The Trans-NIH RNAi screening facility

Authors

• MA Lal-Nag
• N Slepushkina
• DJ Fernandez
• K Mazan-Mamczarz
• S Chakka
• J Fu
• C Klumpp-Thomas
• E Buehler
• A Simeonov
• N Caplen

Abstract

The Trans-NIH RNAi facility (TNRF) is a world-class shared intramural resource whose mission is to conduct large-scale RNAi projects with collaborators throughout the NIH intramural program. The facility assists with all stages of projects beginning with assay development, through validation and genome-wide siRNA screens, informatics/pathway analysis, and rigorous follow-up. Although the TNRF is a leading RNAi screening resource worldwide, continued progress requires a rigorous investment in the development of new high throughput genomic technologies to evaluate new approaches towards the interrogation of gene function. Emerging tools for interrogating gene function (e.g., CRISPR, CRIPRi, shRNA) represent new and complementary screening approaches to RNAi. Our team, with its diverse and complementary scientific and technical expertise is currently heavily invested in and will continue to invest in exploring these technologies, both in terms of their utility and pitfalls, much like has been achieved with RNAi, so as to be able to develop and offer a menu of technologies that are best fit for purpose as screening platforms. Furthermore is also becoming increasingly clear that the interrogation of biological systems with a variety of perturbagens is more valuable than one approach alone. Towards that end, the TNRF is exploring the screening of well-annotated small molecule collections, assembled by NCATS over the past few years, in conjunction with siRNA screens. The TNRF is moving towards becoming a facility that leverages many technologies by expanding scientific synergies that are afforded by collaborative research to understand and map gene function, especially as it relates to human disease.

Scientific Focus Area: Genetics and Genomics

This page was last updated on Friday, March 26, 2021