Biological Research for Energy and Medical Applications at the Department of Energy Office of Science

Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 Time: 02:00 PM Location: 2318 Rayburn House Office Building

Opening Statement By Chairman Brian Baird

Today’s hearing will explore the Office of Science’s biological research programs, and how they fit in with our broader federal research infrastructure for energy, environmental, and medical applications. The Department of Energy’s role in examining biological processes is not always well understood nor is it appreciated, but it dates back to 1946. At that time we needed to learn more about the effects that radiation could have on people from the use of either atomic weapons or nuclear power. This required bringing together the best and brightest researchers from both physical and medical sciences to study the issue. Over the years, DOE developed unique engineering capabilities within its national laboratories that allowed the Department to quickly catalogue the building blocks of living organisms. These technologies are what enabled the Human Genome Project to even be considered by scientists at DOE and NIH in the late ’80s, and then successfully completed on budget and ahead of schedule by 2003.

Today, the Office of Science focuses these capabilities on developing next-generation biofuels, finding new ways to sequester carbon, and on cleaning up the legacy waste from our nuclear weapons complex. In addition, DOE’s nuclear physics program has recently shouldered the responsibility of providing critical non-commercial isotopes for cancer treatments as well as other research applications. I look forward to learning more about the progress DOE is making in working with NIH and other agencies to meet the scientific and medical communities’ needs.

With that I’d like to thank this excellent panel of witnesses for appearing before the Subcommittee this afternoon, and I yield to our distinguished Ranking Member, Mr. Inglis.

Witnesses

Panel

0 - Dr. Allison Campbell
Director WR Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory WR Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory Pacific
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0 - Dr. Anna Palmisano
Director Office of Biological and Environmental Research U.S. Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research U.S. Department of Energy
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0 - Dr. Jay D. Keasling
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Joint BioEnergy Institute Joint BioEnergy Institute
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0 - Dr. Jehanne Gillo
Office of Nuclear Physics U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Energy
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0 - Dr. Aristides A. N. Patrinos
President Synthetic Genomics Synthetic Genomics
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