics as the first wave of innovation that will define and distinguish the ISM. In order to understand the context in which epigenomic research will be addressed at the ISM, it is essential to first elucidate the significance of this field of biomedical research by distinguishing between genomics and epigenomics.

What is Epigenomics?

Epigenomics is a growing field of study that seeks to identify as well as elucidate the roles of chemicals and proteins that surround and adhere to DNA. Unlike genetic information, epigenetic information directs the time, space and manner in which genetic information will be used. This can explain reversible heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in the DNA sequence.

Genomics is the study of an organism's genetic material, which delineates the blueprint for all proteins to be created by a living organism. The prevailing dogma of contemporary biomedical research is that changes or mutations in the DNA sequence of the human genome cause abnormal expression of genes and are thus at the root of human diseases. However, while various disease states have been linked to several genes, a significant proportion of genes have not displayed mutations in the DNA sequence that would explain human disease states.  Given that DNA sequence mutations are often absent in various disease states, the field of Epigenomics is a hotbed of biomedical study that the ISM will pursue with concentrated focus.

Identical Twins and Disease

A perplexing epigenetic question surrounds the development of disease within identical twins. In many cases, researchers and clinicians are able to identify the cause of a disease, such as myeloma, within one identical sibling and not the other sibling. Given the identical genomic composition of both individuals, it is hypothesized that epigenomic changes must be causing the development of the illness. An understanding of these changes, using the healthy sibling for comparison, can lead to greater understanding of the genesis of this and other diseases.

The study of Epigenomics at the ISM will provide an opportunity to explain the role of environmental factors and geographic trends in disease status. Moreover, the reversible nature of epigenomic changes opens the door to preventative and interventional approaches that may be applied to obstruct disease progression.

The ISM envisions Epigenomics as a key first wave of innovation. These efforts will entail research that is both collaborative and additive to the fields of Genomics and Systems Medicine, among others. Some of the early research topics anticipated in the area of Epigenomics may include:

• Epigenomic Diagnostics and Therapeutic Technology: Develop novel technologies to apply to newly identified diagnostics and therapeutics.
• Chromosomal/Genomic/Epigenomic Analysis of Disease: Correlate changes in the genome and epigenome to the development of disease.
• Environmental Impact on Epigenome and Disease: Investigate the environmental toxicology of changes in the epigenome and correlate to the development of disease.