Education & Communication
In this page you will find details about our engagement through Education and Communication.
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Overview
As pioneers of this emerging science in Puerto Rico, we are compromised with involving the community into our project through initiatives that encourage creativity and research inside Synthetic Biology. This year, we had an influence on a broad range of people on our island, ranging from kids to high school and college students. We created multiple instructional activities while considering the needs of each population we intended to influence.We enhanced our commitment to our community through education and communication in the following activities:
- Research Program
- Interns Program
- SynBio 101 Summer Program
- Graphic Novel: Synthetizing a Better World
- EcoExploratory Engineering and Technology Festival 2022
- SynBio Week
Education
Research Showcase
The Research Showcase began with intensive workshops about the scientific method, how to prepare a research poster, and about public speaking, which were prepared and delivered by our team members. Then, the students selected a topic of their preference for their research. They were given over a month to develop their research and prepare their posters for the final presentation, with mentoring by our team members. The students effectively presented their projects and were evaluated by Nathaly Movilla Meza. After a successful presentation day, the first three students were awarded with a position as Interns on our team and were given a spot on our SynBIO 101 Summer Program.
Interns Program
After conducting the Research Showcase Program for high school and undergraduate students, the top places were awarded the position of intern in the iGEM-RUM team. For approximately 6 weeks, the students rotated between the three iGEM-RUM divisions (Biology, Engineering and Social Impact Team) including the executive board, to get a sense of undergraduate research. The students attended weekly team meetings, workshops and participated in activities related to synthetic biology. The program was entirely online due to the COVID-19 situation in order to protect the students' health. At the end of this program, the students were able to learn about synthetic biology from a research perspective.
SynBio 101 Summer Program
Monday
Students participated in their first workshop on culture media, where they were able to expose a petri dish to their surroundings and later observe the growth. Additionally, Dr. Carlos Ríos Velázquez gave an overview of Synthetic Biology as the students represented a genetic circuit using building blocks.
Tuesday
The second day students had the opportunity to attend a workshop on DNA extraction and its properties, as well as searching reliable scientific literature. The research also included genetic circuits, since for their final project they had to design their own prototype to solve a problem. They also performed DNA extraction using strawberries.
Wednesday
Students used a laboratory simulator to investigate how bacterial growth is affected by environmental factors, they also performed a gel electrophoresis protocol using a petri dish as the gel and a pipette. At the end of the day, they learned about public speaking skills in addition to laboratory procedures.
Thursday
By using a potato and vitamin C, students were able to gain knowledge in agricultural biotechnology through experiments focusing on enzyme activity and redox titration. Also, personal professional development was encouraged by offering strategies to strengthen the Curriculum Vitae. Lastly, they learned and practiced how to use platforms commonly used in research, such as Benchling.
Friday
The students participated in a variety of sessions that discussed how to strengthen their personal statements that are vital for their academic careers. We talked about our team iGEM-RUM, outlining our current project and future goals. The students were then given a post-questionnaire to gauge the impact of the summer program and how it improved their understanding of synthetic biology.
Saturday
On the last day of our program, the students were able to present the prototypes they developed throughout the summer program at our institution and personally interact with the group members. They designed prototypes to solve problems related to the accumulation of sargassum, treatments for cancer, and the degradation of microplastics, among other topics.
Extended Session: Monday
Some of the students had the opportunity to participate in the extended session of our summer program. They attended a lecture about the significance of following safety laboratory procedures and aseptic techniques. They also participated in a workshop about the preparation of culture media, in which they had the opportunity to prepare it. In addition, they learned different streaking techniques and their use afterwards, they were able to execute the techniques they had just acquired. They were also able to practice pipetting techniques in wells of small electrophoresis gels. Lastly, the students had the opportunity to go on a tour around the Microbial Biotechnology and Bioprospecting Laboratory at UPRM guided by Dr. Carlos Ríos Velázquez.
Extended Session: Tuesday
On the last day, the students had the opportunity to view the result of the streak plate they prepared the day before and subsequently carried out gram staining on the same plates. They used microscopes to visualize gram-positive bacteria in the shape of cocci and bacilli. Afterwards, the students learned how to perform restriction enzyme digestion and the Miniprep protocols. The professor Dr. Carlos Ríos Velázquez, presented a last workshop related to gel electrophoresis and visualization of the bacterial transformation process to finalize the extended session program.
High School Seminars
Throughout the year, our team members organized online seminars at three nearby high schools: Lola Rodríguez de Tió in San Germán, Segundo Ruiz Belvis in Hormigueros, and Monserrate de León Irizarry in Cabo Rojo. During our presentations, we were able to speak with high school students about iGEM, Synthetic Biology and our project. Although these lectures were initially planned to be in-person, the implementation of new COVID-19 regulations in these schools forced us to change our approach. However, the objectives of these activities were achieved, which was to teach students the importance and applications of synthetic biology in an easy and engaging way, while helping them to better understand how DNA works.
Our Graphic Novel: “Sintetizando un Mundo Mejor”
In order to target a younger audience, our team prepared a graphic novel called "Sintetizando un Mundo Mejor." We prepared this book in Spanish since scientific knowledge about synthetic biology is limited in Latin America countries. This book introduces synthetic biology utilizing simple vocabulary and vivid graphics to enhance the reader's understanding. We hope to promote synthetic biology to young pupils in our country through this effort. The fundamental purpose of this story was to teach students the value and applications of synthetic biology in a simple and enjoyable way, while also assisting them in better understanding how DNA works. We are eager to collaborate with future iGEM Teams and international schools to translate this novel and make it available in multiple languages.
EcoExploratory Engineering and Technology Festival 2022
During October 22, 2022 we will have the opportunity to participate in the Engineering and Technology Festival at the new EcoExploratory: Science Museum of Puerto Rico. This activity was initially planned on September 17, 2022 but it was postponed due to the arrival of Hurricane Fiona. Throughout this activity, we will discuss the applications of engineering in synthetic biology and will also engage in activities that stimulate creativity in children aged six to twelve years old. The participants will be able to construct their own cell out of craft materials and build genetic circuits out of building blocks.
SynBio Week
During November 2022, we will celebrate The Synthetic Biology Week to promote the understanding and investigation in Synthetic Biology. This activity was initially planned in October, but it was postponed due to the arrival of Hurricane Fiona. During the whole week, we will hold a number of workshops such as: “An Introduction to Synthetic Biology” and “What is iGEM”. In addition, we will invite an iGEM ambassador to speak about the organization, as well as encourage diversity through American Sign Language Language (ASL) workshops.
Communication
Article by Yamilet Aponte
During February 2022, Yamilet Aponte, a journalism student, invited us to be interviewed. Throughout the conversation, we discussed the objectives of our project and how we intend to implement it. We also discussed how we engaged the community in our project through accessible initiatives. She afterwards authored and published an article that is open to the public.
SHPE-EDGE 2022
This year we had the opportunity to participate in the Engineering Diversity General Expo (EDGE) on March 5, 2022. This educational event brought workshops to high school students who were interested in pursuing a career in engineering. Students were given an insight into the day of an engineering student and, later on, professional in the field. We presented our project, R-DETOX, and showed students how important engineering is in synthetic biology. Students also had the opportunity of having an open conversation with us as we shared our knowledge and helped them understand synthetic biology concepts.
EMBS Meeting
On March 15, we were given the opportunity to share our project with members of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (EMBS-UPRM). During this event, our team discussed how we expect to reduce the contamination on the Anones Lagoon through the implementation of our genetic circuit. However, the focus of our discussion was on how engineering as a discipline has shaped our project, specially in the design and development of our bioreactor. Members of EMBS were then given the opportunity to ask us questions about the different components of our project and how they work together.
Research Fair
We had the opportunity to exhibit our project, R-DetoX at our university’s Research Fair on April 29, 2022. Several team members were able to present our research to our university's faculty and other students who attended. Throughout the presentation, we delved into further detail regarding the components of our project, its importance and its applications. We demonstrated the relevance of synthetic biology and the organization of our team. This event was an opportunity to talk about all aspects of our team and project.
Applied Science Symposium
During the month of May, our team had the opportunity to create an educational booth for the Applied Science Symposium "Unique Brains: Connecting the Dots”. This event took place at the biology building on our campus. The first day was organized for high school students while the second day was designed for undergraduate students. By taking part in this event, our team members had the opportunity to speak about iGEM, our project, our objectives, and the structure of our team. Additionally, we invited students to our forthcoming activities. We were pleased to see the students' interest and we desired that this encouraged.
WAPA TV
During the morning of May 16, 2022, our team had the opportunity to visit a local Spanish-language independent news channel in San Juan, Puerto Rico called Noticentro; WAPA TV. During our interview, led by anchor Jorge Gelpi, we were able to talk about our project as well as advertise the Health Fair for Vieques residents. Gelpi inquired about our engagement in the initiative, our goals, and thanked us for our commitment to this matter. The Health Fair received excellent outreach, and following the interview, multiple calls were answered to provide information on services available and how to attend. This was an excellent opportunity not just to present our project proposal to Puerto Rico, but also to receive constructive feedback from the WAPA TV crew.
Arts and Sciences Summer Program
On June 24, we participated in the Arts and Sciences Summer Program to speak about our research project. Team members provided an overview of the components, the relevance of our research. We also invited the students to our SynBio 101 Summer Program, for which they showed interest. This was an excellent way to engage with new incoming students from our university.
New iGEM Team
Following our SynBio 101 session, many participants expressed their strong desire to continue learning about this emerging science. Student participants from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla were committed to Synthetic Biology and interested in developing a new iGEM team on their campus. Student Yolimar M. Sosa contacted our president with the intention of seeking mentorship and guidance for the formation of their new team. We organized a virtual meeting with the students and provided them with a presentation in which we explained the most important steps to follow as well as a suggested work plan. Also, our team discussed our beginnings and how we developed the project that we are currently working on after answering all of their queries. Interested students are now in the process of building their own team at UIPR - Aguadilla. We look forward to continuous collaboration and providing them with scientific guidance.
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The repository used to create this website is available at gitlab.igem.org/2022/rum-uprm.