Kennedy Lab

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We are undertaking genetic screens in the model organism C. elegans to identify and characterize the RNAi machinery. These screens are targeting genes that are required for appropriate organismal responses to dsRNA and genes which function to negatively regulate RNAi. An additional goal of the laboratory is to further our understanding of the endogenous biological functions of this conserved RNAi machinery. Several possibilities for these functions include: protecting organisms from parasitic nucleic acids such as viruses and transposons, the regulation of transcription and chromatin structure, and the post-transcriptional regulation of cellular mRNAs. We are using genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry to answer these questions. Much of the RNAi machinery is conserved in mammals, indicating that research on RNAi in model organisms such as C. elegans will not only be fundamental to our understanding of the biology of RNAi, but also instrumental in the rational use of RNAi technology in mammalian systems, and in the use of RNAi as a possible therapeutic to treat human disease.