| Citation | Anne Ferguson-Smith has made a unique contribution to understanding epigenetic inheritance. Her interdisciplinary work on parental-origin effects has integrated the epigenetic control of gene regulation with essential mammalian processes in development. She identified novel imprinted genes, determined imprinting regulation by DNA methylation, identified the first factor targeting resistance to epigenetic reprogramming and showed that imprinting can be a switch to control transcriptional dosage with consequences for development. Most recently she made seminal discoveries that question existing dogmas surrounding mechanisms underlying environmental effects on phenotype and its non-genetic transmission to subsequent generations. |