Overview
Collaboration bolsters the essence of iGEM, and in tandem with that, we pushed to collaborate with various iGEM teams worldwide. Through our multiple interactions with iGEM teams worldwide, we gained insight and feedback on our approach, and helped other teams with their troubleshooting aspects. Our collaborations brought in an all-encompassing view of iGEM and the multitude of teams participating in the competition. We thank the community of students with whom we were fortunate enough to interact.
Webinars in collaboration with iGEM Queens_Canada
We collaborated with iGEM Queens_Canada through webinars to build on both teams' knowledge of waterborne pathogens. Furthermore, these webinars touched on important topics like entrepreneurship and developing processes in bioremediation and aquaculture.
Our first interaction with iGEM Queens_Canada was in May 2022. We began by explaining our projects to each other and looking at possible collaborations and fruitful areas of work. The Queens iGEM team told us that the necessity for effective filtration and detection technology has become critical due to the persistent problem of unsafe drinking water in indigenous communities across Canada. Their objective is to offer these communities a point-of-care water filtration system that will remove harmful chemicals like lead, mercury, and Escherichia coli and assist them in identifying undesired microorganisms in their water to ensure it is safe to drink. Our project for 2022 focuses on synthesising a novel antimicrobial peptide that can bind to the protein MAM7 on the bacteria, thus preventing infection. On interacting with their team, we troubleshot ideas based on our project. We decided to collaborate on spreading awareness and promoting discussion based on waterborne pathogens and synthetic-biology-based techniques that have paved the way to finding solutions to these problems.
Our first webinar, held on 14th August, 2022, was based on an exciting set of talks on the different bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens that live in water. Our speakers—Dr. Mamatha Ballal and Dr. Cecilia Gimenez—both extremely proficient academicians in their respective fields, set the stage by discussing infectious diseases, waterborne pathogens, and the importance of clean water across all localities. The webinar saw over sixty attendees from across the regions of Canada and India, including university students and scholars. Furthermore, in the Question and Answer portion of the seminar, the audience picked up engaging discussion points. They asked the speakers about their work, and interlinked these aspects with the webinar’s topic.
Our second webinar, held on 15th September 2022, was based on a talk on developing different synthetic-biology-based entrepreneurial techniques in bioremediation and aquaculture. Sandra Dworatzek, a principal scientist at SiREM Canada, discussed her current outline of work in the field. The webinar saw over thirty attendees from across the regions of Canada and India, including university students and scholars. She elaborated on how the various techniques can be integrated through aspects like entrepreneurship and product development with iGEM teams like ours. Furthermore, in the Question and Answer portion of the seminar, the audience picked up engaging discussion points. They asked the speaker about their work, and interlinked these aspects with the webinar's topic.
Troubleshooting and Human Practices insights with iGEM HKUST
We collaborated on numerous topics that involved corroboration between the teams in troubleshooting and building on our existing knowledge of the projects. Furthermore, we identified common stakeholders and helped each other analyse and approach the pisciculture markets in India and Hongkong, respectively.
Our first meeting with the iGEM HKUST team was on 5th July 2022, during which both teams presented their project ideas and looked for potential areas of collaboration. Upon identifying possible similarities in our human practices and dry lab modules, these seemed to be the most feasible areas for collaboration.
The initial meeting inspired us to maximise our stakeholder research and conduct more extensive research into the Indian seafood market. Based on their input, we initiated interactions with the seafood market and restaurant workers across our locality. To facilitate the exchange of stakeholder contacts, the integrated human practices modules from both teams had additional meetings informally. We presented insights from our research and experience with India’s pisciculture industry. We also provided them with contact details and information on a few fish farms and markets in India.
After meeting with the entire team prior, the dry lab modules from each team hosted a second meeting to discuss matters related to mathematical modelling. In particular, the iGEM HKUST team wanted to discuss more stochastic protein and promoter interaction modelling. Our team shared information on the software we used and some details on navigating them. The softwares included BUDE Alanine scan, ClusPro (for molecular docking), and Schrodinger Maestro (visualisation). Furthermore, iGEM HKUST provided our team with information on constructing ODEs and the interpretational methods to generate meaningful graphs from them.
Handbook on Biology and Engineering with iGEM VIT Vellore
We had our first interaction with iGEM VIT Vellore while collating on the organisational aspects of the All India iGEM Meet. Eleven Indian teams competing in iGEM 2022 attended the immersive three-day meet with activities ranging from project presentations to engrossing seminars on the various aspects of Synthetic biology.
After this, our teams decided to collaborate on a handbook to elucidate the integration between biology and engineering for the use of educators. We included aspects like an introduction to genes and genetics, the central dogma, and basic examples to explain synthetic biology and biomimetics. We also added a section on iGEM High School teams. Through this collaboration, our teams understood the importance of broadening our reach toward young students; students who are at their initial stage of learning and understanding STEM backgrounds. Below is an attachment of the handbook:
The All India iGEM Meet (2022)
In the spirit of iGEM, we participated and helped organise the All India iGEM Meet in collaboration with iGEM IISc Bengaluru, ICT Mumbai, IISER Pune, IISER Pune II, IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, IISER Berhampur, IISER Mohali, IISER TVM, VIT Vellore, and REC Chennai. Held between 23rd–25th of July 2022, AIIM was centred around forming collaborations and furthering the Synthetic Biology community in India. Our team comprehended the work of teams with similar political and social environments as ours, and we understood how to build projects together. The event was an essential step in understanding the various synthetic biology-based expertise areas in India and worldwide.
The eleven Indian teams competing in iGEM 2022 attended the presentation competition in an exciting three-day event. The highlight of this event was its mock jamboree-style presentation and judging sessions, where our team got a chance to learn about the other teams’ work, forge collaborations and gain constructive feedback from teams and judges alike. Furthermore, the event saw interesting talks from various members of academia and the iGEM community.
Geo Book
In the spirit of sharing and understanding seafood within the context of different cuisines and localities, MIT_MAHE’s iGEM team decided to collaborate on a compendium of dishes that involve aquatic animals.
The main aim of the Geo Book was to celebrate diversity and bring more recognition to what affects our favourite palates of seafood. Furthermore, it brought light to any unsustainable practices involved in their breeding. All the participating teams included details and photographs of their favourite kinds of seafood, and our team compiled them for inquisitive readers, and of course, seafood connoisseurs!
The teams that participated were iGEM REC Chennai, iGEM IISER Pune II, iGEM Chalmers_Gothenburg, iGEM William and Mary, iGEM Vilnius-Lithuania 2022, iGEM HKUST, iGEM TecCEM , iGEM Queens_Canada
Below is an attachment of the Geo Book:
World Environment Day
To commemorate the importance of World Environment Day on 4th June, 2022, iGEM IISER Pune brought in a novel initiative—iGEM teams pitching in to make our world cleaner and greener! As part of our contribution to the cause, two of our team members planted a sapling near our hostel block. This helped us realise the importance of giving back to the environment, and we reflected on sustainability in today’s time.
Video on Safe Lab Practices
In collaboration with iGEM IISER Mohali on a short video and write-up that elucidated essential lab practices, our team’s members reiterated the importance of following protocols in a lab. It is crucial to comprehend the significance of lab safety because laboratories bring in a wide variety of safety risks. We realised that our team could aid in preventing or eliminating hazards by being familiar with our laboratory and adhering to the lab safety protocols. The video and write-up included personal protective equipment, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, proper waste disposal methods, and aseptic techniques. Below is a documentation of the protocols:
Bacteria Book
Through AMPifin, we aim to target Vibrio parahaemolyticus, one of the most prevalent bacteria involved in spreading the vibriosis disease in fish. On seeing the Bacteria Book initiative of iGEM McGill, iGEM Queen’s, iGEM Cornell, and iGEM Costa Rica, we decided to add information on V. parahaemolyticus. The bacteria book would be a great reading experience for the general public that is curious to know more about the world of bacteria and pathogens.
World Dengue Day
As an initiative for World Dengue Day, we recorded a video to spread awareness of Dengue for compilation by iGEM IISER Pune II. Their novel approach to spreading cognisance instilled a sense of responsibility among our members, and we ensured to communicate their inference to all our members. To view the video, check out IISER Mohali's wiki!
MSP-Maastricht Quiz
As an initiative by MSP-Maastricht to introduce children and the elderly to synthetic biology, the team decided to create a puzzle book, including projects of fellow iGEM teams. Here, we collaborated by providing them with information and keywords associated best with AMPifin. The puzzle book helped raise familiarity with synthetic biology and its related work.
Podcast with The Astronomy Club, Manipal
On 7th October 2022, we collaborated with The Astronomy Club, Manipal to talk about synthetic biology and its applications in the space industry. The podcast comprised two members of the Astronomy Club and two members of Manipal BioMachines. It began with an introduction to the respective members and iGEM. The discussion was based on how synthetic biology could be used to enhance and use the extreme environments of space to our advantage. For example—extremophiles for the elimination of biowaste and synthesis of biomaterial, self healing bio-compounds for integrity of the space shuttle, and nutrient-rich-space-conserving food. There were talks about previous iGEM teams’ projects that built on the motive of improving space travel quality for the travellers by integrating pure syn-bio-based components. The audio to this podcast has been attached below
This podcast was an opportunity for us to collaborate with astrophiles and understand their areas of interest. Discussing how astronomy integrates with astrology and astrobiology was an intriguing experience for our teams!