[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29105-29106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12191]


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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY


Microbiome Research

ACTION: Notice of Request for Information

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SUMMARY: Advanced sequencing technologies have illuminated vast 
networks of microorganisms that drive essential functions in all 
environments on Earth. The study of these communities of 
microorganisms, or microbiomes, is nascent, and the potential of 
microbiome research has only begun to be tapped. Primary to achieving 
this potential is a functional understanding of microbiomes, which 
would be greatly advanced by addressing fundamental questions common to 
all fields of microbiome research; developing platform technologies 
useful to all fields; and identifying gaps in training or fields of 
research that should be addressed. The Office of Science and Technology 
Policy (OSTP) is interested in developing an effort to unify and focus 
microbiome research across sectors. The views of stakeholders--academic 
and industry researchers, private companies, and charitable 
foundations--are important to inform an understanding of current and 
future needs in diverse fields.

DATES: Responses must be received by June 15, 2015, to be considered.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include [Microbiome 
RFI] in the subject line of the message.

[[Page 29106]]

     Fax: (202) 456-6027, Attn: Elizabeth Stulberg.
     Mail: Attn: Elizabeth Stulberg, Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, Eisenhower Executive Office Building, 1650 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20504.
    Instructions: Electronic responses must be provided as attachments 
to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes 
exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. 
Please identify your answers by responding to a specific question or 
topic if possible. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions 
as they wish. Comments of up to two pages or fewer (1,000 words) are 
requested; longer responses will not be considered. Any information 
obtained as a result of this RFI is intended to be used by the 
Government on a non-attribution basis for planning and strategy 
development. OSTP will not respond to individual submissions. A 
response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to 
develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. OSTP will not pay for 
information provided under this RFI. This RFI is not accepting 
applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. OSTP 
requests that no proprietary information, copyrighted information, or 
personally identifiable information be submitted in response to this 
RFI.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Stulberg at 
[email protected], (202) 456-4444.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this RFI is to solicit 
feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, and other 
stakeholder groups on both the overarching questions that unite all 
microbiome research and the tools, technologies, and training that are 
needed to answer these questions. OSTP is specifically interested in 
information that corresponds to the mission statements of multiple 
Federal agencies, private sector interests, and current White House 
Policy Initiatives. In particular, respondents may wish to address the 
following topics:
     What are the most pressing, fundamental questions in 
microbiome research, common to most or all fields?
     Over the next ten years, what are the most important 
research gaps that must be addressed to advance this field?
     What tools, platform technologies, or technological 
advances would propel microbiome research from correlative to 
predictive?
     What crucial types of scientific and technical training 
will be needed to take advantage of harnessing the microbiome's 
potential?
     What fields of microbiome research are currently 
underfunded or underrepresented?
     What specific steps could be taken by the federal 
government, research institutes, universities, and philanthropies to 
encourage multi-disciplinary microbiome research?
     Is there any additional information, not requested above, 
that you believe OSTP should consider in identifying crucial areas of 
microbiome research?

Ted Wackler,
Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-12191 Filed 5-19-15; 8:45 am]
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