Sustainability has played an important role in our iGEM journey. Throughout our project, we aimed at providing people with the best healthcare solutions while still ensuring a sustainable environment and equality. To do that, we used the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the United Nations as the main guideline from the beginning of our journey until the end. By developing the biosensor and organizing a diversity of iGEM activities, we have accomplished goals promoting SDGs of health and well-being, quality education, inequality reduction, and climate protection
Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 3: Good Health and well-being
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, at all ages.
In Belgium, colorectal cancer is a serious health problem with a high fatality rate and it is the second deadliest cancer worldwide. However, screening and therapy still require invasive methods. Biosensors have been developed before but the tunability is mostly low, despite being fundamental for a broad application. Entering clinics remains a hurdle due to safety concerns surrounding biosensors. Therefore, our goal is to develop a dose-dependent biosensor which can be used to treat colorectal cancer at earlier stages, while maintaining biosafety and biocontainment via a temperature dependent kill switch.
By using a biosensor for the treatment of colorectal cancer, patients have a greater chance of succesful treatment at an earlier stage. It helps to reduce the number of deaths and sick patients, which leads to better health and well-being as mentioned in SDG number 3. The biosensor is also easy to use for patients.
Goals 4 & 5: Quality education and gender equality
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
We organized several workshops to educate people of all ages such as the "Stop darmkanker" fundraiser with 4 workshops, an "Unconscious Bias" workshop at the Children's University, a biosensor workshop in collaboration with other iGEM teams, and many more.
The objective of our events was to educate the public and promote equality. Firstly, we organized a workshop on unconscious bias at the Technovation Hub event, which stimulated the awareness of inequality in the scientific world. This is not only between men and women, but also among other minority groups who have to deal with prejudices. We wanted the audience to become conscious of their biases and give some take-home messages to slowly overcome them. Next, we organized a fundraising event together with Stop Darmkanker in Leuven, where different workshops were given. We hosted the "Unconscious Bias" workshop again, but we also gave workshops on "What is a Biosensor" and children focused workshops, and one workshop was given in collaboration of VUB. This way science was brought to the citizens of Leuven and created a bond between young and elderly people. This way we showed that science is not only fun for children, but also for the elderly in a workshop. To educate children about science and synthetic biology we went to the Children's University in Geel and Microorganism day in the Museum of Natural History in Brussels. We gave different workshops and lectures. For further details, all these activities can be found on the education and communication pages.
Further, we also collaborated with the Queen's iGEM team to raise awareness about indigenous people in our country. We posted an Instagram story about Michiel Coignet and explained what he contributed to his field. This way we stressed the equality between different subgroups in our country and that everybody can work in science. Lastly, we made our own podcast ‘science despite the odds’ and participated in the podcast of iGEM Exeter ‘The Test Tube Podcast’. They both focused on inclusivity and women in science, but our podcast also educated listeners about what various scientists achieved in the world and which obstacles they struggled with and emphasized on woman in science.
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal number 11 states that responsible consumption and production need to be ensured. This is assured, since an important part of our project is the incorporation of a temperature-sensitive kill switch, which prevents genetically engineered bacteria to be freed in the environment. When the bacteria leaves the body, it dies as the temperature is below 37°C due to the toxin/antitoxin system as described in the leave design. This way, production of the biosensor can happen safely, without any environmental leak. Note that the project covers a proof of concept and safety tests have to be carried out when the project would progress over time.
References
European Sustainable Development Week Events on SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being ESDW. (2019, May 6). Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://esdw.eu/european-sustainable-development-week-events-on-sdg-3-good-health-and-well-being/
European Sustainable Development Week Events on SDG 5: Gender Equality ESDW. (2019, May 14). Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://esdw.eu/european-sustainable-development-week-events-on-sdg-5-gender-equality/
Investopedia. (2020, January 13). Sustainable Development Goals - SDG 4. Candriam Academy. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://academy.candriam.com/us/sustainable-development-goals-sdg-4/
SDGs | KnowSDGs. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://knowsdgs.jrc.ec.europa.eu/sdg/12