Recruiting
A rigorous selection process was conducted to recruit members with a strong interest in synthetic biology, an initial understanding of the iGEM competition, and a sense of identity with the values it advocates. We want our members to be responsible and open-minded, to have a sense of cooperation, and to make their own contribution by working hard to solve the world's problems. Based on this, in line with the principle of fairness and openness, we released the recruitment information on campus for all undergraduate students, and let more students know about synthetic biology and IGEM competition through electives and online publicity. After a long selection process, a dozen outstanding students were left in the end. They had different family backgrounds, personality traits and living habits, but they were lucky to get together because of iGEM. They will begin their journey in iGEM in 2022 and take part in the final Grand parade. Our members have a strong interest in synthetic biology and are contributing to the popularization of synthetic biology.
Publicity and Cooperation
This year, NMU-China set its sights on the world, and we actively sought out like-minded partners on Slack, especially teams with similar project content to ours, so that we could learn more about each other's projects and have in-depth communication more quickly. We posted a description of the project on Slack and sent out invitations to collaborate. Soon after, we first got a response from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. They confirmed this after fully understanding our project. They think our project is innovative and excellent. In particular, the mathematical modeling section aroused their strong interest. We both hope to continue our cooperation, and CUHK also offered to help us promote the project on Instagram.
The Technical University of Munich responded positively and exchanged posters and presentation videos with us. They focused on CART therapy, using two approaches to improve the selectivity of CAR-T therapy. One is to establish the quorum-sensing mechanism of CAR-T cells to improve the killing effect of tumor cells. The other is to utilize the low PH value of the tumor microenvironment to activate CAR-T cells, so as to improve the selectivity and achieve the purpose of precise killing. We both introduced and discussed each other's projects and offered suggestions for each other's project designs. The idea of using tumor microenvironment to regulate cell expression inspired us. In our project, the influence of tumor microenvironment on NK cell proliferation and function should also be taken into consideration, so as to better estimate the killing effect of NK cells and the optimal number of single injection. We also hope that through this cooperation, we can have friendly exchanges with other countries and make contributions to synthetic biology together.
Debate competition
As a iGEMer, it is necessary to the values of integrity, innovation and sincere, we have been exploring prospect of cell therapy for a long time and thought about the bottom line and principle of cell therapy, in order to put our heads together and improve people thinking the depth, we held a debate competition called "Whether the state should open the green channel for cell therapy industry.", in the game, everyone deeply discussed various focal issues of cell therapy.
The positive side said that in 2020, statistics show that cancer accounted for one sixth of the total death toll, but there is no good cure for cancer. Cell therapy is a rising star in the field of cancer treatment with strong targeting, small side effects and good prognosis. It opens up a green channel for the cell therapy industry, accelerates the transformation of research results into clinical application, and brings hope of cure to more patients. The negative side focuses more on the safety of cell therapy. From laboratory research to clinical applications need to experience a long process, such as the issue of the safety of clinical validation, if cut open the green channel, reduce the research process and speed up the transformation for cell therapy products, especially in medicine, its safety will not be guaranteed, and could bring unpredictable risks in the application. The views on both sides can give us great inspiration. Cancer patients and their families often have high expectations for cell therapy products, which are regarded as the last straw to save lives. Only by accelerating the transformation into clinical application under the premise of ensuring safety, can they be responsible for more lives.
Value
We always adhere to our team spirit: profound, innovative, inclusive, sincere. NMU-China is not limited to participating in iGEM itself. We hope to broaden our vision and bring more rich connotations to our programs. We hope to revitalize more lives and promote social harmony and progress through our efforts. We hope that scientific research can be more inclusive, less discriminatory and arrogant, and establish a good, pragmatic scientific atmosphere. And strive for the well-being of people all over the world.