E1926 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks October 4, 1996 population, when compared to the general ator from Iowa [Mr. HARKIN] and the gen- perfect. When he emerged from his personal public, reflects a disproportionate level of med- tleman from Illinois [Mr. PORTER] for their con- transformation, there he was, at the leading ical needs, including cardiovascular disease, tributions to the field of biomedical research. I edge of molecular biology. He established his credentials in biology by strokes, diabetes, and cancer. Harvard Street think it is fitting that scientific societies begin tackling subjects that could only be ap- Neighborhood Health Center and the other to recognize and reward the service and con- proached by someone with a strong back- Men of Color health care programs do aggres- tributions that their members make to the pub- ground in mathematics, like how to analyze sive outreach and case management, and lic arena on behalf of biomedical research. Dr. statistically whether a disease may be offer medical services in all major areas. They Kirschner has served the Congress well in be- caused by one or many genes, and how to fer- are to be commended for their hard work and ginning the briefing series and bringing all his ret out the different contributing genes. commitment to the community. colleagues, specifically Dr. Varmus and Dr. In August, a team led by Dr. Lander found I also commend Brigham and Woman's a gene that contributes to type 2 diabetes, a Bishop to our attention. Once again, Dr. disease caused by many genes, each with Hospital, the Massachusetts Department of Kirschner has served the Congress well in se- many variants. Dr. Lander’s strategy began Public Health, and the numerous businesses curing a replacement for his leadership of the with the calculation that elusive genes are and individuals whose hard work and financial JSC societies, Dr. Eric Linder, Director of the easier to identify in isolated populations, contribution make this initiative possible. Whitehead Institute Genome Center at MIT. where people are descended from only a few f For the last year Dr. Lander, a member of the founders and have not accumulated the Genetics Society of America, has succeeded many genetic variations of more cosmopoli- CONGRESSIONAL BIOMEDICAL RE- Dr. Kirschner, as chair of the efforts of the five tan groups. He searched for the diabetes gene among a group of people in the Bothnia re- SEARCH CAUCUS CELEBRATES 50 societies of the Joint Steering Committee, BRIEFING SESSIONS gion of western Finland where few outsiders which continue to provide us excellent advice have migrated in the last 1,000 years. and guidance on the latest developments in When biologists began to consider the task HON. GEORGE W. GEKAS biomedical research. Over the years the cau- of making a complete catalogue of the entire OF PENNSYLVANIA cus briefing series has developed a reputation three billion letters in the human body’s IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES for excellence and an audience among the DNA code, Dr. Lander’s work made him a natural candidate to lead one of the several Friday, October 4, 1996 Congress from the Congressional Research Service analysts to professional staff of the teams of DNA sequencers. Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to Craig Venter, head of the Institute for Ge- health and related Committees of the Con- netics Research, a private concern in Rock- inform my colleagues that since the beginning gress. Two years ago the caucus hosted a of the Congressional Biomedical Research ville, Md., a competitor of Dr. Lander in the briefing presentation by NASA, which was be- race to sequence genomes, said: ‘‘In sequenc- Caucus in 1990, until the last briefing of this ginning its biology research on the Space Lab ing whole genomes the breakthrough has Congress on September 25, there have been and in attendance was astronaut Shannon been mathematics, applied math and new al- 50 briefing sessions for Members of Congress Lucid, the current American with the longest gorithms. These are the kind of things Eric and their staffs on the latest cutting edge de- flight in space and her replacement in space is good at.’’ velopments in biomedical research. At the Whitehead Institute/M.I.T. Genome John Blaha. We are able to bring these issues Center, Dr. Lander’s group has produced the Over the 6-year period, the Biomedical Re- to the Congress by using the noon hour for search Caucus has developed a working rela- first genetic maps of the human and mouse briefing meetings because of the contribution genomes, a necessary step toward working tionship with the five scientific societies: Amer- of the Federation of American Societies for out the complete DNA sequence. His labora- ican Society for Cell Biology, American Soci- Experimental Biology, which cooperates with tory is one of several that are financed by ety for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Joint Steering Committee in this service. the National Center for Human Genome Re- Biophysical Society, Genetics Society of We look forward to working with Dr. Lander, search in Bethesda, Md. The consortium of America, American Association of Anatomists who was recently featured in a