Linda Holmes and Wayne Stevenson 
Science and Engineering Education Programs; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education; Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117 
HOLMESL@ORAU.GOV 

The Department of Energy Alexander Hollaender Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowships were initiated in FY 1986 by the DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) to support research in the life, biomedical and environmental sciences. Fellowships of up to two years are tenable at any DOE, university or private laboratory, if the proposed advisor at that laboratory receives at least $150,000 per year in support from OBER with support continuing throughout the anticipated tenure of the fellow. Fellows receive stipends of $37,500 the first year and $40,500 the second. Eligible applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens and must have received their doctoral degrees within two years of the earliest possible starting date, which is May 1 of the appointment year.  

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), administrator of the fellowships for DOE, prepares and distributes program literature to universities and laboratories across the country, accepts applications, convenes a panel to make award recommendations, and issues stipend checks to fellows. The review panel identifies finalists from which DOE chooses the award winners. Up to five awards are made in even numbered years and up to ten in alternate years. The deadline for applications is January 15. For more information or an application packet, contact Barbara Dorsey at Science and Engineering Education Programs, ORISE, MS 36, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117 (423) 576-9975; Fax (423) 241-5220.  

191. Human Genome Management Information System: Making Genome Project Science and Implications Accessible 

Betty K. Mansfield, Anne E. Adamson, Denise K. Casey, Sheryl A. Martin, Marissa Mills, John S. Wassom, Judy M. Wyrick, and Laura N. Yust 
Life Sciences Division; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; 1060 Commerce Park; Oak Ridge, TN 37830; (423) 576-6669; Fax: (423) 574-9888 
bkq@ornl.gov 
General: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis 
Research: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/research/research.shtml 

The Human Genome Management Information System (HGMIS), begun in 1989, helps the Task Group of the DOE Human Genome Program (HGP) fulfill its commitment to informing scientists, policymakers, and the public about the program's goals, funded research, and applications. HGMIS products, including the Web sites and a newsletter, have won technical and electronic communication awards and have been reviewed and featured in well-known publications. 

The HGP requires contributions from many disciplines to accomplish its goals and to make sure its outcomes are used to their greatest beneficial potential. Through its scientific communication role, HGMIS seeks to (1) help foster such collaborations and (2) make HGP science, resources, and societal implications accessible to nongenome researchers who are using these new tools and data to solve basic research problems traditional to their fields. Additional targeted groups are medical and legal personnel; bioethicists; educators and other professionals who are being impacted by genomics; and the public. 

Through its communication of scientific and societal issues to nonresearch audiences, HGMIS seeks to increase public literacy in genetics, thus laying a foundation for more informed personal decision making and policy development. The hope is to maximize HGP benefits while simultaneously protecting against misuse of personal genetic information. To meet the coming flood of court cases involving genetic evidence, since 1995 HGMIS has been participating in a project to educate judges on the basics of genetics and gene testing. Recently, HGMIS has established genome Web pages for the medical community to help them prepare for the new era of molecular medicine. 

Print and Electronic Information Resources 

Publications. A forum for the wide exchange of knowledge, Human Genome News (HGN) uniquely presents a spectrum of genome-related topics not found in any other single resource. More than 75% of HGN's diverse body of 15,000 domestic and foreign subscribers are non-HGP scientists who would not find this information in their discipline-specific publications. HGMIS also produces the DOE Primer on Molecular Genetics, progress reports on the DOE Human Genome Program, contractor-grantee workshop proceedings, one-page topical handouts, and other related resource material. 

Document Distribution. In addition to HGN, HGMIS has distributed more than 175,000 copies of publications requested by subscribers, meeting attendees, and managers of genetics meetings and educational events. About 120 such requests are processed each month. 

Electronic Communication. Since November 1994, HGMIS has produced a comprehensive, text-based Web server called "Human Genome Project Information." Through its newly created "Research in Progress" site, the HGMIS server is devoted to topics relating to the science and societal issues surrounding the genome project. The HGMIS Web sites contain more than 1800 text files that are accessed about 3 million times a year. Each month, around 15,000 host computer domains connect to the HGMIS server directly or through more than 2400 other Web sites. HGMIS also maintains Web pages on the human and microbial genome programs, bacterial artificial chromosomes, cDNA full-length sequencing, and genomics meetings for DOE as well as the Genetics section of the Virtual Library from CERN in Switzerland. HGMIS moderates the BioSci Human Genome Newsgroup. 

Direct Information Source. Staff members answer individual questions and supply other information about genetics and the Human Genome Project. Around a hundred such queries are received each month via the Website, fax, and telephone. HGMIS reaches diverse scientific and educational groups when the DOE Human Genome Project traveling exhibit and posters are displayed at conferences and public meetings and when staff members make presentations to educational, judicial, medical, and other groups. As more people become aware of the HGP's impact, HGMIS is striving to strengthen the content relevancy of its services to meet the growing and varied demands for information. Comments and suggestions are appreciated. 

This work is sponsored by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research, U.S. Department of Energy, under contract No. DE-AC05- 96OR22464 with Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corp. 

192. Human Genome Program Coordination Activities 

Sylvia J. Spengler and Janice L. Mann 
Human Genome Program, Mailstop 84-171, Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 
sjspengler@lbl.gov 

The DOE Human Genome Program of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) has developed a number of tools for management of the Program. Among these was the Human Genome Coordinating Committee (HGCC), established in l988. In 1996, the HGCC was expanded to a broader vision of the role of genomic technologies in OBER programs, and the name was changed to reflect this broadening. The HGCC is now the Biotechnology Forum. The Forum is chaired by Dr. A Patrinos, Associate Director, OBER. Members of the Human Genome Program Management Task group and of the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee's subcommittee on the Human Genome are ex-officio members of the Biotechnology Forum. Responsibilities of the Forum include assisting OBER in overall coordination of DOE-funded genome research; facilitating the development and dissemination of novel genome technologies; recommending establishment of ad hoc task groups in specific areas, such as informatics, technologies, and model organisms; and evaluation of progress and consideration of long-term goals. Members also serve on the Joint DOE-NIH subcommittee on the Human Genome, for interagency coordination. The coordination group also participates in interface programs with other facilities and provides scientific support for development of other OBER goals, as requested. 

This work was supported by the Director, Office of Energy Research, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Human Genome Program, of the US Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098. 

193. The JASON Study of the Human Genome Project 

Gerry Joyce, S. Block, J. Cornwall, F. Dyson, S. Koonin, N. Lewis, and R. Schwitters 
The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 
gjoyce@scripps.edu 

In 1997, the JASON organization conducted a DOE-sponsored study of the human genome project with special emphasis in the areas of sequencing technology, quality assurance and quality control, and informatics. A summary of this report was published in Science magazine (Science 1998 January 2; 279: 36-37). In 1998, the study was continued and expanded to include a consideration of what role DOE might play in the "post genomic" era, following the acquisition of the complete human genome sequence. 

The JASON study recommended that DOE should (1) help ensure the development of a full length cDNA clone resource, (2) expand its efforts in comparative genomic sequencing of model organisms, (3) work to establish community-wide standards for software operation and the quality of data entered into public databases, including the development and operation of functional genomics databases, and (4) foster progress in genome-wide technologies for functional genomics.