Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI) Group

Discovery on Target: Industry’s Preeminent Event on Novel Drug Targets 

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

 

ABOUT THIS CONFERENCE

Cambridge Healthtech Institute’s tenth annual conference on Functional Genomics Screening Strategies will cover the latest in the use of RNA interference (RNAi) screens, combination (RNAi and small molecule) screens, chemical genomics and phenotypic screens, for identifying and validating new drug targets and exploring unknown cellular pathways. The first half of the conference will focus on the design and use of RNAi screens, while the second half will explore the use of chemical genomics screens, microRNA (miRNA) and long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) screens and the transition into advanced cellular models such as, 3D cell cultures, co-cultures and stem cells that will launch the next-generation of functional screens. Screening experts from pharma/biotech as well as from academic and government labs will share their experiences leveraging the utility of such diverse screening platforms and models for a wide range of applications.

 

WHERE AND HOW TO APPLY SIRNA AND SHRNA SCREENS

Comparative Analysis of Arrayed RNAi Screening Performance of siRNA versus shRNA at Genome-Scale

Hakim Djaballah, Ph.D., Director, HTS Core Facility, Molecular Pharmacology and Chemistry Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

 

RNAi Screening: Strategies, Examples and Outcomes

David Root, Ph.D., Director, RNAi Platform and Project Leader, The RNAi Consortium, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

 

Swimming in the Deep End – Sources Leading to a False Sense of Security in RNAi Screen Data

Scott Martin, Ph.D., Team Leader, RNAi Screening, NIH Chemical Genomics Center, NIH Center for Translational Therapeutics, National Institutes for Health

 

Rebuilding the RNAi Screen

Eugen Buehler, Ph.D., Group Leader, Informatics, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health

 

Genetic Strategies for Investigating Host-Virus Interactions

Abraham Brass, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Physiology Systems, University of Massachusetts Medical School

 

PANEL DISCUSSION: Advanced RNAi Screening: Strengths, Caveats and Pitfalls at Reaching the 14-Year Milestone

Moderator: Christophe Echeverri, Ph.D., CEO & CSO, Cenix BioScience USA, Inc.

Panelists:

Caroline Shamu, Ph.D., Director, ICCB-Longwood Screening Facility, Harvard Medical School

David Root, Ph.D., Director, RNAi Platform and Project Leader, The Broad Institute

Hakim Djaballah, Ph.D., Director, HTS Core Facility, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Scott Martin, Ph.D., Team Leader, RNAi Screening, NIH Chemical Genomics Center

 

 

EXPLORING DIVERSE APPLICATIONS

RNAi Screening to Enable Translational R&D For Oncology and Immuno-Oncology Target Discovery

Namjin Chung, Ph.D., Senior Research Investigator, Applied Genomics, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

 

Target Identification and Validation of Novel Ion Channels in Cancer

Alex Gaither, Ph.D., Research Investigator II, Developmental and Molecular Pathways, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research

 

Cell-Based Functional Profiling of Lipid-Traits and Cardiovascular Disease

Heiko Runz, M.D., Group Leader, Molecular Metabolic Disease Unit, Institute of Human Genetics; Group Leader, University of Heidelberg

 

Use of Functional Genomics to Identify Patients at High Risk for Recurrence of Hepatitis C Following Liver Transplantation

Robert Carithers, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Director, Liver Care Line; Medical Director, Liver Transplant Program, University of Washington Medical Center

Pooled RNAi Genetic Screening to Identify Functional Genes and Novel Drug Targets

Paul Diehl, Director, Business Development, Cellecta, Inc.

 

TECHNOLOGY PANEL: Tools for Next-Generation Functional Genomics Screens

Moderator: Christophe Echeverri, Ph.D., CEO & CSO, Cenix BioScience USA, Inc.

This panel will bring together 4-5 technical experts from leading technology and service companies to discuss screening trends and improvements in assay platforms and reagents that users can expect to see in the near future.

(Opportunities Available for Sponsoring Panelists)

 

 

COMBINING USE OF RNAI AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES

siRNA Screening and RNA-seq for Identification of Targets for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Paul Kassner, Ph.D., Director, Research, Amgen, Inc.

 

Fusing RNAi Screening and Gene Expression Analyses to Reveal Pathway Responses

Alexander Bishop, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

http://www.discoveryontarget.com/RNAi-Screens-Functional-Genomics/