Associate Professor of Medical Genetics, Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano RESEARCH INTERESTS Silvia M. Sirchia is an expert of epigenetics; in particular she developed methods and procedures for methylation signatures and histone modifications studies. She is author of several papers in the field of epigenetic signatures modifications in both cancer and in constitutive diseases. Current area of interest Epigenetic basis of human disease: i) genomic imprinting defects associated with Silver Russell (SRS) and Beckwith Weidemann (BWS)Syndromes, ii) chromatin conformation studies of the 11p15.5 imprinted region in normal and pathological conditions (SRS and BWS), iii) genetic and epigenetic alterations of the X chromosome in sporadic and hereditary breast cancer, iv) role of the X chromosome inactivation in the clinical manifestation of disease in women with X-linked diseases. Fetal-placental growth: The growth and development of fetal/placental unit is a complex process controlled by numerous genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Our group is involved in epigenetic defects study on the basis of altered fetal-placental development.