And those power lines and then to discover 22 elements that would be much smaller as the pandemic in the us it is apparent the laboratories and programs help to respond to the virus its not well known that research is not new to the lab those that neutralize chemical and biological agents this was used to clean up the Congressional Office buildings in 2001 with the threat of anthrax. And then to develop and with those radioisotopes with those Imaging Technology doe labs house and operate these facilities to establish by the department in 1997 as part of the human genome project and then to characterize those organisms of bioenergy and biogeochemistry also the gcompetition analysis so leveraging these capabilities have a ton of measures against the coronavirus to affect transmission this is why it possesses with the great challenges that expertise and their Research Tools responding to the pandemic and what future biological System Research with the most pressing issue i look forward to hearing from her witnesses to share their expertise on that topic with the biological Research Activity first of like to take a moment to acknowledge we are holding this hearing on 19th anniversary of september 11 s attacks and ask for a moment of silence to remember and honor those who lost their lives and lives who were forever altered and First Responders the brave men and women who rushed in on this day to help. [silence] thank you. I now recognize mr. Lucas for an opening statement. Thank you for hosting this hearing and for witnesses to be with us thisol afternoon hearing all the challenges and uncertainties the Scientific Community has gone above and beyond to treat and prevent covid19. The department ofart energy and office of science and National Labs that today we have the chance to narrow our focus to the biological Research Efforts in b particular that we are a High Priority Research area that is consistently received bipartisan support and examining the complex behavior to developing new approaches that portfolio helps to address the Public Healths challenges while preparing for the next generation of bioscience r d much of this is carried out through the user facilities including the Genomic Institute the facility for sequencing plants and microbes created to have the human genomic project with the sequencing and analysis with more than 200 trillion. That is a huge number per year. Another facility offers over 50 for those to research those biological interactions. Also offers access to high computing with expanded Environmental Research and to make great use of those resources as associate professor and a recipient of the president ial early career award. I look forward to hearing the value of user access and facilities with the other 25 user facilities maintained and operated are vital tools ofmp scientific discovery and drivers of national competitors. No other system in the world grants this kind of Cutting Edge Technology access to the researchers each year. And then to develop the most scientific facilities is the Intense International Competition int with the fastest supercomputer and the genomic data set or to hold distinct advantage of every field of material science and with a largescale user facility that they simply cannot afford this is why the key component of my bill the securing American Leadership science and Technology Act is authorization of the der program which includes the authorization of the Bioenergy Research centers this also is for the entire office over the next ten years the significant investment is essential to Us Investment in Research Whether covid19 are the next Public Health challenge our understanding of these complex systems is dependent on the basic Research Conducted with the office of science we were both sides to focus those legislative days these bipartisan programs thank you to our witnesses and i look forward to a productive discussion thank you chairwoman and i yield back the balance of my time. Thank you very much for holding this hearing today and also to the witnesses we need to discuss the research supported the biological and Environmental Research program and how these capabilities are now being used to betterr understand the novel corona 19 virus they range from worldclass genomic sequencing that are decades in the making for those that are used to identify the characteristics and treatment of the virus with the stateoftheart supercomputing capabilities provides the testing that is second to none this biological Research Portfolio has been leveraged as part of a departmentwide initiative the Biotechnology Laboratory with the current Global Health crisis but what we can expect in the future. Not only are those activities so critical for better preparing us to future potential pandemics but also for addressing the climate crisis. This will help us to develop the future which is very important on the transportation sector today however it will authority the witnesses testimony and i yield back the balance of my time. If they are members that wish to have Opening Statements we will add them at this point associate Laboratory Director where she oversees the labs molecular biophysics and the joint Genome Institute. And those in the biotechnology as well as the Public Sector for biological research for science and Technology Policy professor of by biochemistry at the university of georgia is studying character and function for than 20 years and for the integrative analysis and understanding the department of energy with innovation. Into chair of the committee and the university of chicago for the past 15 years to oversee studies with the our and a virus also pointing the director of emerging research of the Containment Laboratory and last but not least a professor with make row bioscience for the research focusing on the Chemical Reaction to the microorganism. And assistant professor of microbiology so thank you to all of the witnesses for joining us today youll each have five minutes for your testimony. Each member will have five minutes to question the panel so we will begin with thees testimony please began. Chairwoman, Ranking Member and chairwoman and Ranking Member and members of the committee thank you for including me in this important hearing. These are my views only and not that of department and energy the history of biological research is fascinating for pioneering Nuclear Medicine and radiation humans it draws Energy Solutions to create new Economic Opportunities because of that foundation and that program is one of the worlds leading supporters of nonhuman and bio research and with the doe capabilities to respond with the coronavirus pandemic. And thats part of particle accelerators throughout the world. Asking his younger brother john to harness for bio research changing modern medicine forever for the doe bioscience capability. And then to tree a bone marrow disorder and a later use names of energize neutrons to treat leukemia the first Cancer Treatment and with that Nuclear Medicine was born. Mighe photosynthesis winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961. Because of the deep expertise in research and the Department Role in the initiative, the nation turned the doe and later nih to sequence the human genome. As part of the human genome process to focus on a collaboration among three National Labs to create the Genome Institute, the contributed 13 of the total human genome project and the largest facility in the world dedicated to genome energy and environmental solutions. Ten years ago 1 gallon of iso pinto produced in a lab cost 300,000 but today its three dollars a gallon. [inaudible] that is with diverse teams working together under the National Biotechnology lab established by chris paul and directed by deputy director. Brought together all of the National Labs to advance investigations into new targets and therapeutics, epidemiological and Logistical Support and to address supply chain bottlenecks. The National Labs are now leveraging the user and collaboration facilities to understand the ancient coronavirus is stored in a fight possible covid19 treatments quickly, develop Bio Manufacturing costs for new therapeutics and investigate new materials and reagents for viral detection. Does bio capability promised to give rise to future new tools to reproduce studies biological systems and controllable, fully Lab Ecosystem environments. Something not possible today anywhere in the world. These new fabricated ecosystems are a vision to help understand micro biomes and how they control carbon cycling and could be used to detect identify and mitigate new pathogens in foil systems. In summary, the bio Research Enterprise has a significant history and urgent vital future to delivering Scientific Solutions to drive the u. S. Bio economy. