Sigma-Aldrich welcomes Dublin City University to the RNAi Partnership programme
As one of the early members of the RNAi Partnership programme, Dublin City University gains access to cutting-edge products in Sigma-Aldrich's functional genomics portfolio, including Mission TRC shRNA libraries that target more than 15,000 human and another 15,000 mouse genes.
Through the RNAi Partnership programme, Sigma-Aldrich aims to establish collaborations with select academic institutions to advance functional genomics research by aiding academic researchers with early exposure to emerging new techniques, a broad portfolio of intellectual property and special partnership pricing on its extensive RNAi product lines.
Members of the RNAi Partnership programme enjoy unique access to cutting-edge tools for studying the underlying cause of disease and elucidating basic gene function.
"We are always looking for ways to work more closely with our customers, enabling them to be constantly involved in pushing forward the boundaries of research with the latest cutting-edge technologies," said John Lewis, country manager, Sigma-Aldrich Ireland.
"We are delighted to have Ronan Murphy and the vascular health research group in Dublin City University closely involved with the Sigma-Aldrich RNAi Partnership programme.
"We hope that this will be one of many occasions where we can support our colleagues in academia by this type of partnership".
Ronan Murphy, a group leader at the vascular health research centre, Dublin City University, said: "We are delighted to join the Sigma-Aldrich RNAi Partnership programme and look forward to a productive collaboration.
"We currently study the regulation of integrin receptors in cells, focusing mainly on their role in vascular disease.
"The work has major relevance, through collaborations, in areas such as Immunology, hematology, cancer and neuro biology.
"Having identified a large number of genes potentially involved in vascular disease, access to the TRC Mission shRNA library will greatly accelerate our ability to prioritize genes that are functionally relevant".
Murphy and his research group, including Paul Fitzpatrick and Mishan Britto, along with colleague Philip Cummins, have already begun utilising this powerful technology in their studies.
Sigma-Aldrich's rapidly growing product offering includes various products positioned along the functional genomic research workflow, such as the lentivirus-based Mission TRC shRNA libraries, activated lentiviral particles, custom siRNA and QPCR reagents.
Sigma-Aldrich has made a major commitment to the rapidly developing area of RNAi.
This commitment began with the establishment of a research collaboration with the RNAi Consortium (TRC), which consists of a partnership among the Broad Institute, MIT, Harvard, Dana Farber and other research organisations and several major pharmaceutical companies.
This was followed by a license with MIT to make and sell the shRNA libraries developed by TRC and, subsequently, the introduction of Sigma-Aldrich's Mission TRC shRNA Libraries.
The acquisition of Proligo secured Sigma-Aldrich's ability to synthesise RNA and provided access to one of only four licenses to a key MIT patent for RNAi.
Additional agreements with Alnylam, Benitec and Oxford BioMedica provide Sigma-Aldrich with a major intellectual property portfolio in RNAi.
Existing members of the Sigma RNAi Partnership programme include Rutgers University, University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey, the Wistar Institute, Tufts University, Washington University of Saint Louis, Moore's Cancer Center UCSD, University of Edinburgh, among others.