New York laboratories had planned to complete the full and the Association of Anatomy, Cell Biology DNA sequence of the human genome by the Times profile of a scientist at work, ``Love Of year 2005 at a cost of $3 billion, but is already and Neurobiology Chairpersons, which com- Numbers Leads To Chromosome 17''. Dr. pose the Joint Steering Committee for Public two years ahead of schedule and below budg- Lander is an amiable adviser who brings the et. The project has already identified many Policy [JSC]. JSC under the leadership of Dr. unique perspective of a mathematician to the genes of medical interest and prompted in- Marc Kirschner, chairman of Cell Biology at work of genetics and biology. I commend the vestments by several companies. Harvard Medical School and with the scientific attached article about Dr. Lander for your Dr. Lander, 39, was born and raised in resources of the member societies established reading and inspiration: Brooklyn in a family of lawyers. As student at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, he a committee, chaired by Nobel Prize winner [From the New York Times, Sept. 10, 1996] Dr. Harold Varmus, the current Director of the was sent one summer to participate in an LOVE OF NUMBERS LEADS TO CHROMOSOME 17 elite mathematics program, where the stu- National Institutes of Health, to develop a bio- (By Philip J. Hilts) medical research briefing program for the dents decided that 17 was the most interest- CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—In the career of Dr. ing of all numbers. They formed a 17 club Congress. I am proud of the quality of the pro- Eric Steven Lander, as in the new branch of and made up a T-shirt emblazoned with grams and the new opportunities in health biology known as genomics, the life of num- amazing facts about the number 17. Dr. care that are presented at the caucus brief- bers and the numbers in life have come to- Lander can still quote examples: ‘‘Many ings. Since Dr. Varmus assumed his duties at gether. multisided figures are stable when set down the NIH, we have been fortunate to have Dr. Dr. Lander, director of the Whitehead In- any one of their sides, for example, a pyra- Michael Bishop, University of California, San stitute/M.I.T. Genome Center here, is a lead- mid. But did you know that a 17-sided figure Francisco, his former colleague and co-prize er in constructing a complete catalogue of is the only one that is stable on one side the human DNA code or genome. But he did only?’’ winner of the Nobel award advise us on ap- not arrive at this position in the traditional Recently, the number 17 has sneaked back propriate topics and speakers for the caucus way—for example with a degree in biology. into his life. The Whitehead genome center briefings. This past year in 1996, Dr. Bishop Only when past 30 did this curly haired and has chosen human chromosome No. 17 as the suggested the caucus learn about issues in- energetic figure first crack a book in biol- one it will sequence as its contribution to volving: genetic testing, antibiotic resistance, ogy. the Human Genome Project. mad cow disease, and us, how vision wires Rather, he grew up in the thrall of num- ‘‘Someone suggested I had picked chro- our brains and the potential for learning, the bers. As a high school mathematics whiz, he mosome 17 because of my fascination with was on the United States high school team that number,’’ Dr. Lander said. ‘‘That’s not latest in new drug therapy that may prevent that came in a close second to the Soviet really true, but I am thinking of taking the the HIV virus from becoming full blown AIDS team in the world mathematics Olympiad in old T-shirt out of the closest. I still have it.’’ and allow individuals to live productive lives, 1974. He later trained as a pure mathemati- As Dr. Lander followed his instincts, his and how H Pylori is involved in ulcers and cian at Princeton University. Only then did career took some sharp turns, from pure stomach cancer. We look forward to his sug- he fall in love with biology, as he spent mathematics at Princeton and Oxford, to gestions for next year. hours talking with his brother, Arthur, a managerial economics at the Harvard Busi- This December, 1996, the American Society neurologist. ness School. Then, while teaching mathe- Biology itself has also been undergoing for Cell Biology at its annual meeting in San matically oriented business classes by day, change in recent years. The old style of aca- at night he crossed the Charles River to hang Francisco will give its Public Policy Award to demic biology is now admitting a brash new out in biology laboratories. Dr. Marc Kirschner, the first research scientist branch of inquiry, one that is information- He had begun to see that beneath the sur- to receive the award. Previous recipients of heavy, computer-driven and closely allied to face of the two very different disciplines of the Public Policy award have been the Sen- business. And for Dr. Lander, that has been mathematics and biology there lay some October 4, 1996 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1927 links of possible importance. Biology, how- then take that list, and then correlate all ‘‘In the next one to three years, we have to ever chaotic it might appear, had regions the different variations with health out- figure out how to get humans out of the that he felt would yield to the firepower of comes. You could take the Framingham loop,’’ he said. ‘‘Then we can really get to mathematical methods. His first few papers Heart Study and find the rate of each disease work thinking about biology and what’s exploring mathematical approaches to biol- associated with each of the 300,000 variants going on in life.’’ ogy were sufficiently remarkable that he of genes.’’ f won a MacArthur Fellowship, the so-called That would allow each person to get a full ‘‘genius’’ award. ‘‘That grant was crucial for list of what disease they are most at risk for, REMARKS OF KIKA DE LA GARZA me,’’ he said. ‘‘I was struggling to establish based on their inheritance. AT THE CONGRESSIONAL HIS- myself at the interface of math and molecu- With a mix of hope and skepticism, he said: PANIC CAUCUS INSTITUTE’S 19TH lar biology. Why should anyone take me seri- ‘‘In principle, that would allow us to have ANNUAL GALA ously? The MacArthur gave me that essen- personalized health care and personal health tial credibility.’’ care strategies. In practice, of course, wheth- The $250,000 grant helped finance travel to er we do that will depend on what we as a so- HON. BILL RICHARDSON the far-flung and isolated human populations ciety want to pay for, and how much we can OF NEW MEXICO where he knew gene-hunting would be easier. protect our privacy, and so on.’’ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ‘‘Two,’’ he said, holding up fingers to sig- Dr. Lander soon started to make an impact Friday, October 4, 1996 in molecular biology, creating the mathe- nal the next item on his manifesto. ‘‘We matical tools to tease out a major gene in want to be able to monitor gene expression.’’ Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, on Mon- asthma, and a ‘‘modifer’’ gene that can sup- Finding out which of an individual’s genes day, September 30, 1996, the gentleman from are active at any time would help indicate a press colon cancer. But eventually he tired Texas, Mr. DE LA GARZA, addressed the House body’s response to drugs, dieting, exercise of hunting down genes in the genetic jungle, for the last time. I would like to include for the one by one. ‘‘That time is over,’’ he said. He and other factors. ‘‘All this is not so crazy as it sounds,’’ Dr. RECORD Mr. DE LA GARZA's remarks at the is now laying plans for the next era in biol- Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's ogy, in which he foresees that the entire set Lander said. ‘‘Less crazy, in fact, than the genome project itself. There are already ge- of human genes and their functions will be 19th Annual Gala. netic ‘chips’ that can make these things pos- available on one CD–ROM disk, so there will PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF CONGRESSMAN KIKA sible.’’ be no more Stanley-and-Livingston search- DE LA GARZA’S REMARKS AT THE CONGRES- He was referring to one of his favorite new SIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS INSTITUTE’S 19TH ing. technologies, which has put human genes on ‘‘Now, suddenly, biology is finite,’’ he said. ANNUAL GALA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, microchips. Genes in a blood sample can be ‘‘The genome project is wholly analogous 1996 matched against the standard ones on the to the creation of the periodic table in chem- This is a great night for me, of course for chip to see if there are any important abnor- istry,’’ Dr. Lander said. Just as Mendeleev’s the tribute, but more important for who we malities. are, and what we do, and what we celebrate arrangement of the chemical elements in the So far, one company making ‘‘gene chips,’’ here, beyond me. The odyssey began a thou- periodic table made coherent a previously Affymetric Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., has sand years ago, in a little corner of Europe unrelated mass of data, so Dr. Lander be- succeeded in putting all the genes of H.I.V., called the Iberian peninsula. And then, some lieves that the tens of thousands of genes in the virus that causes AIDS, on a chip for 500 years ago, it crossed a vast ocean to a present-day organisms will all turn out to be such comparison. The company has plans to new world. Those galleons were manned by made from combinations of a much smaller put 30 to 40 human genes on one chip, and Spaniards, Hispanics. And then they came number of simpler genetic modules or ele- ‘‘in principle at least,’’ said Robert and explored the coast of the Carolinas, New- ments, the primordial genes, so to speak. He Lipschutz of Affymetrix, ‘‘we should be able foundland, what we now know as North and theorizes that these modules helped carry on to put all human genes on a chip.’’ life in the most primitive cells living on the Dr. Lander has a piece of that company, as South America and began settlements. So planet three billion years ago. The basic well as a major financial interest in Millen- the odyssey continued—Spanish, Mexican functions of the life carried out by the first nium, a company that intends to make use and Texan, and Confederate and U.S. and we genes must all have been formed very early of the data from the genome project to