Section Editor: Evguenia Alechine

I’m glad to be sharing the work of a rising star in the medical writing and science communication world. On this occasion, I had the pleasure of working with Valentina Torres Monserrat, who has a degree in biotechnology and a specialisation in human embryology. She is a dedicated health professional passionate about demystifying complex scientific concepts and making them relatable to everyday life. Over the past decade, she has devoted herself to human fertility, genetics, and assisted reproductive medicine. However, in recent years, she stepped away from the bench to undertake another mission: democratising scientific knowledge.

Epigenetics unveiled: The Cinderella story in genetics

Author: Valentina Torres Monserrat

Over the past three decades, exhaustive studies in both humans and animals have unraveled the unique characteristics and profound significance of epigenetics. This regulatory gene expression mechanism is responsible for an organism’s phenotype and is not determined. Environmental conditions can shape epigenetics during critical developmental periods – pre-conception, prenatal, and early postnatal stages – collectively known as the first 1000 days of a newborn’s life. These studies promoted the groundwork for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis, putting forward that the early-life environment profoundly shapes the future health of the developing organism.

Medical Writing. 2024;33(1):100–101. https://doi.org/10.56012/eqge7421