Name:
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Hanjie MAO
D5 student
Genome Informatics Lab
12th International Conference of Canine and Feline Genetics andGenomics 2024
Little Finlandia, Helsinki, Finland
2024/06/09 ~ 2024/06/12

Taking advantage of the travel support, I attended the ICCFGG 2024, hosted by the Universityof Helsinki at Little Finlandia in downtown Helsinki from June 9th to 12th. The ICCFGG washeld biennially, alternating between the US and Europe, offering a platform for scientists andclinicians who study inherited diseases, behavioral and morphological traits, evolutionarybiology and genomics in dogs and cats. Due to the refurbishment of Finlandia Hall, theconference took place at Little Finlandia, an event and café space adjacent to the Hall, which
rendered a relaxing atmosphere. Approximately 250 attendees primarily from Europe and theUS participated in the conference, with more than half of the presenters being female. Amongthe four researchers from Japan, I was the only PhD student. At the conference, I presented myposter on the epidemiological study using medical records data of cats, received valuable
feedback and information on my current and future studies, and networked with fellow
researchers in this field. This experience expanded my perspective and opened up newopportunities for my future career.

Left: The conference site Little Finlandia in black in front of the grand Finlandia Hall in white,which acts as the temporal site for hosting events.
Right: Attendees were sitting casually in the event site. The posters were in café space nextroom.

Approximately 80% of the oral presentations focused on canine studies, demonstrating great
width and depth compared to feline studies. Most studies utilized genome-wide analysis basedon either case-control or pedigree designs. Two main aspects were particularly beneficial to mycurrent research. Firstly, I gained valuable insights into establishing a disease model for GWAS.
I was amazed that the sample size could reach up to 3000 dogs. However, it was also noted thatthe power of GWAS does not increase linearly with sample size. One talk that captured myinterest in GWAS design was by Prof. Elinor Karlsson from the Broad Institute, who outlined
three ways to enhance the power of GWAS: 1) add more samples; 2) use simple traits; 3) focus
on highly heritable traits. Points 2 and 3 exactly matched our strategy. Another intriguingpresentation was from the Wisdom Panel, a pet healthcare and insurance company whichapplied within-app questionnaire to gather data from cat owners. If possible, I am keen to apply
and expand this idea in a broader scale, incorporating data not only from behavioral andmorphological traits but also disease information such as biomarkers and physiological scores.
When combined with genotyping, this could facilitate a deeper association study of breedphenotype-genotype.

Left: Barnacle goose family swimming freely on the beautiful lake next to Little Finlandia. I wasamazed that they were not afraid of human at all.
Right: The symbol architecture Helsinki Cathedral was under refurbishment.

The other area of my interest is the function and role of regulatory regions in feline evolution
and pathogenesis. Most studies routinely filter candidate genes by focusing solely on coding
sequences (CDS), often ignoring non-coding regions. Only one case study on canine
compulsive disorder discussed a potential mutation in the gene flanking region which mightaffect gene expression. Additionally, in the gene regulation session, the state-of-the-art canineand feline studies were not very satisfying, primarily due to incomplete annotation ofregulatory elements (REs), which limited efforts to study the function of REs. I had theopportunity to discuss this with Prof. Carsten Daub and Prof. Guillaume Bourque, whoemphasized that technology remains to be advanced not only for identifying and locating REs
but also for revealing the connections between REs and genes under their regulation. Despitethe challenges, this session was insightful and greatly augmented my interest in studying
regulatory regions.
During the poster session, I presented my poster to adiverse audience, including veterinarians, PhD students,professors and cat breeders. A clinician from Cornell
University provided instructive advice on potential futurecollaborations to expand the data size of medical records.
For my study on Bengal cats, I discussed data availability
with Prof. Christopher Kaelin from Stanford University
and received guidance on processing the lcWGS data. Aninteresting comment came from Anthony, a renowned
Bengal cat breeder and a member of TICA (TheInternational Cat Association). He expressed interest inbringing a Bengal cat from Japan to the US for breeding, since according to my result Bengal
cats in Japan are less prone to kidney problems. He also offered to gift me a Bengal cat if I
attend the next ICCFGG, which will be hosted by Cornell University in Ithaca, NY two years
later. Additionally, I made friends with several PhD students and discussed future opportunities
with various professors.

Left: Dusk near the Helsinki station at around 11PM.
Right: The Northern route diploma received from the flight attendant.

Lastly, thanks to the elongated daytime in summer at high latitudes, sunset in Helsinki wasquite late, allowing me to explore the city after the conference at “night”. The flight between
Tokyo and Helsinki over the Arctic Sea and across the Birling Strait. I was pleasantly surprised
to receive a certificate for flying over the North Pole.
From many aspects, my experience in Helsinki was unique and memorable. I am glad of theopportunity to attend ICCFGG 2024, where I presented my work, receive valuable feedbackand information, and most importantly, connected with researchers in canine and feline studies.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Genetic Programs in National Institute ofGenetics and Association for Propagation of the Knowledge of Genetics for the generous travel
supports, which made this fruitful and unforgettable visit to Finland possible.