Initiative Meetings Held or Planned

Planning Meetings Held

Meeting No. 1 -- Attendees and sponsorship of this meeting (September 24-28, 1995, Etang-Sur-Arroux, France) was determined by ICPEMC. The plan developed and presented to the Commission by J. S. Wassom for initiating the merging of the two fields was discussed in depth and revised as necessary. A tentative program was made that included identification of the cadre of possible scientists to carry out the activities of the various work groups. A committee of Commission members was appointed with the title of "Mutation Genomics" and charged with drafting a report summarizing the proposed workscope and plan of action. A copy of the ICPEMC committee's report is attached.

Meeting No. 2 -- On November 10, 1995, a meeting was held at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to review the plan for enhancing the field of mutation research by use of HGP resources and technology. Those attending this meeting were Drs. Anthony Carrano, Paul Lohman, Nigel Fletcher-Jones, Tina Charrington, Mort Mendelsohn, K. Sankaranarayanan, James Gentile, and John Wassom. Affiliations and interest areas for these individuals are shown above.

Meeting No. 3 -- An Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) team consisting of John Wassom, Richard Woychik, Ken Beattie, and John Munro travelled to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research Triangle Park, NC, on December 2, 1996. The purpose of the trip was to promote the Mutation Research Genomics Initiative begun by John Wassom in September 1993 and to highlight ORNL's current emphasis on functional genomics research. John Wassom gave an overview of the Human Genome Project and progress made to date on the Mutation Research Genomics Initiative. Drs. Woychik and Beattie gave presentations relevant to the theme of functional genomics by reviewing their current research and areas planned for the future. Dr. Munro discussed opportunities for the applications of nanotechnology to improve techniques in the study of mutations. Considerable interest was generated among NIEHS staff on the subject matter covered that revealed several areas for possible future collaborative studies between ORNL and NIEHS investigators. A draft program for a proposed joint workshop, with the tentative title of Human Genomics and Environmental Health was prepared. This workshop will serve to further identify areas of opportunity for researchers to exploit Human Genome Project technology and resources. NIEHS investigators who met with the ORNL team were Drs. Carl Barrett, Ray Tennant, Michael Shelby, Jack Bishop, Ken Tyndall, Heinrich Malling, Mike Resnick, Jack Taylor, and Dimitry Gordenin.

Meeting No. 4 -- During the 27th Annual Meeting of the Environmental Mutagen Society (held April 19-23, 1997 in Minneapolis, MN), an informal meeting was held to discuss incorporating the "Mutation Research Genomics" theme into the Society's 1998 program. Participating in these discussions were: Ray Tennant (Immediate Past EMS President), Sid Aaron (New EMS President), Rosalie Elespuru (EMS President Elect and 1998 Program Chair), Tony Carrano (1998 Program Committee Member) and John Wassom (1998 Program Committee Member). Ideas for the focus for this "genomics" session and potential speakers were discussed. In the weeks following the Minneapolis meeting, specific topics and speakers are to be chosen to firm up this portion of the program to be able to advertise it fully. All agreed that the papers to be presented will not deal in generalities but be specific and provide plenty of food for thought to stimulate a lively debate and discussion among those attending the program.

Meetings Planned for 1997-1998

ORNL-Sponsored Meetings -- Several informal brainstorming sessions will be scheduled in 1997. These meetings will be held at ORNL or at other sites (e.g., NIEHS, LLNL) as appropriate. These sessions will involve 6 to 8 scientists from both the genomics and mutation research area. These sessions will last 1 to 2 days and focus on generating ideas to bring about the merger of the two fields. Support for conducting these sessions will be requested from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), both of which have shown a strong interest in promoting the application of Genome Project technologies and resources to other research areas (HGMIS Staff, 1995).

ICPEMC Workshops-- It is important to have one or more meetings of two and one-half days duration and consisting of 20 to 30 scientists from both disciplines and representatives from potential funding agencies, during the 1997-1998 period. These will initially follow the workshop outline formulated during the September 24-28, 1995, ICPEMC planning meeting, supplemented with ideas from the ORNL-sponsored brainstorming sessions and personal interviews. Changes in format and/or orientation will follow the trends and focus areas identified by participants in this emerging field of research. ICPEMC will coordinate and support these workshops at sites in the United States and Europe. When possible, these workshops will be held immediately before or after HGP-related meetings.

EMS-Sponsored Meetings -- A "core" group of experts identified by the Environmental Mutagen Society (EMS) will plan a strategy to develop novel, molecular-based methods to detect induced heritable mutations that lead to disease in humans. The core group will hold 3 or more open regional meetings to obtain input from other EMS members during the next two years (1997-1998).

International Conference on Application of Human Genome Technologies to Mutation Research -- Once the reports of the various conducted meetings, workshops, etc. have been completed and the contents reviewed, ICPEMC will organize the program and speakers for a formal conference to be held sometime during 1997 or early 1998. At this conference, the findings and recommendations of this project will be presented in an open forum to the international community of scientists and the general public.

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