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News Release Archives

1999 & 2000

2000

December 2000

NHGRI's Director, Francis Collins, Named As One Of Industry Week Magazine's "Technology Leaders of the Year"
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, and Dr. J. Craig Venter, president and chief scientific officer of Celera Genomics, have been selected as Industry Week magazine's "Technology Leaders of the Year" for demonstrating extraordinary leadership and success in managing complementary efforts to decipher the human genetic code. This is the first time the award has been given to a leader in the public sector.

November 2000

NIH's Consumer Day 2000 To Explain Impact of Human Genome Project on Public Health
The National Institutes of Health's National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) will sponsor "Consumer Day 2000" on Thursday, November 9, to inform patients, families and health care providers about how the Human Genome Project (HGP) will impact health and the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases from Alzheimer's to stroke.

October 2000

Human Genome Project Honored by American Society of Human Genetics' Allan Award
At its annual convention this year, ASHG's Allan Award honored the hundreds of scientists who have been involved in the deciphering of the human genetic code.

Public-Private Consortium to Accelerate Sequencing of Mouse Genome
The National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust and three private companies today announced they have formed a consortium to speed up the determination of the DNA sequence of the mouse genome. The Mouse Sequencing Consortium will provide $58 million over the next six months to decipher the mouse genetic code.

September 2000

Coalition To Educate Health Professionals about Genetics Names Executive Director
The National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics (NCHPEG) has named Joseph McInerney, M.S., as its first permanent executive director.

A Decade of ELSI Research Conference - Call for Abstracts
The Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Research Programs at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have issued a call for abstracts for their January 16-18, 2001 conference celebrating the first ten years of ELSI Research.

Human Genome Central: An Ongoing Picture of the Genome that is Both Comprehensive and Comprehensible
In the September 1, 2000 issue of Science, the International Human Genome Project Sequencing Consortium provides a comprehensive list of links to the most useful public resources which provide information and the tools to analyze, search and comprehend the human genome sequence.

August 2000

Scientists Pinpoint Location of Possible Third Gene Involved in Hereditary Breast Cancer to Chromosome 13
Researchers in Finland, Iceland and Sweden, working with scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have found evidence of a new gene that appears to increase susceptibility to hereditary breast cancer.

Genetic Signature May Explain Why Deadly Skin Cancers Spread
An international team led by scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has discovered a genetic "signature" that may help explain how malignant melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, can spread to other parts of the body.

July 2000

Greece Awards Top Prize for Young Researchers to NHGRI Bioinformatics Expert
Dr. Andreas Baxevanis of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health has been selected as one of four recipients of the prestigious Bodossaki Foundation Academic Prize. The award is Greece's highest honor for young academics and scientists of Greek heritage throughout the world.

Human Genome Project and SNP Consortium Announce Collaboration To Identify New Genetic Markers for Disease and Enhance Utility of Human Genome "Working Draft"
This collaborative effort takes advantage of the recently announced "working draft" sequence, representing the vast majority of the sequence of the human genome.

June 2000

International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium Announces "Working Draft" of Human Genome
The Human Genome Project public consortium today announced that it has assembled a working draft of the sequence of the human genome - the genetic blueprint for a human being.

Genetic Mutation Causes Common Defect In Early Development of Human Forebrain
An international team led by scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health has located one of the genes that can cause holoprosencephaly, the most common structural defect of the developing forebrain in humans. It results in varying degrees of mental retardation. The finding suggests that the gene, dubbed TGIF, plays an important role in the brain's separating into left and right hemispheres during fetal development.

Gene Linked to Developmental Syndrome In Old Order Amish Identified By NIH Scientists
Scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health and the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor have identified an altered gene responsible for a rare developmental syndrome found predominantly among the Old Order Amish population.

May 2000

Down Syndrome Research Expedited by Decoding of Human Chromosome 21 - Second Human Chromosome Sequenced by Human Genome Project
Scientists in Japan and Germany will report in an upcoming issue of Nature that they have unraveled the genetic code of human chromosome 21, already known to be involved with Down syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, Usher syndrome and Lou Gehrig's disease.

May 2000

Human Genome Project Leader Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Robert H. Waterston, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Washington University School of Medicine Genome Sequencing Center, part of the Human Genome Project (HGP), was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Election to NAS is one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on an American scientist or engineer.

April 2000

President Clinton Honors NHGRI Research Grant Recipient
Sixty young researchers were honored by President Clinton as recipients of the fourth annual Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers.

March 2000

Two Thirds of Human DNA Script Deciphered by Human Genome Project; Public Consortium To Complete Working Draft in June
The Human Genome Project international consortium announced today that two billion of the three billion "letters" that constitute the genetic instruction book of humans have been deciphered and deposited into GenBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/seq). GenBank, the public database of DNA sequence operated by the National Institutes of Health, is accessible freely and without restrictions to all scientists in industry and academia.

Science Papers on the Genome Sequence of Fruitfly (Drosophila Melanogaster)
A consortium of public scientists working together with a private company has released a substantially complete genome sequence of the fruitfly (Drosophila melanogaster).

President Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair Applaud Scientists Who Make Human Genome Sequence Freely Available
At a White House ceremony to present Medals of Science and Technology, President Clinton announced that he and Prime Minister Blair agreed on a statement of principle to insure that discoveries from the human genome are used to advance human health. The following are provided: Information from the White House; President Clinton's remarks; the full text of the White House press briefing; and comments made by Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute.

Dr. Francis Collins Testifies Before Appropriations Subcommittee
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) Director Dr. Francis Collins appeared on Wednesday, March 1, 2000, before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, DHHS and Education and Related Agencies to discuss the NHGRI's budget request for fiscal year 2001, the progress and future direction of the international Human Genome Project (HGP), and the application of genomic research tools for understanding and treating human disease. The full text of his written testimony is provided.

February 2000

President Clinton Signs Executive Order to Prevent Genetic Discrimination in Federal Workplace
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) Director Dr. Francis Collins joined President Clinton in speaking about need to prevent use of genetic information in hiring and promotion decisions. Dr. Collins' comments are provided.

January 2000

President's State of the Union Address Refers To Human Genome Project
In his Jan. 27th State of the Union address, President Bill Clinton refers to the Human Genome Project (HGP) as well as the need for federal legislation to prevent genetic discrimination. Excerpts of his speech as well as a hyperlink to the full text of his presentation are provided.

1999

December 1999

Scientists Complete First Chapter of Book of Life With Decoding of First Human Chromosome
An international team of researchers has achieved a scientific milestone by unraveling for the first time the genetic code of an entire human chromosome. Available here is the statement by HHS Secretary Donna Shalala regarding the first complete sequencing of a human chromosome.

November 1999

The Billion Base Pair Celebration!
A celebration of the completion and deposition into GenBank of one billion base pairs of the human genome DNA sequence. The Billion Base Pair Celebration honored hundreds of scientists across the country and around the world whose commitment and ingenuity have been so vital to reaching this milestone in the Human Genome Project (HGP).

October 1999

Informatics Meets Genomics at the White House
On Tuesday, October 12, 1999, the President and First Lady will host the eighth Millennium Evening at the White House. The program, titled, "Informatics Meets Genomics," will feature Dr. Vinton Cerf , Senior Vice President of Internet Architecture and Technology at MCI WorldCom, and Dr. Eric Lander, Director of the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research. The program, held in the East Room of the White House, will begin at 7:30pm, EST.

Mouse: Next in Line for DNA Sequencing
The genetic makeup (or genome) of the mouse, one of the most frequently used mammals in medical and behavioral research, will be deciphered in a major new research program launched this month by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

September 1999

The Sequence of the Human Genome: Coming A Lot Sooner Than You Thought
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), and leader of the National Institutes of Health's public effort to spell out the complete genetic inheritance of human beings recently provided an exciting overview of the progress made by the Human Genome Project at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in San Francisco, Calif.

Human Genome Will Be Defined By Spring
Scientists have confirmed that they are on schedule to produce the first draft of the genetic blueprint of humankind by Spring 2000. They have already released sequence data into the public domain corresponding to one quarter of the human genome to help further developments in diagnostics, preventative medicine and disease control.

May 1999

International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium Backs Rapid Construction Of A Working Draft and Stands Firm On Public Access
Following a meeting at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory this week, leaders of the international human genome sequencing consortium reaffirmed their commitment to providing free, immediate and unrestricted access to human sequencing data, and defined powerful new ways to coordinate the worldwide effort to sequence the human genome.

March 1999

Human Genome Project Announces Successful Completion of Pilot Project, Launches large-scale Effort to Sequence the Human Genome with New Awards, Accelerated Timetable
The international Human Genome Project (HGP) today announced the successful completion of the pilot phase of sequencing the human genome and the launch of the full-scale effort to sequence all 3 billion letters (referred to as bases) that make up the human DNA instruction book.

February 1999

Proposed Revision of Circular A-110 Regarding Access to Data Developed Under Federal Grants [frwebgate.access.gpo.gov]
As anticipated, the Office of Management and Budget has published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) for revision of Circular A-110, having to do with FOIA access to data developed under Federal Grants. This NPRM can be found in the February 4 issue of the Federal Register [volume 64, number 23: page 5684-5685 (frwebgate.access.gpo.gov)]. This notice is posted for a 60-day period of public comment. In the near future the National Insitutes of Health (NIH) will post, on the Office of Extramural Research Web site [grants.nih.gov], issues related to this topic and observations regarding this proposed rule.

January 1999

Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project and Celera Shake Hands Over Plans to Sequence Fruit Fly Genome
The publicly funded Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project and Celera Genomics, a business unit of The Perkin-Elmer Corporation, have become formal partners in an effort to decode, or sequence, the genetic instructions of the fruit fly.

Talking Glossary Of Genetics
Online Multimedia Genetics Glossary Explains DNA, Gene Therapy, and Other Hot Topics: National Human Genome Institute (NHGRI) Researchers Explain Genetic Terms in Innovative New Web Site and CD-ROM.

Last Updated: Febuary 13, 2015

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