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Human Genome News, September 1990; 2(3)
The second meeting of the Joint NIH-DOE Subcommittee on the Human Genome convened in Bethesda, Maryland, on June 19 to discuss administrative issues, reports of the joint working groups, policies for sharing data and materials, the role of the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO), and the agenda for the annual retreat. (See list of members and their affiliations.)
Cochair Sheldon Wolff opened a discussion of DOE and NIH draft policy statements on sharing data and materials. Elke Jordan noted that the NCHGR draft was intentionally nonspecific because working groups were still discussing issues related to sharing and because NIH was exploring sharing issues with respect to grant regulations. Until more specific guidelines can be developed, community consensus and peer pressure must serve to encourage sharing. The NIH policy has been to expect sharing at the time of publication.
Describing the DOE policy draft, Benjamin Barnhart remarked that the DOE document outlined specific requirements for areas such as cell lines, libraries, vectors, clones, probes, and mapping and sequencing data. He emphasized that the intent was to establish sharing guidelines, not to address enforcement issues.
Charles Cantor presented an update of HUGO activities. HUGO has recently received private funding and anticipates additional support from foreign governments. The organization is expanding this year by over 100 members to broaden both the subject and geographic areas represented. Former NIH Director James Wyngaarden will serve as HUGO's corporate executive officer, effective July 1, 1990.
HUGO's short-term focus will be to form committees to help coordinate genetic and physical mapping of each human chromosome; some committees will evolve from existing ones, while others will be created as needed. Cantor added that HUGO has established a seven-member committee charged with advising on physical and genetic mapping.
Established in 1988, the subcommittee coordinates activities of the joint working groups and facilitates coordination between the NIH and DOE human genome programs.
Subcommittee December 4 Meeting Topic: Communication
Submitted by Leslie Fink, NCHGR
Office of Human Genome Communication
The electronic form of the newsletter may be cited in the following style:
Human Genome Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Human Genome News (v2n3).
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international 13-year effort, 1990 to 2003. Primary goals were to discover the complete set of human genes and make them accessible for further biological study, and determine the complete sequence of DNA bases in the human genome. See Timeline for more HGP history.
Published from 1989 until 2002, this newsletter facilitated HGP communication, helped prevent duplication of research effort, and informed persons interested in genome research.
