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Dr. Kenneth Olden, Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), has recently announced that NIEHS plans to invest $60 million in the next few years in an Environmental Genome Project. The goals of the project are to uncover the basis for the wide variation in response to environmental toxicants among the population. This would be done by sequencing about 200 "disease-susceptibility" genes from each of about 1000 people belonging to the major ethnic groups. Then the link between disease susceptibility and gene sequence could be made, and individuals at risk could be appropriately warned against environmental exposure.
In addition to the Environmental Genome Project, NIEHS's new vision for environmental health research includes three other foci (1) a survey of chemicals taken up by humans, using blood and urine samples, (2) development of high-throughput screening methods (e.g. using mice) for chemicals and drugs to predict human risk, and (3) a study of how mixtures of chemicals affect people. These four ideas were presented by Dr. Olden to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee in April 1997.
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Wednesday, October 01, 2003