The fascinating area of molecular medicine provides a molecular and cellular description of health and disease. Starting with the understanding of gene regulation and epigenetics, i.e., the interplay of transcription factors and chromatin, this book will provide an fundamental basis of nearly all processes in physiology, both in health as well as in most common disorders, such as cancer, diabetes as well as in autoimmune diseases. Most non-communicable human diseases have a genetic (= inherited) as well as an epigenetic component. The later one is based on our lifestyle choices and environmental exposures. Many common diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, can be explained only to some 20% via a genetic predisposition. We cannot change the genes that we are born with but we can take care of the remaining 80% being primarily based on our epigenome. Therefore, there is a high level of individual responsibility for staying healthy. Thus, not only biologists and biochemists should be aware of this topic, but all students of biomedical disciplines will benefit from being introduced into the concepts of molecular medicine. This will provide them with a good basis for their specialized disciplines of modern life science research. The book is subdivided into 42 chapters that are linked to a series of lecture courses in "Molecular Medicine and Genetics", "Molecular Immunology", "Cancer Biology" and "Nutrigenomics" that is given by one of us (C. Carlberg) in different forms since 2002 at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio. This book represents an updated version and fusion of the books textbooks "Mechanisms of Gene Regulation: How Science Works" (ISBN 978-3-030-52321-3), "Human Epigenetics: How Science Works" (ISBN 978-3-030-22907-8). "Molecular Immunology: How Science Works" (ISBN 978-3-031-04024-5), "Cancer Biology: How Science Works" (ISBN 978-3-030-75699-4) and "Nutrigenomics: How Science Works" (ISBN 978-3-030-36948-4). By combining basic understanding of cellular mechanism with clinical examples, the authors hope to make this textbook a personal experience. A glossary in the appendix will explain the major specialist's terms.

Carsten Carlberg graduated in 1989 with a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the Free University Berlin (Germany). After positions as Postdoc at Roche (Basel, Switzerland), Group Leader at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), and Docent at the University of Düsseldorf (Germany), he is since 2000 Full Professor of biochemistry at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio (Finland). Since 2022, Prof. Carlberg is ERA Chair for nutrigenomics at the Polish Academy of Science. His work focuses on mechanisms of gene regulation by nuclear hormones, in particular on vitamin D. At present, Prof. Carlberg's projects focus on epigenome-wide effects of vitamin D on the human immune system in the context of cancer. Eunike Velleuer graduated in 2006 as M.D. at the University of Düsseldorf (Germany) and specialized in 2016 in pediatric hemato-oncology. At present, she serves as Senior Physician at the Helios Children's Clinic Krefeld as well as Research Associate at the University of Düsseldorf. Her special clinical focus is the cancer predisposition syndrome Fanconi anemia. Herein, her research interest is early detection and prevention of oral squamous cell carcinoma and identifying patients with Fanconi anemia at risk. Furthermore, Dr. Velleuer is interested in increasing patients' resilience and finding alternative ways for long-lasting empowerment. Ferdinand Molnár received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Kuopio (Kuopio, Finland) in 2006. He did his postdoctoral training in Structural Biology at the IGBMC (Illkirch, France). In 2008, he joined the School of Pharmacy at the University of Eastern Finland (Kuopio, Finland) studying the interactions of nuclear receptor with ligands, proteins, and DNA. In 2018, he moved to the Nazarbayev University (Astana, Kazakhstan) where he holds Associate Professor position in the Department of Biology. Prof. Molnár's interests are integrative structural biology and bioinformatics, eukaryotic transcriptional regulation in health and disease, and recombinant protein production.