ARS participates as a member of the US-EC Taskforce on Biotechnology Research.  Since 1990, the US-EC Taskforce on Biotechnology Research has been coordinating transatlantic efforts to guide and exploit the ongoing revolution in biotechnology and the life sciences. The Taskforce was established in June 1990 by the European Commission and the White House Office of Science and Technology to provide a forum for discussion, coordination and developing new ideas.  Its mandate is renewed every five years.

Taskforce members are representatives from EC and US science and technology agencies and meet annually to discuss and encourage collaborative research.  The Taskforce sponsors workshops and other activities to bring together scientific leaders and early career researchers from both sides of the Atlantic to forecast research challenges and opportunities and to promote better links between researchers. The Taskforce has played a key role in establishing a diverse range of emerging scientific fields.  The following activities have been sponsored under the Taskforce and under the co-leadership of ARS.

Food Safety

The Taskforce initiated consultations in order to foster collaborative research in food safety responsive to both EC and US needs.  Several workshops and other collaborative activities took place over the past several years, under the leadership of Dr. James Lindsay, National Program Leader, ARS-USDA.  With ARS as a major collaborator, the final report on Campycheck was compiled and submitted to the EC. To continue cooperation and support for “Combase: the International modeling database,” ARS signed a new five-year Concordat with UK-Food Standards Agency, the Food Research Institute-Norwich, and the Australian Food Safety Center Excellence.  ARS continued discussion with Tekes, Finland, on cooperation in nutrition, food safety, and quality and utilization.  A new agreement with UCD Ireland was executed in 2007, and cooperation continued with VTT, Finland and the University of Bologna, Italy.

Bio-Based Products Initiative

The EC’s current Framework Programme 7 (FP 7) was recently adopted by the European Parliament.  ARS partnered with European counterparts under the US-EC Taskforce on Biotechnology Research, which helped identify priority areas for research in bio-based product and bioenergy research and development; these areas were integrated into FP 7.  This initiative began in a workshop sponsored by the Taskforce to identify areas of common interest in bio-based product/biofuel research.  A working group established as an outcome of the workshop developed the parameters of flagship projects and areas for cooperation:

1) plant cell walls;

2) oilseeds; and

3) biopolymers. 

To help flesh out the flagships and provide clear direction for research, the EC established a project, EPO BIO, to develop further parameters to incorporate into the Framework Programme 7.  EPO BIO is organized around the three flagship themes and supporting themes that address economic cost/benefit, environmental issues, public perceptions and attitudes and communication of scientific information to the general public. 

Animal Genomics

In conjunction with the annual Taskforce meeting, a satellite workshop was held on 17 and 18 July 2006 in Brussels on “The Future of Livestock Genomics” with the objective of anticipating the next stages in the development of animal (livestock, poultry and farmed aquatic species) genomics and looking at opportunities for cooperation between the USA and Europe.  The workshop was attended by leading researchers representing a broad spectrum of the research communities.  The participants agreed on several points:

•          Animal genomics has the potential to improve sustainable agricultural production, and in key areas can be a tool for developing human genomics research.

•          The use of genomics for genetic selection and for understanding the underlying mechanisms of genes, their function and their ultimate expression into a specific phenotype is considered broadly acceptable. 

•          Although technologies such as cloning and genetic modification are currently still controversial, they offer significant advantages as research tools and will contribute to a significant improvement in our understanding of the molecular complexity of genome functions.

•          Collaboration is needed to develop the tools for properly exploiting farm animal genomics; in fact, all current sequencing projects for farm animals are funded through collaborations.

•          A permanent platform for information exchange between EU and US research funders would be helpful to address key targets, including:

• the development of more sequence data, SNP panels and, with care, phenotype databases (the “phenome”).
• The phenotype databases should be based on large populations; together with massive phenotypic diversity, they are expensive and will need careful planning to maximize their utility.
• The long-term annotation and curation of the genomics data to make sure that it remains up-to-date, reliable, and available, needs to be addressed with some urgency.

Read more about US-EC work in Animal Genomics…

Vaccine Discovery Workshop

One of the most cost effective countermeasures may be the use of highly effective vaccines that have been specifically designed for control and eradication of infectious agents.     Over eighty scientists and experts met in a U.S.-EC workshop on “Advances in Immunology and Vaccine Discovery” to explore several fields of investigation at the interface between immunology and vaccinology that currently offer prospects for achieving breakthroughs in vaccine discovery and development.  The workshop was held at the National Animal Disease Center (USDA-ARS) in Ames, Iowa, from December 12 to 14, 2006, sponsored under the US-EC Task Force on Biotechnology Research, and supported by the European Commission, Agricultural Research Service (ARS-USDA), Cooperative State Research and Extension Service (CSREES-USDA), Military Infectious Diseases Research Program (MIDRP), Molecular Vaccines Interagency Working Group, Naval Medical Research Center, United States Navy, National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID-NIH-HHS), National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR).  Participants, representatives of public and private vaccine development research from the United States and Europe, examined the premise that research in key focal areas will generate novel ideas for vaccine design, and that these ideas can be put into effect utilizing the tools provided by molecular biology.

Read more about US-EC work in Vaccine Discovery…

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