Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 72 / Wednesday, April 15, 2015 / Notices 20237 

Place: Doubletree Hotel Washington, 1515 

Rhode Island Ave. NW., Washington, DC 

20005. 

Contact Person: CARLA T. WALLS, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review 

Branch, EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER 

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH 

AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, NIH, 6100 

EXECUTIVE BOULEVARD, ROOM 5B01, 

BETHESDA, MD 20892–9304, (301) 435– 

6898, wallsc@mail.nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.864, Population Research; 

93.865, Research for Mothers and Children; 

93.929, Center for Medical Rehabilitation 

Research; 93.209, Contraception and 

Infertility Loan Repayment Program, National 

Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: April 9, 2015. 

Carolyn Baum, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08572 Filed 4–14–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

List of Environmentally Responsive 

Human Genes Selected for Use In 

Screening Large Numbers of 

Substances Using Toxicogenomic 

Approaches 

Request for Comments: The National 

Institute of Environmental Health 

Sciences/National Toxicology Program 

requests comments on a list of 

environmentally responsive human 

genes selected for use in screening large 

numbers of substances using 

toxicogenomic approaches. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Environmental Health Sciences 

(NIEHS)/National Toxicology Program 

(NTP) requests comments on a set of 

human genes that have been identified 

and prioritized as environmentally 

responsive genes. These genes will be 

used in toxicogenomics approaches to 

screen cells or tissues obtained from 

humans against large numbers of 

chemicals. The goal was to generate a 

set of approximately 1500 human genes 

to evaluate transcriptional changes in 

response to chemical exposures. Similar 

gene sets will be developed for 

screening cells or tissues from other 

species such as rats, mice, zebrafish, 

and Caenorhabditis elegans. The human 

gene set should provide maximal 

toxicogenomic information on effects 

from chemical exposures that reflect 

general cellular responses, independent 

of cell type or species, and gene 

expression changes that are specific by 

organ and/or cell type. Such a list of 

environmentally responsive genes may 

also be useful in biomarker 

development and basic research efforts. 

This list of genes, referred to as the 

‘‘S1500’’ gene list, or gene set, is 

available for public comment. 

DATES: The deadline for receipt of 

comments is May 15, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the human 

S1500 gene set should be submitted 

electronically in Microsoft Excel or 

Word formats to Genelist@niehs.nih.gov. 

Nominations for genes to be added to 

the S1500 must be accompanied with a 

strong scientific justification for 

inclusion. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Elizabeth Maull, NIEHS, P.O. Box 12233 

(MD K2–17), Research Triangle Park, NC 

27709; email: maull@niehs.nih.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: In 2008, NIEHS/NTP, the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 

(EPA) National Center for 

Computational Toxicology (NCCT), and 

the National Human Genome Research 

Institute (NHGRI)/NIH Chemical 

Genomics Center (NCGC) (now located 

within the National Center for 

Advancing Translational Sciences 

(NCATS)) entered into a formal 

agreement to develop a vision and 

devise an implementation strategy to 

shift the assessment of chemical hazards 

from traditional, experimental animal, 

toxicology studies to target-specific, 

mechanism-based, biological 

observations largely obtained using in 

vitro assays. In mid-2010, the U.S. Food 

and Drug Administration (FDA) joined 

the collaboration that is known 

informally as Tox21. 

Tox21 partner agencies collaborate to 

research, develop, validate, and 

translate innovative testing methods for 

characterization of toxicity pathways; 

identify compounds, assays, informatic 

analyses, and targeted testing needed to 

support the development of new 

methods; identify patterns of 

compound-induced biological 

response(s) in order to characterize 

toxicity pathways; facilitate crossspecies and low-dose extrapolation; 

prioritize compounds for more 

extensive toxicological evaluation; and 

develop predictive models for biological 

response in humans. The primary 

activity of Tox21 Phase I was the 

development of a quantitative high 

throughput screening (qHTS) approach 

for toxicology. The goal of Phase II was 

the implementation of the qHTS 

approach in screening a 10,000 

compound library through a variety of 

nuclear receptor agonist/antagonist and 

stress response pathway assays, 

utilizing primarily reporter gene 

platforms. In Phase III, the focus is on 

assaying chemicals in high-content 

screens and mid to high throughput 

transcriptomic screens. High throughput 

gene expression changes will be the 

primary metric that is employed in 

Phase III to measure biological effects 

from chemical exposures. 

To conduct Tox21 Phase III, Tox21 

partners initiated the ‘‘S1500 Genes 

High Throughput Transcriptomics’’ 

project to capture information from the 

whole transcriptome (i.e., the entirety of 

all expressed RNA molecules in a cell 

or biological sample). This project will 

use a targeted subset of genes in a HTS 

or semi-HTS platform to gain insight 

into how biological systems respond to 

chemical exposures. Neither the actual 

number of genes to be utilized, nor the 

specific transcriptomics platform(s) 

needed to carry out the project, have 

been finalized. 

In an effort to select an appropriate 

subset of key representative or 

‘‘sentinel’’ genes, the NTP previously 

requested input from the scientific 

community (78 FR 45542, July 29, 2013) 

on the ‘‘Nomination and Prioritization 

of Environmentally Responsive Genes 

for Use in Screening Large Numbers of 

Substances Using Toxicogenomic 

Technologies.’’ An interagency working 

group composed of members of the 

Tox21 partnership considered the input 

provided in response to the Federal 

Register notice as they developed a 

consensus strategy to select appropriate 

genes. 

The working group’s goal was to 

select the most relevant and biologically 

diverse set of sentinel genes to represent 

transcriptomic responses to injury. 

