FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 14, 2003
#03-02

NIEHS CONTACT:
Bill Grigg
(301) 402-3378

14 Apr 2003: NIEHS Reaches Important Milestone in Characterizing Genes That Influence Human Susceptibility to Environmentally Induced Diseases

WHO:	Kenneth Olden, Ph.D., Director, and Samuel Wilson, M.D., Deputy Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); also genetic scientists from Howard University (Washington, DC), Indiana University (Indianapolis), University of California at Berkeley, University of Utah (Salt Lake City), University of Washington (Seattle), and Translational Genomics Research Institute (Phoenix, AZ) and others. Most will be available for interview following press conference.
WHAT:	Press conference to announce results of first phase of Environmental Genome Project, a milestone in characterizing genes that confer susceptibility to such chronic conditions as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and asthma. The project's results will lead to improved disease prevention and health management.
WHEN:	Wednesday, April 16, 2003, 1:30 p.m.
WHERE:	Lipsett Amphitheater (note restrictions below*) Clinical Center, Building 10 National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD 20892
CONTACT:	Dr. Leslie Reinlib, NIEHS - reinlib@niehs.nih.gov, 919-541-4998

Background

NIEHS has reached a key milestone: Researchers have resequenced and cataloged 200 environmentally responsive genes, including links to vascular disease and leukemia. At the April 16, 2003, press conference, leading gene researchers will highlight case studies and results to date on discovering DNA variation that are important tools for research on environmentally associated diseases.

To mark the completion of Phase I of the Environmental Genome Project (EGP) and the 50th anniversary of the Nobel Prize-winning description of the DNA double helix, NIEHS is sponsoring a half-day symposium preceding the press conference. Presenters will discuss specific EGP efforts as well as the future use of DNA variation in gene-environment interaction research and its implications for human disease. The NIEHS symposium and press conference are linked to the 2-day major scientific symposium "From Double Helix to Human Sequence-and Beyond," hosted by the National Human Genome Research Institute on April 14 and 15, 2003. (For more information: http://www.genome.gov/about/april2003/ (http://www.genome.gov/About/April2003/) .)

*Please be advised that NIH is currently enforcing increased security measures. Please consult the NIH Web site (http://www.nih.gov/about/visitorsecurity.htm) (http://www.nih.gov/about/visitorsecurity.htm) for instructions on accessibility and transportation.

Individual interviews can be arranged through NIEHS. Contact David Brown at 919-541-5111.