Bioscience research was initiated
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in
1963. Since that time, the program has undergone a
dramatic evolution in scope evolving from its initial
mission of characterizing the biological consequences
of ionizing radiation to a modern-day program in molecular
biology, genetics, genomics, computational biology,
and biotechnology.
Environmental health research is one area currently receiving investment emphasis. Efforts are directed to the goals and strategies of DOE’s Genomics:GTL program primary focus is on understanding the reciprocal interactions between the metabolic activities of environmental microbial communities and the properties of the environment in which they live.
The Laboratory seeks to contribute to the rapidly expanding science of biology in areas relevant to important challenges in national security, environmental sustainability, and human health. To address these goals, our current efforts focus on:
Experiments and simulations of protein structure
The development of assays to detect and characterize the earliest molecular responses of humans to ionizing radiation and pathogen infections
Studies of pathogenicity mechanisms in microbial pathogens and key elements of the host response
Systems-level studies of the evolution and geochemical impact of the metabolic activity of environmental microbial communities
Comparative genomic and genetic studies to illuminate gene function and regulatory architecture
Mechanistic studies of DNA repair and of low dose radiation response
The role of food-born mutagens in human cancer
Biotechnology development efforts in molecular recognition
Computational modeling at both
molecular and cellular levels.
We execute our roles through integrated multidisciplinary programs that leverage the Laboratory’s exceptional capabilities in the physical, computational, chemical and engineering sciences. These programs fill important national needs and apply our competencies in:
Microbial and mammalian genomics and genomic evolution—the functional analysis of genomes: the genes they encode, their evolution, their regulation, and their roles in living systems
Protein function and biochemistry—the structure, function, and interaction of proteins and other bio-molecules
Understanding the function of genes
Computational
modeling—at both the molecular and cellular level
Bioinformatics—databasing, networking, and analysis of molecular-biological data
Bio-instrumentation—the application of physical and engineering technologies to novel biological and biochemical measurements, laboratory automation, medical device development, and healthcare technologies.
We partner with industry
and universities in many of our activities to use their state-of-the art technology and science and to make our capabilities and discoveries available to the broader research community. The Laboratory is also a founding partner in DOE’s
Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California.