The First Year in Review
This summer, the RNAi Global Initiative celebrates its first full year as an alliance of not-for-profit institutions involved in biomedical research[1]. The varied research interests of the current member institutions include cancer biology, inflammation, pathway elucidation, target validation, small molecule screens, host-pathogen interactions in infectious diseases and the development of unbiased screens for novel gene targets. The concept of developing a joint research venture took shape soon after Dharmacon delivered the first whole Human Genome siRNA library to Millennium Pharmaceuticals in May-June 2005[2]. In an effort to ensure access to the broader biomedical and research community and to optimize the benefits from the application of the whole genome siRNA collection in functional genomic studies, Dharmacon proposed the concept of a global partnership to various institutions during the Summer of 2005. The purpose was to provide a means for not-for-profit institutions to gain access to the latest RNAi technology and to participate as a group in an unprecedented collaborative setting. Through their collective knowledge, the group could contribute significantly towards elucidating the basis for human diseases with unparalleled focus and pace. The idea was embraced with enthusiasm and was soon followed by the commitment of ten academic institutions across Europe and North America for the creation of the RNAi Global Initiative[3].
The notion of bringing together research groups with complimentary skills and research focus to accelerate discovery and innovation is not new and has been preceded by similar efforts including the Human Genome Project, the SNP Consortium, Ltd., the HapMap Project, and many others. The success (or failure) of these types of scientific enterprises is predicated in part on individual member’s expertise and more importantly on their commitment to participation and communication within the group. With this in mind, at the inaugural meeting in Boston in October 2005, the founding members of the RNAi Global Initiative set an agenda that outlined the primary goals and principles for the group. Foremost among the goals was to foster partnership and knowledge exchange amongst the members. These goals have largely been achieved through a commitment and infrastructure that supports regular interactions and focused discussions about basic technical questions, experimental practices in high-throughput platforms, and reporting standards intended to facilitate data sharing (see the RNAi Global Initiative website for more information). The mission of this group is to identify and systematically address research challenges in RNAi-based silencing screens, to develop guidelines for reporting and sharing data, and to integrate new advances in high throughput and high content screening for the medial . The ultimate goal is to develop an annotated database that describes the complete network of interactions within the entire transcriptome.
An important unifying feature of this partnership is that all members are working with a common reagent – the whole Human Genome siRNA library from Dharmacon which includes all SMARTpool® silencing reagents. These reagents are based on the SMARTselection™ technologies which focus on the design and synthesis of potent and specific silencing reagents and which incorporate the latest advances derived from state-of-the-art R&D at Dharmacon. Access to this RNAi technology through whole Human Genome siRNA library facilitates high throughput strategies and provides a foundation for the development and integration of new and emerging technologies (e.g., novel screening strategies, High Content Analysis, etc). Since its inception a year ago, the RNAi Global Initiative has established a strong interactive foundation that promises to fulfill its stated mission, the benefits of which will soon be evident as whole genome screens near completion and the initial goals of accelerating discovery are realized.
[3] DHARMACON and 10 LEADING RESEARCH INSTITUTES ESTABLISH GLOBAL INITIATIVE To ADVANCE RESEARCH USING the WORLD'S FIRST HUMAN-GENOME-WIDE SIRNA LIBRARY (10/6/06)
Since the inaugural meeting held in October 2005 in Boston, the RNAi Global Initiative has expanded to embrace new members representing the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Stanford University and the Vrije University Medical Center. The group represents a unique partnership among labs from leading institutions with international reputations in bio/medical research.
The founding institutions include The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Hospital and Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital, both with The University of Toronto; Cancer Research UK (CRUK) at the London Research Institute and the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR); The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ); UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center; Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI); The Scottish Centre for Genomic Technology and Informatics based at the University of Edinburgh Medical School (GTI); the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Yale University; the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research and MRC Cancer Cell Unit.
What motivates these diverse groups? This is best described by the mission statement found on the RNAi Global Initiative website which is to "combine the powerful new technology of genome-wide siRNA screening with international scientific exchange and the collaboration of leading research institutions in order to rapidly accelerate basic biological and medical discovery." To this end, the Initiative functions cooperatively through participation in a number of group and community-based activities.
The long term objectives of the RNAi Global Initiative are to develop novel and complementary technologies and to provide leadership in the development of standards for RNAi-based experiments using their collective expertise as a foundation. At the second meeting of a biannual schedule held in Washington DC (April 6-7 2006), the commitment to collaboration and scientific dialogue was evidenced by member updates about their progress with whole genome screens.
Another important activity is the formation of an RNAi Informatics Workgroup, the goal of which is to recommend reporting standards and formats for data acquisition, archiving and evaluating. The ultimate goal of the RNAi Global Initiative is to work together with the larger RNAi community for the development of a publicly available database for the functional annotation of the entire human transcriptome.
Dharmacon's Role in The Initiative
Dharmacon supports the RNAi Global Initiative by providing each group with the siARRAY® Human Genome siRNA Library. This represents preselected groups of SMARTselection™ designed siRNA reagents — individual duplexes or SMARTpool® reagents targeting all unique human genes in the NCBI RefSeq database. These silencing reagents are used in whole genome screens to assess those genes important for normal function and those that are critical to the pathogenesis of cancer and other disease states.
Visit the RNAi Global Initiative website [www.rnaiglobal.org] for more information.
