Abstract
NIST played a crucial role in the early days of the Human Genome Project in supporting and rapidly accelerating the pace of sequencing and diagnostics, essential for the genomics community and later the proteomics community. This was fostered through basic research, standards and database development, and funding through Advanced Technology Program's (ATP;
http://www.atp.nist.gov/) industry-led technology development programs and cost-share awards, funding cutting-edge advanced technologies, such as miniaturized automated DNA-, RNA-, and protein-microarrays for rapid, accurate genetic analysis and gene expression profiling. The ATP has also funded sequencing and enzyme development, and recently funded an automated 2D protein electrophoresis system for proteomics and drug discovery. Thus, the workshop held on September 17-18, 2002, Systems Biology Approaches to Health Care: Mitochondrial Proteomics, (
http://www.cstl.nist.gov/biotech/mito/mitoproteomics.html) was held to explore and capture the standardization issues of the health care communities conducting mitochondrial and proteomics research in order for NIST to develop a research program to begin addressing the resulting standardization, modeling and data needs of these communities. The issues and recommendations of the three breakout sessions (Model Systems, Methodologies and Data), as they were captured by their respective moderators, are presented below. The NIST response to these issues, tailored to optimize the impact of NIST's efforts with its current resources, and recommendations are then presented after a brief summary of the needs of these communities. This manuscript is intended to serve as a summary and review of the workshop, and as guideline for building a solid, robust NIST program that will continue to serve and further enable this growing and evolving area of commercial, academic and government research.