Gerry Joyce, S. Block, J. Cornwall, F. Dyson, S. Koonin, N. Lewis, and R. Schwitters 
The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 
gjoyce@scripps.edu 

In 1997, the JASON organization conducted a DOE-sponsored study of the human genome project with special emphasis in the areas of sequencing technology, quality assurance and quality control, and informatics. A summary of this report was published in Science magazine (Science 1998 January 2; 279: 36-37). In 1998, the study was continued and expanded to include a consideration of what role DOE might play in the "post genomic" era, following the acquisition of the complete human genome sequence. 

The JASON study recommended that DOE should (1) help ensure the development of a full length cDNA clone resource, (2) expand its efforts in comparative genomic sequencing of model organisms, (3) work to establish community-wide standards for software operation and the quality of data entered into public databases, including the development and operation of functional genomics databases, and (4) foster progress in genome-wide technologies for functional genomics.