History of Genomics Program launches virtual exhibits

NHGRI’s History of Genomics Program contains a vast wealth of information about the Human Genome Project and its many legacies. The program has long worked to make the history of genomics accessible to the public by producing an Oral History Collection and educational materials on scientific racism and eugenics; curating special collections from NHGRI’s History of Genomics Archive; as well as hosting various events.

Recently, the History of Genomics Program has been creating virtual exhibits that draw from archival materials and each highlight specific aspects of the Human Genome Project and its impacts on science and history. The first exhibit, developed by NHGRI’s archivist Zachary Utz, M.A., is titled “The Human Genome Project is simply a bad idea” — which is a quote from one of many letters criticizing the Human Genome Project as it was getting off the ground in 1990.

The exhibit explores a letter writing campaign launched by Martin Rechsteiner, Ph.D., a professor from the University of Utah School of Medicine, who called the Human Genome Project “mediocre science, terrible science policy.” He successfully recruited 55 others — mostly scientists and even one Nobel laureate, from 33 different academic institutions — to write anti-Human Genome Project letters and send them to the newly formed National Center for Human Genome Research (NCHGR), which would later become NHGRI.

Elke Jordan, Ph.D., who was the deputy director of NCHGR, responded to every letter, rebutting arguments against the project, some of which were repeated frequently. Dr. Jordan also saved the majority of the letters, which are now part of her archival collection, making this virtual exhibit possible.

One of the most common objections to the Human Genome Project was its estimated price tag, $3 billion. Many letters questioned whether sequencing the entire human genome would actually be useful, especially since at the time, many scientists thought most of the genome consisted of “junk DNA.” Several letters, therefore, argued all of this time and money would be better spent on more targeted studies of genes.

Many such “junk DNA” sequences are now known to be essential for human health and development, and their functions were discovered thanks to the groundwork laid by the Human Genome Project. Though this letter writing campaign did not impede the project, these archival materials serve as an important reminder of the boldness of the Human Genome Project and the extent to which it disrupted the scientific status quo at the time.

“The Human Genome Project is simply a bad idea” is the first in a series of virtual exhibits planned by the History of Genomics Program. The next exhibit, expected to launch by the end of this year, will focus on GeneSweep, a betting pool organized as the Human Genome Project was nearing completion in the early 2000s, in which scientists attempted to predict the total number of protein-coding genes in the human genome.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) carry out critical research and train many scientists, clinicians, and other biomedical professionals across the United States, but these institutions have historically not received significant funding from NIH. The NIH Small Business Program Office recently launched the Path to Excellence and Innovation (PEI) Initiative to increase the amount of NIH funding provided for research and training at HBCUs. The initiative — developed in accordance with the presidential executive order “Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity Through Historically Black Colleges and Universities” — fosters partnerships between HBCUs and small business and provides training and technical assistance to HBCUs to facilitate their applications for NIH grants and contracts, broadening the funding opportunities for HBCUs. More information about this program can be found on the National Institutes of Health PEI Initiative podcast.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) carry out critical research and train many scientists, clinicians, and other biomedical professionals across the United States, but these institutions have historically not received significant funding from NIH. The NIH Small Business Program Office recently launched the Path to Excellence and Innovation (PEI) Initiative to increase the amount of NIH funding provided for research and training at HBCUs. The initiative — developed in accordance with the presidential executive order “Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity Through Historically Black Colleges and Universities” — fosters partnerships between HBCUs and small business and provides training and technical assistance to HBCUs to facilitate their applications for NIH grants and contracts, broadening the funding opportunities for HBCUs. More information about this program can be found on the National Institutes of Health PEI Initiative podcast.

In October, the NIH director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS) featured Christian Happi, Ph.D., a professor of molecular biology and genomics at Redeemer’s University in Nigeria, an investigator in the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Consortium, and director of the African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID). After an introduction by NHGRI Scientific Director Charles Rotimi, Ph.D., Dr. Happi highlighted genomics capacity-building efforts in West Africa and discussed how genomic knowledge and technologies are essential for predicting and combatting infectious disease outbreaks. He described a few examples, including ACEGID’s genomic work to track the Ebola virus during the 2014 outbreak in West Africa, to characterize new variants of concern within the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and to detect the virus that causes mpox in recent outbreaks worldwide. In some of these examples, early detection prevented further spread, demonstrating how genomics can provide a proactive — rather than reactive — response to infectious diseases. A recording of Dr. Happi’s lecture is now available online.