2:30-6:00 RNAi End-User Forum*
* Separate registration is required. Participation is limited to end-users only and subject to approval by conference organizers. Companies with RNAi-related products or services on the market or in development (including sponsoring and exhibiting companies) will not receive access to the End-User Forum.

2:30-3:00 Participant Introductions

3:00-4:20 Discussion I: Strategies to Validate RNAi Data and Minimize Off-Target Effects
Discussion Leader: To Be Announced

Discussion Topics Include:
• How to increase specificity by using multiple siRNAs for each target and designing siRNAs with multiple mismatches with off-target       genes?
• How to choose siRNA delivery methods to maximize transfection, while minimizing toxicity and off-target effects?
• How to use scrambled siRNA as negative controls to account for siRNA delivery effects?
• How to “rescue” RNAi effect by expressing siRNA-resistant form of the gene?
• How to confirm siRNA specificity by monitoring global gene expression patterns?
• How to validate knockdown by montoring mRNA and protein levels?

4:20-4:40 Networking Refreshment Break

4:40-6:00 Discussion II: Overcoming Challenges in Applying RNAi for Target Identification and Validation
Discussion Leader: To Be Announced

Discussion Topics Include:
• Do RNAi technologies offer sufficient gene silencing specificity for target validation?
• What are the limitations in using siRNA for target validation given that it has a different mechanism of action than a small molecule?
• What are participants’ experiences in comparing siRNA and small molecule library screening?
• What other technologies should be combined with RNAi to increase confidence in “validated” targets?
• Do in vitro RNAi experiments provide a sufficiently good prediction of in vivo effect?
• What experimental design features increase confidence in siRNA-based target validation?

6:00 Close of RNAi End-User Forum