Office of Biological & Environmental Research Office of Biological & Environmental Research
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Frequently Asked Questions
  1. How can researchers submit proposals for BER research grants?
  2. What is the Research Information Management System and how does one use it to submit data electronically?
  3. Why is BER supporting Human Genome Research?
  4. Why is BER supporting Global Change Research?
  5. Why is BER supporting Bioremediation Research?
  6. What progress is being made in the Department of Energy's Human Genome Program?
  7. What efforts is BER taking to address the ethical issues of its research programs?
  8. Which office oversees human subjects protection at the Department of Energy?
  9. Does BER support user facilities? If so, how can users submit proposals to use these facilities?
  10. What contribution is the Health Effects Program making to the Department's effort to facilitate the understanding of the effects of weapons production?
  11. What is the current status of clinical applications of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy?
  12. What are the new directions for FY 1999 in OBER'S Global Change Research Program?
  13. Where can I find answers to some common questions about climate change?
  14. Does BER offer internships?
  15. Doing a class project and need information - where should you look first?
  16. Is permission needed to use information from BER publications?
  17. How can you locate a BER report?
  1. How can researchers submit proposals for BER research grants?

    Answer:

    Colleges and universities, non-profit organizations, for-profit commercial organizations, foreign organizations, state and local governments, and unaffiliated individuals may submit grant applications in response to the grant solicitation notices. DOE National Laboratories and other Federal agencies are not allowed to respond directly to the grant solicitation notices. DOE National Laboratories may submit task proposals for funding under their current DOE contract; and may wish to respond to the program announcements listed under Program Announcements to National Laboratories. Other Federal agencies may submit unsolicited proposals for funding via interagency agreements. Guidelines, proposal forms, and both grant and lab announcements are available on Grants and Contracts Web Site.

  2. What is the Research Information Management System and how does one use it to submit data electronically?

    Answer:

      OBER's Research Information Management System (RIMS) is a web and local area network-based database that will be used to collect, store, and retrieve information on all OBER research projects. RIMS was developed for use by headquarters staff and principal investigators to minimize duplicate data entry and to streamline the exchange of critical information on all research funded and managed by OBER. It is designed to collect data directly from principal investigators through its web interface in a common format. Every principal investigator (PI) will be assigned a user ID and password, giving them access to the web interface that contains only their projects. RIMS will notify investigators automatically by email when information like progress is needed, reducing the likelihood of funding delays. PIs will enter project abstracts, progress reports for continuations and renewals, information on collaborations, and project contact information directly into RIMS ensuring that all project information available to headquarters staff is accurate and current. Point of Contact: Karen Carlson.

  3. Why is BER supporting Human Genome Research?

    Answer:

      After the atomic bomb was developed and used, the U.S. Congress charged DOE's predecessor agencies (the Atomic Energy Commission and the Energy Research and Development Administration) with studying and analyzing genome structure, replication, damage, and repair and the consequences of genetic mutations, especially those caused by radiation. From these studies grew the recognition that the best way to study these effects was to analyze the entire human genome to obtain a reference sequence. Planning began in 1986 for DOE's Human Genome Program and in 1987 for NIH's program. The DOE-NIH U.S. Human Genome Program formally began October 1, 1990, after the first joint 5-year plan was written and a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two organizations.

  4. Why is BER supporting Global Change Research?

    Answer:

      BER is supporting Global Change Research because of the relationship between climate change and emissions to the atmosphere from the development and use of energy technologies. The BER global change research program focuses on understanding the basic chemical, physical, and biological processes of the Earth's atmosphere, land, and oceans and how these processes may be affected by energy production and use, primarily the emission of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion. These investigations are important elements in the overall DOE research program to provide solutions to the nation's energy needs.

      DOE has always been a significant player in global change research and, in fact, launched the first federal research program exploring the links between the rise of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and climate change in 1978. DOE has continued to support research to better understand and predict how the Earth's climate responds to increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and what the potential impacts of climate change would be.

  5. Why is BER supporting Bioremediation Research?

    Answer:

      DOE's Office of Environmental Management is responsible for the environmental management of 130 sites and facilities that have been contaminated in places with pollutants from the production of nuclear weapons. OBER's basic research in bioremediation has the potential to be useful in the remediation and restoration of the contaminated locations at these sites. For example, the Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) program focuses on DOE problems. The theme for the NABIR Program emphasizes field-scale research and metal and radionuclide contamination, specifically on the metals and radionuclides associated with weapons production.

  6. What progress is being made in the Department of Energy's Human Genome Program

    Answer:

    • The program continues to develop resources and technologies that are in demand in the broader research community, and there has been considerable progress towards several specific goals.

    • In mapping projects, a new resource of readily sequenced DNA clones is serving in the completion of some maps and will speed projects where fine structure mapping has been slow.

    • The chromosome microdissection project had a pivotal role in this year's discovery of the colon cancer gene and is similarly aiding other disease gene hunts.

    • The Sequencing by Hybridization DNA sequencing technology has been demonstrated to be a powerful system for economical and massively parallel characterizations of the DNA clones representing expressed genes.

    • Three National Laboratories (BNL, LANL, and LLNL) have CRADAs for transfer of novel DNA sequencing technologies, and robotic systems for DNA clone processing developed at LBL are serving the commercial, as well as the non-profit, sector.

    • Experience is being gained with three different pilot strategies for large-scale sequencing, to guide decisions leading to a National capacity of 100 megabases(DNA subunits)/yr in 1996.

    • The first of a new generation of capillary gel DNA sequencing systems allowing 10-fold speed increases is entering commercial production, and replaceable gel matrix for such capillaries is greatly increasing the utility of these systems.

