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Save the Date for 

Clinical Epigenetics International Conference - CLEPIC 2023
Szczecin, Poland, May 24 – 26, 2023

More information coming soon at https://www.clepic.org/


Welcoming words from Lucia Altucci and Marianne Rots, Editors in Chief of Clinical Epigenetics:


The need to meet and greet

Scientists need to meet to stay up-to-date within and beyond one’s own research field, to exchange and fuel new ideas, to keep inspired and to inspire others. Corona-volente, we aim to offer you such platform by bringing together the editors, authors and readers of Clinical Epigenetics as well as the newly launched Epigenetics Communications. Moreover, we will invite industrial partners and public bodies, with a focus on training the next generation of multidisciplinary multi-epiomics scientists. This conference starts a series of annual conferences devoted to fully exploiting the many applications of epigenetics in health and disease as well as in all kingdoms of life (biotech, crop breeding, etc.).

Looking forward to meeting and greeting many of you in a relaxed atmosphere full of state-of-the-art epigenetics!

Call for Papers: Communications in Epigenetics: state of the art and beyond in chromatin biology and pathophysiology

New Content ItemWe are proud to announce a new cross-journal thematic series between Springer Nature’s Clinical Epigenetics and Epigenetics Communications, guest edited by Renata Z. Jurkowska, Frank Johannes and Tomasz K. Wojdacz. This series was inspired by vibrant discussions at the inaugural edition of the Clinical Epigenetics & Epigenetics Communication International Conference (CLEPIC) in June 2022 in Poland and will cover the latest advances in epigenetic research, ranging from basic epigenetic mechanisms across different organisms to applied clinical epigenetics. Find out more about the scope here.

Call for Papers: Alternative Medicine and Epigenetics

New Content ItemWe are proud to announce our new cross-journal thematic series, guest edited by Andy T. Y. Lau and Amy Yan-Ming Xu entitled: “Alternative Medicine and Epigenetics” to be published in Clinical Epigenetics and Epigenetics Communications. Alternative medicine has gained increasing attention over the past decades. These alternative medicinal approaches not only are effective in relieving disease complications and even in healing of diseases, but are also beneficial for disease prevention. Interestingly, various studies have demonstrated epigenetic effects exert by some subcategories of alternative medicine. In this thematic series, we welcome research and review articles that focus on the complex realm between alternative medicine and epigenetic regulation. Find out more about the scope here.

New thematic series: Multiscale chromatin dynamics

New Content ItemWe are proud to announce a new cross-journal thematic series between Epigenetics Communications and Clinical Epigenetics, guest edited by Pernette Verschure and Wim Vanden Berghe. The last few years have seen a wealth of knowledge on the role of epigenetic gene regulation in (patho-)physiological processes. New insights relate to the highly dynamic nature of epigenetic systems. Epigenetic regulatory proteins are in constant motion in the nucleus, exchanging between chromatin-bound and unbound states. In addition,  various layers of chromatin folding show defined dynamics. The causal relationship between these dynamics of chromatin and nuclear organization with gene activity and silencing is still an open question of great importance. Find out more about the scope here.

Editorial Policy Regarding Submissions describing “Negative Outcome Studies”

Provided that the methodology is consistent and sound, and the research question brings added value to the field, we warmly welcome ‘negative results’ studies. Manuscripts to be considered include, but are not limited to, descriptions of:

  • (failed) attempts to reproduce previously published data
  • irreproducible data between two (collaborating) laboratories
  • failed, but technically solid, attempts to prove a scientific hypothesis

Manuscripts which will not be considered include:

  • bioinformatic analyses without a solid statistical approach
  • "stand alone" bioinformatic analyses without experimental proof

Editorial Policy Regarding Submissions Focusing on Non-coding RNAs or RNA Modifications

Since epigenetic regulation and associated aspects of transcription regulation are wide-spread and complex, Epigenetics Communications aims to focus on those aspects of ncRNA-induced epigenetic regulation that concern changes in chromatin organization. As such manuscripts on non-coding RNAs or RNA modifications are only acceptable for the journal when including: 

  • data on the molecular epigenetic regulation of the expression of non-coding RNA (or its modifying enzymes) or
  • insights on the mechanism of action of the non-coding RNA on the chromatin and/or functioning of the DNA or
  • insights in mitotic stability of the RNA-induced effect

Editorial Policy Regarding Submissions Focusing on In silico research

Manuscripts reporting on straightforward bioinformatic analyses of publicly accessible databases only, cannot be considered for publication in Epigenetics Communications, unless the manuscript presents:

  • new, convincingly-described, scientific insights which will impact the field and/or
  • additional insights into underlying biological mechanisms (“wet-lab” validations) and/or
  • validations of findings in a replication cohort

Editors-in-Chief

Lucia Altucci, Università degli Studi della Campania, Italy
Marianne Rots, University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands  

Aims and scope

Epigenetics Communications covers the broad spectrum of epigenetic science from basic research to technological and therapeutic innovations, as well as their theoretical, ethical and societal dimensions. Epigenetics Communications is an innovative new, open-access journal devoted to the study and problematization of epigenetic principles and mechanisms in basic and translational research settings. It is also a forum for interdisciplinary debates around epigenetics, as well as for the investigation of its societal dimensions. In support of open science initiatives, the journal will have a level 4 data policy requiring data be made publicly available. The journal is divided into the following sections:
 

  • Molecular Epigenetics (Histone Modifications; DNA Methylation; DNA Demethylation)
  • Nuclear Organization
  • Mitotic & Meiotic Heritability
  • Epigenetic Drugs
  • Epigenetic Technologies
  • Epigenetic Bioengineering
  • Network Epigenetics
  • Computational Epigenomics
  • Single Cell Epigenetics
  • Epigenetic Toxicology
  • Model Organisms (Vertebrates; Invertebrates; Plants; Unicellular systems)
  • Epigenetics and Society


Epigenetics Communications will support the publication of manuscripts that contribute to a further understanding of epigenetic mechanisms that impact functioning of systems and organisms. Submissions describing clinical applications are referred to the sister journal, Clinical Epigenetics.

This new and innovative journal will also act as a forum to showcase and discuss alternative conclusions/interpretations of well-established epigenetic phenomena. These can be based either on the (re-)analyses of published and/or new data, or on the findings and results of epigenetic research in interaction with other disciplines. As such, we welcome 'systematic’ and ‘critical’ studies, be them positive (expected) or negative (non-expected) with respect to their outcomes.