1994 DOE Human Genome Program Contractor-Grantee Workshop IV

Abstract Book PDF
(scanned from original)

DOE Human Genome Program Contractor-Grantee Workshop IV

Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 13-17, 1994

The electronic form of this document may be cited in the following style:
Human Genome Program, U.S. Department of Energy, DOE Human Genome Program Contractor-Grantee Workshop IV, 1994.

Abstracts scanned from text submitted for November 1994 DOE Human Genome Program Contractor-Grantee Workshop. Inaccuracies have not been corrected.

Introduction to the Santa Fe Workshop

Welcome to the fourth Contractor-Grantee Workshop sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) Human Genome Program. As all funded projects are represented here, this gathering offers valuable opportunities for scientists, program managers, and invited guests to review the program’s content and progress and to assess its direction. We also encourage investigators to take this opportunity to discuss their successes and challenges and initiate new collaborations. DOE program management strongly encourages collaborations among investigators and genome centers.

Much progress has been achieved since the last workshop held in February 1993. High-resolution physical mapping of chromosomes 16 and 19 is now virtually complete, with results soon to be published. Cosmid, PAC, and BAC libraries produced by the program are having a major impact on genome activities around the world. The National Laboratory Gene Library Project has achieved its Phase Two goals of producing cosmid libraries for each human chromosome. As technology improves and more groups become involved, DNA sequencing is starting to pick up; a stretch of about 685 kb from the human T-cell receptor is now the longest contiguous sequence entered in the databases. I believe we can expect rapid progress in sequencing technology in the near future. We have also made considerable progress in the rapid analysis of newly developed sequence data. Of particular note is the online implementation of Smith-Waterman analysis at the GRAIL-genQUEST server at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Managing and increasing access to the rising tide of genome data and independently maintained databases that contain crucial mapping, structural, and other biological data are critical challenges. Late last year, after an extensive review of the program’s informatics activities, DOE expanded its mission by establishing the Genome Sequence Data Base (GSDB), which now functions both as a service facility and research resource. GSDB is housed at the newly established National Center for Genome Resources in Santa Fe. A major current goal is to facilitate close cooperation between GSDB and the Genome Data Base located at John Hopkins University. Thus, the program is moving closer to its vision of a system of interlocking community databases that will allow easy access to independently maintained databases containing relevant biological data.

Of the 204 abstracts in this book, some 200 describe the genome research of DOE-funded grantees and contractors located at the multidisciplinary centers at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory; other DOE-supported laboratories; and more than 54 universities, research organizations, and companies in the United States and abroad. Included are 16 abstracts from ongoing projects in the Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) component, an area that continues to attract considerable attention from a wide variety of interested parties. Three abstracts summarize work in the new Microbial Genome Initiative launched this year by the Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) to provide genome sequence and mapping data on industrially important microorganisms and those that live under extreme conditions. Many of the projects will be discussed at plenary sessions held throughout the workshop, and all are represented in the poster sessions. Following up the successful debut at the last workshop, two informatics resource rooms will again be set up and maintained to allow researchers to exhibit new resources and software capabilities.

OHER would like to extend thanks to all contributors for their efforts in moving the Human Genome Program toward its goals. We anticipate that this will again be a very interesting and productive meeting, and special thanks go to all who have contributed to its organization.

David A. Smith, Director
Health Effects and Life Sciences Research Division
Office of Health and Environmental Research

Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Research, Office of Health and Environmental Research, Washington, D.C. 20585 under budget and reporting code KP 0404000.

Prepared by Human Genome Management Information System, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0605. Managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc.; for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-84OR21400.