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St. Louis Business & Technology News
www.slfp.com/SLFPBIZp.htm "When you think Saint Louis, think Saint Louis Front Page," a weekly publication covering the news and events in the greater St. Louis area. 
St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com 
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Sigma-Aldrich Forms RNAi Collaboration With Academic Research Leaders ST. LOUIS, (PR Newswire), September 24, 2006 - Sigma-Aldrich, a leading $1.7 billion life science company and member of The RNAi consortium (TRC), has welcomed researchers from The Wistar Institute, Mayo Clinic, Tufts University, Princeton University, the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and Washington University in St. Louis to the Sigma RNAi Partnership Program. Sigma-Aldrich established the RNAi Partnership Program to advance functional genomics research by providing tools for RNA interference (RNAi) through collaborations with select academic institutions. These newest members of the program join partners Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) in gaining access to the broad functional genomic portfolio developed by Sigma-Aldrich, including early exposure to emerging new techniques, a broad portfolio of intellectual property and pertinent reagents from Sigma-Aldrich's extensive RNAi product lines. This portfolio includes access to the lentivirus-based MISSION(TM) TRC shRNA libraries that target more than 15,000 human and mouse genes. "We proudly welcome The Wistar Institute and the RNA Interference Technology Resource of Mayo Clinic along with scientists at Tufts University, Princeton University, Moore's Cancer Center and Washington University as the newest members of the RNAi Partnership Program," said Christina Bailey, Global Strategic Market Manager, Functional Genomics. "We are pleased to provide access to our growing collection of RNAi tools to these dedicated cancer researchers." Hilary Coller, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, said: "We are very enthusiastic about joining the Partnership with Sigma-Aldrich. We have found the MISSION lentiviral backbone to achieve high efficiency transduction. This opens up for us the exciting possibility of doing genetic screens in primary human cells." "The Moores UCSD Cancer Center has enthusiastically entered into a relationship with Sigma-Aldrich to provide access to MISSION RNAi (TRC) lentiviral shRNA knockdown vectors to investigators at the Cancer Center," said Jean Y.J. Wang, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine at the UCSD School of Medicine. "Our initial characterization of these reagents leads us to believe that this RNAi knockdown platform will be widely useful for cancer target discovery and verification, and that the lentiviral backbone and technological support provided by Sigma-Aldrich make for rapid and easy adaptation of these reagents to a wide variety of gene knockdown experiments carried out by basic and translational investigators at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center." Meenhard Herlyn, D.V.M., professor and co-leader of the Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program at The Wistar Institute, added: "The RNAi Partnership Program with Sigma-Aldrich puts The Wistar Institute in an enviable position to directly access the world's foremost collection of shRNA vectors offered by TRC. "From the Institute's standpoint, we can utilize such cutting-edge technology to help achieve a vast number of research-related goals. Using these tools from TRC, we can specifically inhibit gene expression and functionality at costs similar to small molecule inhibitors without the extraneous drawbacks of those compounds. We continue to be excited about both the platform and the solid technical support provided to us through this partnership with Sigma-Aldrich." 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 organizations 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(TM) TRC shRNA Libraries. The acquisition of Proligo secured Sigma-Aldrich's ability to synthesize 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. Peabody Energy Earns Five Major Awards for Stewardship ST. LOUIS, (PR Newswire), September 24, 2006 - Peabody Energy affiliates earned five of 12 national industry awards for stewardship at the 2006 U.S. Department of the Interior's Excellence in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Awards ceremony recently in Washington, D.C. Peabody earned four National Excellence in Reclamation Awards for promoting sustainable practices, and Seneca Coal Company Reclamation Manager Roy Karo was honored with the "Best of the Best" Award for his career achievements in reclamation at the Seneca Mine in Colorado. Award recipients include: Black Beauty Coal Company and United Minerals Company Cedar Creek Mine, Illinois Excellence in Surface Mining and Reclamation National Award Black Beauty Coal Company and United Minerals Company West Fork Mine, Indiana Excellence in Surface Mining and Reclamation National Award Peabody Coal Company Lynnville Mine, Indiana Excellence in Surface Mining and Reclamation National Award Seneca Coal Company Seneca Coal Company Reclamation Manager Roy Karo Best of the Best Award Seneca Coal Company Seneca Mine, Colorado Excellence in Surface Mining and Reclamation National Award Peabody has a long history of achieving sustainable practices, having earned nearly two dozen awards for stewardship in the past two years. Peabody's mission says, "When the mining is complete, we will leave the land in a condition equal to or better than we found it." In 2005, the company invested hundreds of millions of dollars in reclamation activities, restored nearly 4,600 acres of land and planted more than 700,000 trees. The company has earned more than 50 state and national awards for stewardship and sustainability since 2000, including all three Good Neighbor Awards from U.S. Interior in 2005. "Achieving excellence in stewardship and sustainability is a core Peabody value and continues to be demonstrated through best practices at our operations," said Peabody Energy President and Chief Executive Officer Gregory H. Boyce. "We are proud of our environmental teams, which create lasting community benefits from reclamation activities, and Roy, who has dedicated his 30-year career to innovative practices that have created tremendous results at our former Seneca Mine."  
The Saint Louis Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group . |
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