Manel Esteller (

Sant Boi de Llobregat Sant Boi de Llobregat () is a city in the Province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, located on the banks of the Llobregat river. In 2019 it had 83,605 inhabitants. The city is divided into six neighborhoods (named ''barris'' in Catalan): Ciu ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, 1968) graduated in medicine from the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

in 1992, where he also obtained his doctorate, specializing in the

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a branch of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the st ...

of endometrial carcinoma, in 1996. He was an invited researcher at the School of Biological and Medical Sciences at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, during which time his research interests focused on the molecular genetics of inherited breast cancer. Manel Esteller is the director of the Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Program (PEBC) of the Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBELL), leader of the Cancer Epigenetics Group, professor of

Genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

in the

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

of the University of Barcelona, and research professor at the

Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies ICREA, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, is a foundation jointly promoted by the Catalan Government through its Department of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise, and the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI ...

(ICREA). He is also the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the peer-reviewed journal ''

Epigenetics In biology, epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that happen without changes to the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix ''epi-'' (ἐπι- "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are "on top of" or "in ...

''.

Current work

Esteller works in the field of

epigenetics In biology, epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that happen without changes to the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix ''epi-'' (ἐπι- "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are "on top of" or "in ...

of health and disease. Starting from identical

genetic sequence Genetic may refer to: *Genetics, in biology, the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms **Genetic, used as an adjective, refers to genes *** Genetic disorder, any disorder caused by a genetic mutation, whether inherited or de no ...

s, changes in

histone In biology, histones are highly basic proteins abundant in lysine and arginine residues that are found in eukaryotic cell nuclei and in most Archaeal phyla. They act as spools around which DNA winds to create structural units called nucleosomes ...

modifications and

DNA methylation DNA methylation is a biological process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule. Methylation can change the activity of a DNA segment without changing the sequence. When located in a gene promoter (genetics), promoter, DNA methylati ...

can produce organisms with different features and distinct susceptibility to sickness. An example is

monozygotic twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

. To have a complete picture of what is going on with the epigenetic tapestry of our cells, Esteller has advocated the development of a comprehensive

Human Epigenome Project Human Epigenome Project (HEP) is a multinational science project, with the stated aim to "identify, catalog, and interpret genome-wide DNA methylation patterns of all human genes in all major tissues". It is financed by government funds as well as ...

(HEP) to map all the epigenetic marks in our genetic material. This could have a huge impact in

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

patients, because

malignant cells Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse; the term is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not ...

have a profound dysregulation of DNA methylation and histone modification patterns. The good news is that the first pharmacological compounds to "restore" the normal epigenetic landscapes are starting to emerge. Esteller edited the book "DNA Methylation: Approaches, Methods and Applications" - in the book, he attempts to explain to readers how DNA methylation plays a role in disease, particularly the role in cancer. He also summarizes a lot of research from clinical trials and other research that has been done on DNA methylation in the human body to provide readers with many different point of views concerning the topic. "Epigenetics in biology and medicine" is another book in which Esteller explained the main principles of epigenetics, new discoveries in the field, and how they can be applied functionally. He has examined the relationship between epigenetics and "disease, genetic syndromes, immunity, cardiovascular disease, and epigenomics."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esteller, Manel Spanish geneticists Living people 1968 births University of Barcelona alumni