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, doctor doctor, would you like to start next . Certainly. Good afternoon chairman, Ranking Member lucas and members of the subcommittee. It is my pleasure to respond to the three questions about the biological and Environmental Research program with the office of science. First, the program has biological research and Development Activity and capabilities and that is a good question, one might ask what does energy have to do with biology and the short answer would be a lot. First lets consider the history. It was established in 1977 through consolidation with more than 30 Energy Related efforts in government agencies. Some of which already did bioscience. Even at the time of the establishment it was involved in bioscience. The origin of the biological research is in the u. S. Energy efforts began during and after world war ii with the Manhattan Project and the postwar Atomic Energy commission and the development of an Advisory Committee to study radiation on humans. This expanded to study on the effects of radioactive fallout on the atmosphere, terrestrial and marine organisms. From the origin of doe in the latest of der they supported a combination of physical, chemical and biological research. This is carried out by both doe and academic scientists and facilities. The goal was to meet the u. S. Energy needs. Importantly due to a mandate there was a formal division between the basic and applied research and the office of Energy Research later named after science was given the task to oversee the basic Research Programs. Since ber is a part of the office of science it supports and fosters critical basic science to meet current and future energy needs. In keeping with the historic roots the current stated goal of the ber program is an ankle, to support Scientific Research and facilities to achieve a predictive understanding of complex biological earth and Environmental Systems through advancing the Nations Energy and infrastructure. Its relevant to todays hearing that the knowledge, tools, intellectual workforce and facilities that ber has supported and developed over the last 30 years to meet the u. S. Energy needs have provided cuttingedge scientific instrumentation, facilities and expertise that ten can immediately be applied to National Emergencies such as the development of covid19 pandemic. As mentioned already because of those people with dni are sequencing with the human genome and having a full sequenced genome of over 12000 bacterial species and 3000 viral n95 plant species and its an enormous, schmidt. Importantly we have supported the involvement of a systems biology approach and use of supercomputers and Artificial Intelligence to help understand and model complex organisms. Secondly, they funded expertise and advanced Research Tools to respond to the covid19 pandemic and a world leading capabilities i just mentioned including the World Fastest computer have enabled the funded researchers to rapidly direct their attention to the national and global covid19 threats. The doe capability brought to bear includes, i will mention to hear, structural biology resources which have led, among others, to a new understanding of the threedimensional structures and will actual actions of protein components in the sars tube irish which has understandably been used. Another example is the work by Doe National Lab systems which includes his supercomputers and system biology to analyze the genome, transcript on the rna, and evolutionary data from human lung samples of ill people and people controlled samples as well as taking advantage of the data across the world. The team has recently published and continue to work based on these holistic analyses a new proposed mechanism for covid19 infection as well as multiple therapy using existing fda drugs discovered through the system biology approach. Finally, the future directions of the department. The importance of understanding and utilizing complex biological systems to meet Current Energy needs particularly evident when one considers that each year more than 100 billion times of Carbon Dioxide are fixed into biomass in this file map is essential, essential largescale renewable resource for energy, chemical and biomaterial reduction. When one considers that fossil fuels which represent 80 of our Current Energy needs are simply ages bio maps converted at the time to pressure to petroleum and natural gas and coal. That is the importance of understanding [inaudible] the produce and can transform the biomass into Material Energy to not be overstated. In conclusion, this carried out biological research in the past to safety develops [inaudible] the future must take the next step in understanding and utilizing biology and biological organisms to ensure a continuing and strong u. S. Energy portfolio. Indeed, the u. S. Should lead the world in these efforts. The results of which will drive a new National World economy. Thank you. Thank you. Next we will hear from doctor engel. Chairwoman fletcher, Ranking Member lucas and members of the subcommittee i thank you for the opportunity to participate in todays discussion about biological research at the department of energy. As was mentioned, i am currently directing covid19 research at one of our countries 13 regional bio containment laboratories and i will focus my remarks as to how doe is responding to covid19. So, earlier this year we established sars Research Core and the idea behind this is the very few of these high bio containment, by safety level threes exist and there are many people with good ideas who dont have access to high containment and so we provide collaboration where we provide both the facilities and the expertise to work directly with sars covid two. This is primarily focused on evaluating treatment and vaccines. Its a little bit on the biology of the buyers but mainly translational. In this capacity i have gained a real appreciation to the value of the covid19 research performed in the department of energy and in particular, i have enjoyed multiple productive covid19 related collaborations with scientists at the doe Argon National laboratory but i would be happy to discuss in further detail but suffice it to say we have identified dozens of therapeutics with fda approved and novel that are active against the virus at least in vitro. The doe office of science biological Environmental Research or ber program has been discussed with a historian industry by re with scientists and engineer