de- never moved from the same ranch. . . . people out of the United States, how in evolution, Dr. Lander surmises. Most sign diagnostics and treatments of disease. not to educate children because their parents present-day genes are variations on these If there is a danger sighted ahead in the might be illegal or . . . that to me was a sad few original themes, he said. ‘‘new biology,’’ some critics suggest, it is occasion that a child, you know, the Master ‘‘The point is that the 100,000 human genes that businesses may be too close to science, said, ‘‘Suffer the children to come unto me.’’ shouldn’t be thought of as 100,000 completely and may even sometimes be in the driver’s He didn’t say if they were Palestinians or different genes,’’ Dr. Lander said. ‘‘They seat. Scientific judgments may too often Nazaranians, he said, ‘‘the children, come should be thought of as maybe a couple hun- yield under pressure from business needs. dred families that carry on essentially all of Dr. Lander, an avid businessman, takes unto me.’’ And here we’re saying, ‘‘No, life.’’ these problems more seriously than most you’re not going to teach this child. You’re Making such a periodic table for families people in science, said Dr. Francis Collins, going to throw him out on the street. We of genes will define a new direction for biol- director of the Federal genome project. Dr. don’t care if he’s educated because his par- ogy, in Dr. Lander’s view. The completed Collins credits Dr. Lander with leading the ents are illegal or because he’s illegal. That’s table would mark the end of structural way to help solve at least one of the prob- not right. That’s not what America is all genomics, the analysis of the structure of lems—that of hoarding data to gain business about. (Applause) Thank you. (Applause) Some of us have been more fortunate than genes. ‘‘When you get the last base of the ge- advantages. nome, driven in like the golden spike in the The Whitehead genome center, at Dr. others. I have been more fortunate. But I transcontinental railroad, we’ll maybe have Lander’s direction, puts out on the Internet come to you saying that, to those who re- a big ceremony,’’ he said. ‘‘But when it’s all the data it produces on DNA markers and ceive much, have more to repay, and this is done, it’s done.’’ sequences, which are freely available to any- something that we have to look at, and Then comes what Dr. Lander calls func- one who wants to copy the material. that’s been my thrust all along. That we tional genomics, or making practical use of At first the M.I.T. laboratory’s data were have a . . . When they said life, liberty, and the table. For example, Dr. Lander says, bi- posted every few months, and soon they will the pursuit of happiness, that’s what it ologists may learn to read human DNA so ef- be disseminated almost daily, Dr. Lander means, having a youngster be educated, have fectively that laboratories will quickly be said. ‘‘This work is paid for with public a youngster the ability to help themself. If able to tell patients all the important vari- money and it’s got to be made public as fast no one else will help them, at least he’ll help ations they have in their entire gene set, or as we can,’’ he said. ‘‘That means breaking himself. And I had, throughout my life, the genome. Further, it should be possible to tell with tradition and getting it out there long best educators, teachers, since my very first which of those genes are turned off or on at before it can be published in scientific jour- nun, Sister Mary Teresita, and my very first a given moment, thus getting a picture of nals.’’ scout master, and following that my first whether the cells of the body are up to snuff. The effect he says, is highly stimulating high school coach. We followed them, and we ‘‘So here’s the manifesto for the era of for biologists. ‘‘We get 50,000 to 100,000 hits were able to achieve. And my friends, I stand functional genomics,’’ Dr. Lander said. on our database per week. People need this here tonight as part of that oddessy that ‘‘One. At the DNA level we want the abil- data.’’ began long time ago, thank to those who ity to re-sequence an entire genome—any- The Federal genome project office has have touched my life along the way. Family, body’s genome—in a regular medical setting, begun to follow his lead, and those receiving my wife, my kids. I regret that my kids to find all the variations. Because you and I grants must now make their data available could not be here. One, Mike, is out in the differ in one-tenth of 1 percent of our bases, at least every six months. middle of the Mediterranean, the task force and that accounts for our differences. The task over the next few years for those with the Enterprise, Lieutenant Commander ‘‘Most genes will have two, three or four leading molecular biology will be to get bi- Mike de la Garza. We’re very proud of him. major variants, If you have 100,000 genes, ologists away from their traditional tools— Our daughter Angela works for Jay Morwin that means there will only be about 300,000 pipettes, gels and flasks—and into analyzing (??) in Austin with the Gulf of Mexico initia- major variants. It’s a finite number. We can gene function with computers. tive. And our heart surgeon George, we’re