EDUCATION & COMMUNICATION

Overview

In a multidisciplinary field such as synthetic biology, our technical language can be intimidating and scary for the general public to engage with emergent research. The aim of our Education and Communication initiatives is to minimize this barrier. From teaching students about the amazing capabilities of synthetic biology to spreading awareness through social media, Duke iGEM has collaborated with organizations, schools, and other iGEM teams to create a more collaborative and open community for science learning and education.

Phase I Education & Communication

During Phase I of our project, we:

  1. Taught synthetic biology to an AP Biology class at the Triangle Math and Science Academy
  2. Participated in the Angels Among Us 5k, hosted by the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, to raise awareness and funding for brain cancer patients
  3. Developed SYN BIO, an educational outreach booklet featuring key six synthetic biology terms: Safety, Tyrosine, Nucleic Acid, Biomanufacturing, in-vivo gene editing, and origin of replication.
  4. Created an Instagram and Twitter account to share about our project, introduce our team members, give daily laboratory updates, and spread awareness about causes related to our work

For more details, please see our 2021 Education & Communication Page.

Phase II Education & Communication

TriGEM Synthetic Biology Designathon

As part of our TriGEM symposium with the UNC and NCSU iGEM team, we hosted a Synthetic Biology Designathon where teams were tasked to design an infographic explaining a synthetic biology concept. In the future, iGEM teams can create similar Designathon activities using our instructions to create educational infographics that help educate the general public on important synthetic biology concepts. This quick activity can also be easily integrated at any future iGEM meetups.

Figure 1. Instructions for Synthetic Biology Designathon

During our TriGEM symposium, our attendees split into three interdisciplinary, mixed teams with students across the Research Triangle Park area. In these teams, students across disciplines (Wet Lab, Dry Lab, Human Practices, etc.) collaborated together to create the three infographics shown below:

Figure 2. Synthetic biology education infographics created by TriGEM attendees from various schools across North Carolina

Social Media Engagement

Through our Instagram account @duke.igem, we engaged with the iGEM community and the general public through posts and stories. We advertised and posted our events, including the Pratt School of Engineering Poster Session, NCSU Education Drive, and TriGEM. These posts are accessible to the general public and increased engagement at our various events. Since the last 90 days, the accounts reached through our Instagram increased by 807% and the total followers increased by 28.9%. Additionally, we have connected with other iGEM teams across the world through our feature by the global iGEM Community Instagram account. Duke iGEM hopes to continue using social media as a tool for promoting synthetic biology research and establishing collaborations with iGEM teams globally.

Figure 3. Duke iGEM Instagram Feed (left) and Feature by iGEM Community Account (right)