Develop a high throughput functional genomics assay using siRNA
Level - GradIn 1998, small interference RNA (siRNA) was discovered as an efficient sequence specific gene silencing. The realization that siRNA can be used to
knockdown specific genes of interest in cells has revolutionized how biomedical researchers study functions of individual genes. Thanks to the
completion of Human and Mouse Genome Projects, and the use of DNA microarray studies, scientists have been generating unprecendented amount of data. For example, cancer biologists have beeb able to scan the entire genes obtained from cancer patients and have discovered hundreds and thousands of genes that are changing in the cancer cells in comparison to normal. The next critical step is what is called "functional genomics", which is a new area of studies focusing on determining the function of individual genes. For example, cancer biologists would take one gene at a time to figure out what each one does in cells and whether it is responsible for the disease. Unfortunately, this approach of one gene at a time is too slow and inefficient in the face of thousands of genes. Therefore, scientists need an efficient and reliable high throughput assay system that allows them to determine the function of individual genes in cells.
Recently, several timely review papers have been published in Nature Reviews (Dec. 2003 issue)summarizing the current status and future promise of using siRNA in biomedical fields . Your research team has decided to develop the hgih-throughput functional genomics assay using either siRNA library or cDNA library. Since the goal of this project is the development of the enabling technology, your team is free to choose from any one of the major diseases (cardiovascular, cancer, metabolic, and neuronal diseases, etc). If you wish, however, your team could choose osteoporosis or breast cancer. In any case, your team must justify the choice.
Your NIH grant style report should contain:
1) Specific Aims 1 page
2) Backgrounds
3) Experimental Design
If applicable, identify patentable ideas.