Invited Speakers
AEpiA 2026 Invited Speakers
Prof Kathrin Plath
UCLA, USA
Kathrin Plath, PhD, is a Professor of Biological Chemistry at UCLA, an HHMI Scholar, and an internationally recognized leader in gene regulation, X-chromosome inactivation, and cell identity. Her lab has made foundational contributions to understanding how long noncoding RNAs control chromatin states, how X-chromosome dosage compensation is established and maintained, and how epigenetic mechanisms shape cell fate during reprogramming and early development. She also serves on the editorial boards of several leading journals, including Cell and Science, and continues to drive innovative work using stem cell–based embryo models and approaches to uncover mechanisms underlying female-biased diseases.
Prof Nicolas H. Thomä
Switzerland
Dr. Nicolas Thomä was educated at the University of Cambridge, UK, where he received his PhD with Dr. Peter Leadlay in Chemical Biology; followed by postdoctoral work in structural biology in the laboratories of Prof. Roger Goody (Max-Planck-Institute Dortmund, Germany) and Prof. Nikola Pavletich (MSKCC, New York, USA). In 2006 Nicolas became a group leader-at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel, Switzerland, where he was promoted to senior group leader in 2012. As of 2023 Nicolas Thomä holds the Paternot chair for Interdisciplinary Cancer Research ISREC and the EPFL in Lausanne, and is the head of the drug development center at the EPFL school of life sciences.
National Speakers
Prof Marnie Blewitt
Marnie Blewitt is a lab head and Deputy Director at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. She received her PhD from The University of Sydney in 2005, then undertook a post-doctoral period working on stem cell biology and the novel epigenetic protein SMCHD1. Her research is centred on understanding the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic control, and how such mechanisms can be manipulated in the context of disease. Marnie’s team’s work has recently resulted in spinout Togglelux Therapeutics, that focuses on inhibiting SMCHD1 to treat the imprinting disorder Prader Willi Syndrome. Marnie’s work has been recognised by the Australian Academy of Science Gani medal, The Genetics Society of AustralAsia Ross Crozier medal and the Lorne Genome Women in Science award.
Prof Kate Quinlan
Kate Quinlan is a Professor at the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney. She received her PhD from the University of Sydney in 2006 and, following postdoctoral appointments at the Children's Hospital at Westmead and the University of Cambridge, established her research group focussed on mammalian gene regulation at UNSW Sydney in 2018. Along with a dedicated team of postdocs, PhD students and honours students, Kate is exploring how transcription factors read both the DNA sequence and epigenetic landscape to find their target genes.