Handbook of Epigenetics

Dr. Tollefsbol is a Distinguished Professor of Biology and a Senior Scientist in the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, Integrative Center for Aging Research, Nutrition Obesity Research Center, University Wide Microbiome Center, and the Comprehensive Diabetes Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He is Director of the UAB Cell Senescence Culture Facility which he established in 1999. Dr. Tollefsbol trained as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Research Professor with members of the National Academy of Science at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. He earned doctorates in molecular biology and osteopathic medicine from the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center and his bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Houston. He has received prior funding from the NCI, NHLBI, NIMH and other federal institutes as well as the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) among many other sources.

1. An Overview of Epigenetics

SECTION I:  Molecular Mechanisms of Epigenetics 2. Mechanisms of DNA Methylation 3. Molecular Mechanisms of Histone Modification 4. The Epigenetics of Non-coding RNA

SECTION II:  Additional Epigenetic Processes 5. Prions in Epigenetic Inheritance 6. Chromosomal Position Effects 7. Polycomb-group Proteins and Epigenetics

SECTION III:  Epigenetic Technology 8. Analyses of Gene-specific DNA Methylation 9. Methods for Assessing Genome-wide DNA Methylation 10. Determination of Histone Modifications of Specific Genes 11. Analyses of Genome-wide Histone Modifications 12. Techniques for Genome-wide Expression of Non-coding RNA 13. Computational Epigenetics

SECTION IV:  Model Organisms of Epigenetics 14. Epigenetics of Lower Organisms 15. Drosophila Epigenetics 16. Models of Mouse Epigenetic Inheritance 17. Plant Epigenetics

SECTION V:  Metabolism and Epigenetics 18. Metabolic Effects on DNA Methylation 19. Metabolism and Chromatin Dynamics

SECTION VI:  Functions of Epigenetics 20. Epigenetics, Stem Cells and Cellular Differentiation 21. Regeneration Epigenetics 22. Epigenetics of X-chromosome Inactivation 23. Genomic Imprinting 24. Epigenetics of Memory Processes 25. Transgenerational Epigenetics 26. Aging Epigenetics

SECTION VII:  Evolutionary Epigenetics 27. Evolution of Epigenetic Mechanisms 28. Adaptive Evolution and Epigenetics

SECTION VIII:  Epigenetic Epidemiology 29. The Effects of Diet on Epigenetic Processes 30. Environmental Agents and Epigenetic Effects 31. Impact of Infective Agents on the Epigenome 32. Population Pharmacoepigenomics

SECTION IX:  Epigenetics and Human Disease 33. Cancer Epigenetics 34. The Role of Epigenetics in Immune Disorders 35. Epigenetics of Brain Disorders 36. The Epigenetics of Metabolic Diseases 37. Imprinting Defects in Humans

SECTION X:  Epigenetic Therapy 38. DNA Demethylating Agents in Clinical Medicine 39. Clinical Applications of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors 40. Combination Epigenetic Therapy

SECTION XI:  The Future of Epigenetics 41. New Directions for Epigenetic Research