International Conference on Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis: Genomic Integrity and Implications to Human Health on January 28-31, 2025 in Chennai, India

It is with great pleasure we invite researchers, academicians, health professionals, and those who are all involved in Environmental and Health related facets desire to be part of the "International Conference on Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis: Genomic Integrity And Implications to Human Health" as well as “47th Annual Meeting & Golden Jubilee Year of Environmental Mutagen Society of India (EMSI)” to be convened at Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India from January 29-31, 2025.

EMSI founded in 1975, promotes scientific education and research in mutagenesis. The Society is an affiliate of the International Association of Environmental Mutagenesis & Genomics Society (IAEMGS) and the Asian Environmental Mutagen Society (AEMS). Every year, the EMSI conference provides a scientific forum for exchanging ideas and information on mutagenesis at the experimental and clinical levels with an emphasis on human health and environmental safety. The Society is completing 50 years in 2025; hence, this conference will celebrate the ‘Golden Jubilee’ of the Society with a special emphasis on human health.

The Golden Jubilee Year of EMSI is looking forward to a grand scientific feast with deliberation by renowned experts in the field of genomics, mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, and an interactive participation by experts in the field. The target is to organize satellite symposia in different universities/institutes to discuss environmental impact on human health and modalities of its mitigation. Besides scientific forums, outreach programs would be aimed to make common people aware about their habits and habitats and its implication on human health through gene-environment interaction. The EMSI sow the seeds of awareness of environmental health, and motivate people to practice curbing the environmental burden of man-made pollution by following the concept of ‘Someday is Today’. Since the origin of life, all organisms have been advertently or inadvertently exposed to various environmental xenobiotics, adversely affecting the biota. The consequent damaging effects at the cellular and molecular levels caused by those factors are being counteracted by cellular defense mechanisms, especially those related to DNA. Failure to do so may lead to mutagenic, carcinogenic, and hereditary effects.

Environmental mutagenesis can influence the expression and function of

drug efflux transporters including P-glycoprotein, a protein involved in drug resistance. Mutations induced by environmental factors can lead to changes in P-gp activity, causing increased efflux of drugs from cells and contributing to drug resistance in various organisms, including humans. Understanding these interactions is crucial for developing strategies to mitigate drug resistance and manage environmental health risks.

 In addition, the changes in the gene structure and epigenetic modifications in the germ line can invariably affect the offspring. This is where the genes and environment interaction play a vital role at the population level, highlighting the importance of public genomics. A paradigm change in the existing knowledge base is happening with the advent of advanced technologies wherein, now, it is possible to sequence the entire genome and proteome of living organisms. The impact of environmental mutagenesis leads to altered biological responses affecting all forms of life particularly human health. Though global efforts to contain the harmful effects on the environment, ecosystem, and individual level have met with sporadic success, new challenges emerge continually. This international conference aims to understand and mitigate the impacts of environmental exposures on the genome to protect human health through research and development programs. Fields like molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics in cancer research, immunology, toxicology, and epidemiology will be discussed. Topics encompass DNA damage, mutagenesis, DNA repair, genetic and epigenetic factors, and public/environmental health. Further, the deliberations include recent cutting-edge technologies in genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics machine learning, and artificial intelligence related to the fields of genetic toxicology and environmental mutagenesis to open new research areas in this field and to achieve breakthroughs in environmental mutagen research. This deliberation allows the invitees and participants from various disciplines to showcase their recent research explorations and widen the “gene and environment” horizon in this common multidisciplinary interactive platform. We invite researchers, industrialists, and policymakers who are working in the fields of biology, chemistry, medicine, and engineering about environmental mutagenesis and public health.