About Us
The International Congress of Canine and Feline Genetics and Genomics is the premier international conference for canine and feline geneticists as well as students, veterinarians and breeders interested in cutting-edge genomic research in dogs and cats. Held biennially since 2004, the conference has alternated between North America and Europe, last being held in Helsinki, Finland in June 2024. This is the first time the conference has been held at Cornell University, and we invite attendees to explore the trails, lakes, gorges, waterfalls, wineries, culture and history of the Finger Lakes region during their visit.
This conference is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Hill’s Pet Nutrition. Thank you, Hill’s!
Scientific Advisory Board
Local Organizing Committee
Adam Boyko, Cornell University, US
Claire Wade, University of Sydney, Australia
Eva Furrow, University of Minnesota, US
Hannes Lohi, University of Helsinki, Finland
Jeff Brockman, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, US
Jeff Kidd, University of Michigan, US
Jeffrey Schoenebeck, Roslin Institute, Scotland, UK
Jennifer Meadows, Uppsala University, Sweden
Leigh Anne Clark, University of Georgia, US
Maja Arendt, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Heather Huson, PhD
Jacquelyn Evans, PhD
Jessica Hayward, PhD
Operational and administrative support for the conference is kindly provided by the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Office of External Programs team.
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Zhiping Weng is a prominent leader in bioinformatics and computational genomics, currently holding the Li Weibo Chair in Biomedical Research at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, where she established and currently chairs the Department of Genomics and Computational Biology. Her academic credentials include a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, with research on protein-ligand binding. Since joining UMass Chan in 2008, she has focused on large-scale data analysis in genomics and epigenomics, contributing to significant advancements in gene regulation and molecular interactions through her lab's developments, including the SCREEN and Factorbook platforms. Dr. Weng has also played key roles in major consortia, including ENCODE, psychENCODE, IGVF, and MOHD, and her prolific research is highlighted by over 300 publications and numerous awards, including election to distinguished professional societies. Additionally, she co-founded the biotech startup Rgenta, focusing on RNA-targeting therapeutics.
Dr. Andrew Clark has been a preeminent population geneticist for over four decades, leading groundbreaking research on the genetic basis of natural variation in natural populations in numerous species including fruit flies, humans, scrub jays and foxes. His work has focused on complex phenotypes as diverse as innate immune response, sperm competition and metabolism, and foundational consortium efforts in Drosophila and humans. Dr. Clark’s lab has also been the effects of demography on phenotypic variation, particularly the impact of exponential growth and rare genetic variants.
A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Andy is also the associate director for the Cornell Center for Comparative and Population Genomics (3CPG) and serves as the interim chair of Cornell’s Department of Computational Biology. In addition to over 800 peer-reviewed scientific publications, Andy co-authors with Daniel Hartl the widely used textbook Principles of Population Genetics. Prior to joining Cornell, Andy received his PhD from Stanford University and served on the faculty at Penn State University.