    • Following an intensive review of services needed for facile utilization of accumulating genome information, a program to establish user-friendly linkages between the multiple databases needed to support genomics has begun.

  7. What efforts is BER taking to address the ethical issues of its research programs?

    Answer:

      Two of the BER research programs, the Human Genome Program (HGP) and the Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) Program, include activities (with budgets) specifically to explore and address the potential societal implications of these research areas. For the HGP, this activity is known as "ELSI", for ethical, legal, and social implications; for NABIR, it is known as "BASIC", for bioremediation and its societal implications and concerns. The ELSI program of the HGP has existed for 11 years and has sponsored workshops for judges and others, educational programs and curricula, public television and radio documentaries, academic research into privacy concerns of genetic information, model legislation for privacy protection, a museum display, and studies of genome patenting. One of the first activities in the NABIR program was a workshop on July 17-18, 1996, near Warrenton, Virginia. In all, 45 invited participants from government, academia, non-profit institutions, trade organizations, and the business community met to discuss the ethical, legal, and social issues associated with the new NABIR program. The objectives of the workshop were (1) to explore what some of the societal, public policy, educational, and other issues attendant to the NABIR program might be; (2) to begin the process of public involvement; and (3) to develop an initial set of recommendations for creating a program for Bioremediation and Its Societal Implications and Concerns (BASIC) within NABIR. Since that time, BASIC has supported activities in both the university sector and the DOE labs (specifically PNNL and ORNL) to explore public perspectives on bioremediation research, and develop materials (the NABIR Primer) to communicate the science behind bioremediation research to the public.

  8. Which office oversees human subjects protection at the Department of Energy?

    Answer:

      The Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) is responsible for the protection of human subjects involved in research throughout the Department of Energy. The Protecting Human Subjects Program at DOE ensures that research involving human research subjects comply with 10 CFR Part 745, Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects.

  9. Does BER support user facilities? If so, how can users submit proposals to use these facilities?

    Answer:

    BER sponsors one national scientific user facility, the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory and stations at several other user facilities:

    Guidelines for submitting proposals are available from these individual centers. BER also supports major field research facilities and experiments, such as the ARM Cloud and Radiation Testbeds, the Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) experiments, and the Carbon Dioxide Flux Measurement sites in the U.S. (AmeriFlux). These field facilities are considered to be user facilities. Funding to use the facilities can be requested from either the program that funds these facilities (the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program, the Terrestrial Carbon Processes program, the Program for Ecosystem Research) or from other programs in and outside of DOE that fund research requiring the use of these facilities.

  10. What contribution is the Health Effects Program making to the Department's effort to facilitate the understanding of the effects of weapons production?

    Answer:

      Chromosome-specific identification techniques developed in this program have a variety of medical applications including diagnosis of genetically-related diseases.

      Genetically engineered animal models are being developed and used to study normal cellular processes and disease mechanisms, as well as to investigate potential therapies.

      New techniques for sequencing or identifying normal and altered DNA sequences from the Human Genome Program are being used to identify and determine disease-specific or exposure-associated genetic changes in cells, animals, and people.

      Efforts are underway to find and develop health-related applications of defense-related technologies.

      A bacterial expression vector with broad research applications has been developed; its potential commercial value is estimated to exceed $500 million yearly.

      Biomarkers for determining past exposures to radiation and chemicals are being developed and used for monitoring current and former DOE workers as well as the exposed populations.

      Instruments and methods to more accurately measure indoor radon concentrations are being developed.

  11. What is the current status of clinical applications of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy?

    Answer

    As of today 47 patients have been treated in the clinical trials. Thirty-four of these were at Brookhaven National Laboratory; all of these patients were treated for brain tumors. Thirteen patients were treated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Harvard: 8 patients with brain tumors and 5 with skin melanomas.

    Results:

    There was no toxicity from componds and neutron exposure. The life expectancy exceeds that of conventional therapy. Since the treatment time is dramatically less than conventional therapy (1 day compared to 2 months) the quality of life is also better.

    The trials are continuing. A workshop is planned for November to discuss the future of the therapy.

  12. What are the new directions for FY 1999 in OBER'S Global Change Research Program?

    Answer:

      The Global Change Research Program will continue to address the effects of energy production and use on the global Earth system, with primary focus on studies of climate response. The program includes research in climate modeling, atmospheric chemistry and transport, atmospheric properties and processes affecting the Earth's radiant energy balance, sources and sinks of energy-related greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide), consequences of atmospheric and climatic changes on vegetation and ecosystems, critical data needs for global change research and for early detection of climatic change, support of scientifically based assessments of environmental and economic consequences of climate change, and funding for education and training of scientists and researchers in global change.

  13. Where can I find answers to some common questions about climate change?

    Answer:

  14. Does BER offer internships?

    Answer:

  15. Doing a class project and need information - where should you look first?

    Answer:

  16. Is permission needed to use information from BER publications?

    Answer:

      BER publications are public documents and do not require permission. We do ask that you cite our work and notify us, when possible. Providing us with a copy of your work with the citation is greatly appreciated. It is always helpful to know how our products are being used and by whom. Knowing this helps us serve our users better.

  17. How can you locate a BER report?

    Answer:

      For government employees, the Office of Scientific and Technical Information maintains the Department of Energy Reports Bibliographic Database containing citations for Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored scientific and technical reports covering the period of January 1, 1994 to present.

      Reports are available to the general public from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161; phone (703) 487-4650 , or fax (703) 321-8547, or visit: http://www.ntis.gov/ordering.htm.

 

 
U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science