4 research outputs found
Leadership and Stewardship of the Laboratory (Objective 4.1) Notable Outcome - Phase II Alternative Analysis and PNNL Site Plan Recommendation
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Pacific Northwest Site Office (PNSO) have recently completed an effort to identify the current state of the campus and gaps that exist with regards to space needs, facilities and infrastructure. This effort has been used to establish a campus strategy to ensure PNNL is ready to further the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) mission. Ten-year business projections and the impacts on space needs were assessed and incorporated into the long-term facility plans. In identifying/quantifying the space needs for PNNL, the following categories were addressed: Multi-purpose Programmatic (wet chemistry and imaging laboratory space), Strategic (Systems Engineering and Computation Analytics, and Collaboration space), Remediation (space to offset the loss of the Research Technology Laboratory [RTL] Complex due to decontamination and demolition), and Optimization (the exit of older and less cost-effective facilities). The findings of the space assessment indicate a need for wet chemistry space, imaging space, and strategic space needs associated with systems engineering and collaboration space. Based on the analysis, a 10-year campus strategy evolved that balanced four strategic objectives, as directed by the DOE Office of Science (DOE-SC): • Mission Alignment - maintain customer satisfaction • Reasonable & Achievable - do what makes sense from a practical and cost perspective • Campus Continuity - increase the federal control of assets and follow the Campus Master Plan • Guiding Principles - modern, collaborative, flexible, and sustainable. This strategy considered the following possible approaches to meet the identified space needs: • Institutional General Plant Project (IGPP) funded projects • Third party leased facilities • Science Laboratory Infrastructure (SLI) line item funded projects. Pairing the four strategic objectives with additional key metrics as criteria for selection, an initial recommendation was made to DOE-SC to use all three funding mechanisms to deliver the mission need. DOE-SC provided feedback that third party facilities are not to be pursued at this time. The decision was made by DOE that an IGPP-funded program would be the base plan, while retaining the possibility of a 2019 SLI-funded project. The SLI project will be designed to deliver significant impact on science and technology (S&T) and support the development of a modern, synergistic core campus where a collaborative and innovative environment is fostered. The specific scientific impact will be further defined in the 2015 and 2016 Annual Laboratory Plans. Additionally, opportunities will be explored to construct annexes on current federal facilities, including the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), if proven synergistic and cost effective. The final result of this effort is an actionable, flexible plan with scope, schedule, and cost targets for individual acquisition projects. Implemented as planned, the result will increase federal ownership by approximately 15 percent, reduce the operating cost by approximately 7 percent, and reduce the geographic facility footprint by approximately 66,000 gross square feet (GSF). Reduction of surplus space will be addressed while maintaining customer satisfaction, lowering operating costs, reducing the campus footprint, and increasing the federal control of assets. This strategy is documented in PNNL’s 2014 Laboratory Plan
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Investigation of clinical characteristics and genome associations in the 'UK Lipoedema' cohort.
Lipoedema is a chronic adipose tissue disorder mainly affecting women, causing excess subcutaneous fat deposition on the lower limbs with pain and tenderness. There is often a family history of lipoedema, suggesting a genetic origin, but the contribution of genetics is currently unclear. A tightly phenotyped cohort of 200 lipoedema patients was recruited from two UK specialist clinics. Objective clinical characteristics and measures of quality of life data were obtained. In an attempt to understand the genetic architecture of the disease better, genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype data were obtained, and a genome wide association study (GWAS) was performed on 130 of the recruits. The analysis revealed genetic loci suggestively associated with the lipoedema phenotype, with further support provided by an independent cohort taken from the 100,000 Genomes Project. The top SNP rs1409440 (ORmeta ≈ 2.01, Pmeta ≈ 4 x 10-6) is located upstream of LHFPL6, which is thought to be involved with lipoma formation. Exactly how this relates to lipoedema is not yet understood. This first GWAS of a UK lipoedema cohort has identified genetic regions of suggestive association with the disease. Further replication of these findings in different populations is warranted