Welcome Message from the Organizing Committee of the HGM2018
On behalf of the local organizing committee and HUGO, I am delighted to invite you to the Human Genome Meeting 2018 on March 13-15, 2018 in Yokohama, Japan.
Japan has largely contributed to the genome community by developing sequencing technologies and taking part itself in the sequencing of the human genome, and has subsequently strongly contributed to the GWAS and the HapMap international collaborative projects. Additionally, Japan has contributed more recently to the Cancer Genome projects, as well as broad sequencing of Japanese population. Further, by developing novel technologies, Japanese scientists have created large collections of full-length cDNAs, providing broadly-used reagents, essential data to map the genes and identifying fundamental roles of the non-coding part of the genome, including the non-coding RNAs. Continuous efforts of this community also extend to the epigenome and the single cell biology in strong cooperation with leading international projects, like ENCODE, the Human Cell Atlas and the Roadmap Epigenomic project. Bioinformatics and databases are strong expertise of the genome community in Japan.
Yokohama, the second largest city of Japan, is located close to Tokyo and easily reachable from its two international airports. For its location and accessibility, this is not only a preferred venue for Asian and Australian colleagues, but also for all colleagues in Europe and America.
Being the first port city opened to the world in 1859, Yokohama has a blended atmosphere of multiple cultures and architectures with a large international presence, ranging from delicacies of the restaurants in Chinatown to English garden all blended in the Japanese culture and traditions. We cordially invite our colleagues to attend the HGM 2018 meeting to experience this atmosphere together.
Together with the broad support from the LOC and HUGO, HGM 2018 will offer unique opportunities including fruitful discussions on genomic sciences and its implications into our health. We wish that you make the most out of your time during your stay.
We very much look forward to welcoming you to Yokohama City!
Piero Carninci, Ph.D.
Division of Genomic Technologies
RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies
