New York University Abu Dhabi puts great value in recognizing and providing diverse and equal opportunities. Our multidisciplinary team consists of members with many different backgrounds, ethnicity, and passions. This diversity within our team is vital to get a variety of ideas and extensive discussions that we would otherwise miss. Additionally, we recognize the importance of diversity in demonstrating equal opportunities and the inclusivity of the field of synthetic biology–particularly in iGEM. We actively recruit people from all majors as there are so many components to the project that require a range of sets of expertise. Having people from so many backgrounds allows us to tap into different perspectives.
The objective of our research is to develop a diagnosis method of Alzheimer’s disease at early stages using a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) chip. Alzheimer’s disease has long been a disease without significant cure, but also without early detection methods. Therefore, the NYUAD iGEM team proposed a method to possibly enable early detection of Alzheimer’s disease to help treat the disease with more efficiency at the earlier stage of disease development. Research is conducted based on detection of aptamers, and a successful result of our research may suggest aptamers as potential recognition probes. Considering the large population of people with Alzheimer’s disease and the cost and pain that comes with it, it is important for us to adapt our product to the needs of intended users with a reasonable cost, increasing the accessibility to everyone.
iGEM NYUAD aims to use simple and cost effective techniques to solve worldwide problems that affect the human brain. With a recent study of Alzheimer’s Association proving early detection of Alzheimer’s disease can save approximately $7 trillion dollars, NYUAD iGEM recognizes the importance of diagnostic devices and their accessibility to various users. The NYUAD iGEM team has also developed an application to easily track the result of the aptamer experiment. This application can be developed further in the future to work as a data conservation method so that data of patients using the application can be stored and distributed to each individual. Also, the application can be modified so that not only the AuNP covered aptamers are tracked, but other types of aptamers can be detected.