Criteria for the selection and evaluation 

of an appropriate gene set are: (1) 

Representative of highly diverse gene 

expression changes reported to date, (2) 

capable of predicting the gene 

expression changes observed across the 

transcriptome, and (3) coverage of all 

major biological pathways. 

The current version of the human 

S1500 gene set can be found at http:// 

ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/S1500. This site 

will be updated as changes to the list are 

made. The consensus strategy for 

selection of an appropriate sentinel gene 

set can be accessed at the same site. 

Comments on the human S1500 gene 

set should be submitted electronically 

in Microsoft Excel or Word format to 

Genelist@niehs.nih.gov. 

Respondents to this request are asked 

to provide their name, affiliation, 

address, and contact information 

(including telephone and fax numbers, 

and email address). The deadline for 

receipt of comments is May 15, 2015. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
20238 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 72 / Wednesday, April 15, 2015 / Notices 

Responses to this request are 

voluntary. This notice does not obligate 

the U.S. Government to award a contract 

or otherwise pay for the information 

provided in response to this request. 

The U.S. Government reserves the right 

to use information provided by 

respondents for any purpose deemed 

necessary and legally appropriate. Any 

organization responding to this request 

should ensure that its response is 

complete and sufficiently detailed. 

Respondents are advised that the U.S. 

Government is under no obligation to 

acknowledge receipt of the information 

received or provide feedback to 

respondents with respect to any 

information submitted. No proprietary, 

classified, confidential, or sensitive 

information should be included in your 

response. 

Background Information on the NTP: 

The NTP is an interagency program 

established in 1978 (43 FR 53060) to 

strengthen the Department’s activities in 

toxicology research and testing and to 

develop and validate new and better 

testing methods. Other activities of the 

program focus on strengthening the 

science base in toxicology and 

providing information about potentially 

toxic chemicals to health-regulatory and 

research agencies, scientific and 

medical communities, and the public. 

The NTP is located administratively at 

the NIEHS. Information about NTP and 

NIEHS is available at http://

ntp.niehs.nih.gov and http://

www.niehs.nih.gov, respectively. 

Dated: April 8, 2015. 

John R. Bucher, 

Associate Director, National Toxicology 

Program. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08529 Filed 4–14–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Institute on Aging; Notice of 

Meeting 

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is 

hereby given of a meeting of the 

National Advisory Council on Aging. 

The meeting will be open to the 

public as indicated below, with 

attendance limited to space available. 

Individuals who plan to attend and 

need special assistance, such as sign 

language interpretation or other 

reasonable accommodations, should 

notify the Contact Person listed below 

in advance of the meeting. 

The meeting will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: National Advisory 

Council on Aging. 

Date: May 12–13, 2015. 

Closed: May 12, 2015, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 

p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 

Natcher Building—Building 45, P2 Level, 

Conference Room E1/E2, 45 Center Drive, 

Bethesda, MD 20892. 

Open: May 13, 2015, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 

Agenda: Call to order and report from the 

Director; discussion of future meeting dates; 

consideration of minutes of last meeting; 

reports from Task Force on Minority Aging 

Research, Council of Councils, NACA 

Physician Scientist Working Group, Working 

Group on Program; Council Speaker; Program 

Highlights. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 

Natcher Building—Building 45, P2 Level, 

Conference Room E1/E2, 45 Center Drive, 

Bethesda, MD 20892. 

Contact Person: Robin Barr, Ph.D., 

Director, National Institute on Aging, Office 

of Extramural Activities, Gateway Building, 

7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 

20814, (301) 496–9322, barrr@nia.nih.gov. 

Any interested person may file written 

comments with the committee by forwarding 

the statement to the Contact Person listed on 

this notice. The statement should include the 

name, address, telephone number and when 

applicable, the business or professional 

affiliation of the interested person. 

In the interest of security, NIH has 

instituted stringent procedures for entrance 

onto the NIH campus. All visitor vehicles, 

including taxicabs, hotel, and airport shuttles 

will be inspected before being allowed on 

campus. Visitors will be asked to show one 

form of identification (for example, a 

government-issued photo ID, driver’s license, 

or passport) and to state the purpose of their 

visit. 

Information is also available on the 

Institute’s/Center’s home page: www.nih.gov/ 

nia/naca/, where an agenda and any 

additional information for the meeting will 

be posted when available. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.866, Aging Research, 

National Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: April 9, 2015. 

Melanie J. Gray, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08569 Filed 4–14–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Institute on Deafness and 

Other Communication Disorders; 

Notice of Closed Meetings 

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is 

hereby given of the following meetings. 

The meetings will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: National Institute on 

Deafness and Other Communication 

Disorders Special Emphasis Panel; AHHC 

Review. 

Date: May 14, 2015. 

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 

Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive 

Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20852 (Telephone 

Conference Call). 

Contact Person: Shiguang Yang, DVM, 

Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Division of 

Extramural Activities, NIDCD, NIH, 6001 

Executive Blvd., Room 8349, Bethesda, MD 

20892, 301–496–8683, yangshi@

nidcd.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: National Institute on 

Deafness and Other Communication 

Disorders Special Emphasis Panel; 

Translational—VSL. 

Date: June 1, 2015. 

Time: 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 

Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive 

Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20852 (Telephone 

Conference Call). 

Contact Person: Kausik Ray, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, National Institute 

on Deafness and Other Communication 

Disorders, National Institutes of Health, 

Rockville, MD 20850, 301–402–3587, rayk@

nidcd.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: Communication 

Disorders Review Committee. 

Date: June 18–19, 2015. 

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Pentagon City, 

1250 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 

22202. 

Contact Person: Eliane Lazar-Wesley, 

Scientific Review Officer, Division of 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES