Overview

iGEM is a true team sport that extends beyond students tackling laboratory apparatus, equations, and computation, and connecting web mails to the pronounced community of researchers, professors, colleagues, and neighbours. The iGEM REC-CHENNAI team is very grateful for the support and advice that were given to us throughout the 2022 spell. We would also like to thank everyone inside and outside the testing ground who assisted us to deliver Project Curlim to the 2022 Grand Jamboree!!!


Project Curlim Investigators

DR. GAYATHRI VIJAYAKUMAR:
Dr Gayathri is the Primary PI of iGEM REC-CHENNAI 2022. She has aided us since the ideation stage, finding solutions to problems that have arisen during our project scaling work. She has actively assisted us with our orders and ensured that we received all the necessary components.

DR. JAYASREE HAREENDRAN:
Dr Jayasree is the Secondary PI of team iGEM REC Chennai 2022. She guided us in the brainstorming process and urged us to think about the underlying plot and the bigger picture of our idea. She also encouraged us to prepare a list of specific tasks to be completed and to think about what we could reasonably do over the period.


Project Curlim Instructors

DR. SATHYA K - Head of the Department :
Dr. Sathya furnished us with valuable suggestions on reactor design and supported us in making improvements during our project implementation.

PROF. SHREENIDHI K S:
Professor Shreenidhi offered a broad view in genetic engineering, assisted us in establishing the theme for our project, and patiently reminded us of our commitments.


The Team Behind Curlim!

MARIE JYOTSNA JAWAHAR (Team Lead):
Project Administration, Led Project Conceptualization and Foundational Assessment, Part analysis and registry, iGEM Regulation Analysis, Wet Lab, Collaboration, Wiki content editor, Part Validation and Interacted with Experts & other iGEM teams.

VISHAL AMITH KANNAN (Team Lead):
Project Administration, Led Wiki Studies alongside Graphic Design, Maintenance of Timeline, Wetlab Lead, Wiki design, Part validation Head, Logo design and Project Investigation Team.

VIBHA MURALI:
Lead of project development, Led project modelling (iTASSER, PyMOL, alphafold), Project reflection, Part Analyst, Part validation team, In charge of part improvement.

RHEA HARRY WILLIAM:
Lead of project development, Led project reflection, Project modelling(iTASSER, PyMOL, alphafold), Expert interaction, Part validation team, In charge of Part Registry.

NETHRA L:
Social Media Analysis and Account Handler, Assistance with Protocols, Wet Lab assistance, Reactor team , Collaboration Intimation ,Led surveys, Responsible for Poster, Led Education and Outreach, In-charge of wiki and Science communication, Trip and Housing In-charge

AVENDHIKA RAJA:
Public Engagement, Wiki primary content writer and editor, Part of wiki studies and co-lead iGEM Regulation Analysis, Wet Lab assistance, Aided with human practices and Collaborations, Trip and Housing.

A ANUKAVITHA:
Construction of Parts - Vector Cloning, Part construction (Benchling), Helped with Part improvement, Sponsorship campaign, Wiki,content, Logo design, and Human Practices Plan & Creative Head.

GRIDDALURU VINEETHA NAIDU:
Responsible for Maintaining Minutes of Meetings, Part validation, Team Bio Brick Assembly, Lab Assistance.

PARINITHA K:
Construction of Part - Vector Cloning, Wet Lab, Analysed and Drafted Safety Regulations and Experimental Design, Lab Maintenance, Content strategist, and Assisted with Entrepreneurship.

PONTIANA RITIKA C:
Assistance in Data Curation, Background Research Analysis, Reactor Hardware Design, Part Validation, Wet Lab, Reactor Simulation and Construction, Responsible for Project Promotion & Visualization and Video Lead.

MOHAMMED ASLAM:
Chemical Analysis, Assistance with Protocol, HP Assistance, Developing Industrial Models, Safety Regulation Analysis and Wet Lab Lead.

MOHAMMED JASSIM:
Responsible for Wet Lab Safety & Collecting Experimental Data, Wet Lab Experiments Peer-Reviewed Research Articles and Lab Maintenance.

ABHITHA K.V:
Team Bio Brick Assembly, Assistance in Part Construction, Industrial Reactor Designing, Outreach Lead, Wetlab, Lab Maintenance, Collaboration, Creative content writing and Managing Bills.

THUHIN KHANNA R:
Responsible for Wiki Design and Development, Constructed Presentation and Communication Materials, Curcoli Game Developer.

SURAJ N:
Responsible for Wiki Coding and Designing, Graphic Designing and Video Support, Curcoli Game Developer.

VARUN RISHWANDH S:
Curcoli Game Developer, Wiki study's contributor, Assisted with Wiki Development & Designing and Video Support.


Project Mentors

DR. DURAIMURUGAN N from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, REC was a major mentor in the Development of the Curlim Wiki Page and the Curcoli Game.

POOJA S, HARIKUMAR PADMARAJA, and VARSHINY GOPINATH are the institutions' former iGEM team members who extended their helping hands to the 2022 team in areas such as Briefing iGEM Regulations, and Major contributions to Project Conceptualization, Project Investigation, Providing E. coli Strains, and Conducting Brainstorming Sessions.

PADMASHREE B is a current Post Graduate student at the Department who mentors the team on Reactor literature studies.


MORE SPECIFICALLY, WE'D LIKE TO THANK!


General Support

Our Deepest Gratitude to Rajalakshmi Engineering College's Chairperson, Vice Chairman, Principal, and the Management.

We are thankful for the assistance and support provided by our advisors in managing the Team, the Project, and the Experiments.

We thank the Department of Biotechnology, Rajalakshmi Engineering College for supporting and encouraging Project Curlim to participate in and represent at the Grand Jamboree 2022. A special thanks to the most respected HOD, DEAN, Academic Heads, and Faculty Members from the Department of Biotechnology, REC.

We thank the Department of Computer Science, Rajalakshmi Engineering College for supporting and encouraging Project Curlim with Wiki page. A special thanks to the most respected HOD.

Strain Support

We extend our gratitude towards Sathyabhama University for supplying E.coli DH5 (Alpha) for the team's wet lab work.

We would like to thank IIT Madras for providing E.coli DH5 (Alpha) strain and E.coli K12 strain.

Project Consultation & Advice

We would like to thank Dr. Venkat Nancharaiah of the WSCD, BARC Facilities in Kalpakkam for providing the Team REC Chennai 2022 with a unique outlook on Reactor Construction. We would also like to thank Dr Kiran Kumar Reddy for advice on optimum maintenance of biofilm.

Thanks to Dr. B. Anandan, Assistant Professor at Madras University's Tharamani Campus, for providing us with constructive feedback on the environmental and reactor conditions to consider, along with his advice on Enzyme Kinetics and helping us with the primer synthesis.

Our heartfelt special thanks to Ms. Madalynn Thompson, a Ph.D. student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, for her assistance with the Project Criteria Standpoint.

Dr. S. Mullai Venthan Selvam, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, REC, was instrumental in the development of Mathematical Computation and Equations.

We would like to thank Mr. Vijay Bhoopalan for advice on plasmid expression

We would like to thank the faculty members from the Department of Biotechnology, REC for advising the team on a variety of matters.

Assistant Professor Dr. P. Saravanan instructed the team on the variable circumstance requisite for the E. coli Biofilms.

Assistant Professor Dr. Arun Arumugaperumal instructed the team regarding molecular overexpression of a targeted gene.

Dr. T. Anitha, Associate Professor, and Dr. R. Anila, Associate Professor, prescribed the team on Reactor design elements.

Ms. S. R. Saranya ArunKumar, Assistant Professor, recommended certain transformation techniques.

Dr. Selvakumar T.A., Associate Professor, advised the team on initial E.Coli conditions.

We thank Ms. Sneha V, our senior iGEM member for her guidance and support throughout our project

Financial Assistance

We would like to thank the REC Management for their support with the Registration Fees for this competition.
We sincerely thank SPAHJ INDIA TRADING PVT LTD for offering funds for our project this year.

Collaboration & Technique Aid

Thanks to Various iGEM Teams of 2022 who Collaborated with Team Curlim.

Thanks to Deepak Kumar, iGEM REC Alumni.

We also thank the UG Students from REC: Poornima N, Department of Biotechnology, REC, for Connecting with Madalynn Thompson from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada ; Krithickraj, Department of Biotechnology, REC - Wave of Ideas Hp: Photographer

Promotion Video Attribution: Voice over Artist - Leonard and Rohith

Lab Assistance

Thanks to REC Management for providing us with the necessary supplies.

We are grateful to the Department of Biotechnology, REC for providing the experiment platform, supplies, and tools.

We would like to express our appreciation to Medox Biotech India Pvt. Ltd, Twist Bioscience, New England BioLabs Inc., Integrated DNA Technologies IDT, Karthik Chemical Industries, and Eppendorf India Pvt. Ltd for helping us with our laboratory equipment needs.

We acknowledge the Department Firm's Lab Technicians' aid in carrying out our experimental procedures and providing the laboratory equipment.

We would like to thank HetroGene Biotech for providing us with additional biosafety training.

We would like to extend our gratefulness to Tamil Nadu Testing House for providing us with Atomic Adsorption Spectroscopy.

Human Practice Support

Wave of Ideas: Tamil Nadu Government, Greater Chennai Corporation, Commissioner of Police- Chennai, Deputy Commissioner of Police- Adyar, Chennai.
Location: Edward Elliot's Beach

We thank the following volunteers from Department of Biotechnology, REC who extended a helping hand in our beach human-practice event, Jayashree, Jebisha Jose, Priyanga, Ram kumar, Rooshini and Saikumar. We would also like to thank Jothimurugan, Kadhiravan, Krithik Ragunath, Mukesh Karthik, Naresh, Naveenkumar, Sai Sandhya Sree and Saranya for helping us during the event.

Human Practice in Educational Institutions: We would like to express our gratitude to the Management, Staff, and Members of the Educational Foundations of SBOA School and Junior College, Sacred Heart Matric. Hr, Sec. School and Bhavans Rajaji Vidyashram CBSE School for allowing us to interact with students for the following HP's The SynBio Connect, Enlighting yound minds and The DNAwesome Talk.


SPONSORS



TEAM BUILDING AND PROJECT LAUNCH

We are a group of undergraduates from Rajalakshmi Engineering College who are currently enrolled in the 4-year B.Tech. Biotechnology program. Synthetic biology is one of the key areas that our institution offers alongside other subjects.

The foundation for the team was laid during Spring 2022, through a series of selection processes, interviews, and talks from former iGEM teams on the project proposal and competition requirements.

We began brainstorming in March of this year, generating conceptual plans for the project. The arrangement of precise tasks and scheduling began in the Summer of 2022, accompanied by the Wet-lab experiment.

References

We would like to thank all the scientist and authors for their contributions in the field of science that made this project possible.


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