Buetow Named to New NCI Position
Dr. Kenneth Buetow has been appointed to the new position of NCI Associate Director for Bioinformatics and Information Technologies. Previously, Dr. Buetow served as director of the NCI Center for Bioinformatics.

Dr. Buetow will manage and execute information technology and bioinformatics initiatives that will lead to the usage of common tools, standards, and datasets across NCI; assist internal teams in adopting and leveraging NCI's cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid™ (caBIG™) infrastructure; review and update NCI's existing and planned bioinformatics programs and activities; make recommendations for the creation of a standing group that will provide technical guidance on new projects; and regularly report to the NCI Executive Committee, of which he is a member.

NCI Announces Biorepository Coordination System
On November 7, NCI announced a cancer biorepository pilot project designed to standardize biospecimen collection and management among investigators at NCI's prostate cancer Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs). The project will enhance the quality and availability of biospecimens and associated data for the broader scientific community.

The Biorepository Coordination System (BCS) will link researchers at 11 institutions to enable and accelerate the evaluation of key genes and proteins as potential clinical measures of prostate cancer. The project will create a common biorepository of high-quality, clinically annotated biospecimens, including paraffin-embedded and frozen tissue, serum, and plasma. Researchers will gain the analytical power of combined biorepository resources that will support an Inter-Prostate SPORE Biomarkers Study. This study will provide a scientific framework for testing the BCS model by conducting validation trials on promising prostate cancer prognostic biomarkers.

For more information, visit http://prostatenbnpilot.nci.nih.gov.

Science Writers' Seminar Focuses on Pain
On November 2, NCI's Press Office hosted a science writers' seminar on new approaches to treating chronic pain. The seminar highlighted the efforts of the NIH Pain Consortium, which was established to enhance pain research and promote collaboration among researchers across the many NIH institutes, centers, and offices that have programs and activities addressing pain. Speakers included Drs. Andrew Mannes and Michael J. Iadarola from NIDCR; Drs. Ann O'Mara and Blossom Patterson from NCI; Dr. Jeffrey S. Mogil, a NIDA grantee from McGill University; and Drs. Lawrence Tabak (NIDCR), Story Landis (NINDS), and Patricia Grady (NINR), institute directors and co-chairs of the NIH Pain Consortium. The seminar was attended by reporters from U.S. News and World Report, People Magazine, Dow Jones Newswires, and Knight Ridder, as well as several trade publications. For more information about the NIH Pain Consortium, visit http://painconsortium.nih.gov/. The seminar can be viewed online via archived webcast at http://videocast.nih.gov/PastEvents.asp.

DCCPS Report Available Online
The Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences' (DCCPS') July report, "2005: Overview and Highlights," was recently posted online. The report describes DCCPS' initiatives in surveillance, molecular epidemiology, quality of care, tobacco control, behavioral research, energy balance, survivorship, health disparities, dissemination, and diffusion. It is available at http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/bb/index.html.

CGEMS Funding Opportunity Available
The Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) program is a 3-year NCI initiative to identify and validate cancer susceptibility genes, and to make such information publicly accessible through NCI's caBIG™. CGEMS recently issued a Request for Proposals titled "Genotyping Service for the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) Initiative (RFP S06-072)." The objective of this solicitation is to seek a qualified vendor to perform a high-quality, genome-wide scan of high-density single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The requirement is to assay 300,000 or more distinct SNP genotypes in each of approximately 2500 high-quality genomic DNA samples within 90 days of the contract execution period. A completion rate of greater than 95 percent per sample and a per locus genotype error rate under 0.3 percent are required. For more information, go to www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/FCRF/Reference%2DNumber%2DS02%2D076/Attachments.html.