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Human Genome Quarterly, Spring 1989; 1(1)

DOE Human Genome Steering Committee Announced

The Human Genome Steering Committee (HGSC), established in October of 1988, is part of the management structure of the Department of Energy (DOE) Human Genome Program. Members of the committee are:

  • Dr. Charles R. Cantor, Director of the Human Genome Center at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL);
  • Dr. George I. Bell, Acting Director of the Center for Human Genome Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL);
  • Dr. Anthony V. Carrano, Director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Human Genome Project; and

representing the grantees:

  • Dr. C. Thomas Caskey, Baylor College of Medicine and
  • Dr. Leroy Hood, California Institute of Technology.

Dr. Benjamin J. Barnhart, Human Genome Program Manager, and Dr. Gerald Goldstein, Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER), serve as exofficio members for DOE. The National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Agriculture, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute each send a participating observer.

The specific tasks of the HGSC are to:

  • assist OHER with coordination of DOE-funded genome research;
  • facilitate the transfer of technology arising from genome research to other researchers and private industry;
  • ensure availability and management of data and biological materials;
  • optimize constructive overlap among research groups and encourage new joint projects;
  • serve with OHER staff as representatives of DOE/OHER to other government and international committees;
  • assist in communicating the scientific program to the U.S. Congress, the press, and the public; and
  • inform DOE/OHER on scientific issues.

The HGSC has met twice since its founding. The first meeting was at Livermore, California, in October 1988. The second took place in San Francisco, during the January 1989 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where each of the appointed members spoke at a symposium on the National Human Genome Project. The committee plans to meet at least four times each year in day-long, closed meetings. Reports of each meeting are available to contractors, grantees, and other interested parties.

In its first meeting, HGSC recognized the importance of communication among DOE-funded projects and stressed the need for a policy on sharing data and samples. As a result, a policy was developed and has been recommended to DOE. Briefly stated, it says that all materials and data should be shared freely within one year of characterization or publication. The committee also supports development of an interagency policy on sharing data and materials.

At the January meeting, the committee scheduled a Human Genome Program Grantee and Contractor Workshop to be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on November 3 and 4. At this workshop, each laboratory involved in the DOE program will present either a talk or poster on results and work in progress.

The HGSC appointed Dr. Thomas G. Marr (LANL) to serve as Chairman of the DOE Human Genome Computational Task Force (HGCTF). The first priority of this group is to design the database for physical mapping and develop automated methods of map integration and data sharing (refer to the article Human Genome Computational Task Force Formed).

Submitted by Dr. Sylvia J. Spengler
Executive Officer, HGSC
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

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The electronic form of the newsletter may be cited in the following style:
Human Genome Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Human Genome News (v1n1).

Human Genome Project 1990–2003

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.

Human Genome News

Published from 1989 until 2002, this newsletter facilitated HGP communication, helped prevent duplication of research effort, and informed persons interested in genome research.