We are delighted that, as a newcomer to iGEM, we had the opportunity to elevate one of our collaborations to a Partnership.
Team UPenn photos can be found at https://2022.igem.wiki/upenn/team.
Like our team, the UPenn team has also been working on a light-induced system, so it was logical to get to know each other. Their team was very kind to us and helped us get to know our project better and even the field of optogenetics. We learnt a lot from each other during the competition, we have been in constant contact, and we shared ideas and troubleshot together our projects, despite their differences. Our relationship grew into a fruitful partnership, and we planned to conduct experiments together, providing valuable insight into both projects. As part of this, Team UPenn sent us their plasmids (Photocrete-luciferase system) to try them out with our illumination device, for which our Team prepared: maintained HEK-293T mammalian cell line and made the reagents for the transfection. It made our project more well-rounded since we have worked with bacterial strains and were excited to demonstrate our illumination device's usability in other optogenetic applications. Unfortunately, the measurements could only be scheduled for mid-October due to postal delays.
Access the Team UPenn's Partnership page here.