学术报告

　　报告题目: siRNA Therapeutics: Promises and Challenges

　　报告人：Dr. Weikang Tao

　　Department of RNA Therapeutics

　　Merck Research Laboratories

　　报告时间： 11月19日（星期四）上午10：30

　　报告地点：逸夫教学楼509

　　主持人：尹玉新教授（基础医学院院长）

　　Abstract

　　Synthetic small interfering RNA (siRNA) holds a great promise to become a novel therapeutic entity as it can silence gene expression efficiently and specifically by triggering RNA interference (RNAi), an evolutionarily conserved cellular process for repressing gene expression. However, we need to overcome a number of hurdles for harnessing siRNA for broad therapeutic use. These include siRNA potency, specificity, stability, potential toxicity and delivery, among which the effective and safe delivery of siRNA to target tissues and cells via systemic administration is a major challenge. This presentation will review the barriers hindering the development of siRNA-based therapeutics and discuss how we can address these challenges.