Achievements

Medal Criteria

Bronze Medal

Criteria	Description
Competition Deliverables	We have completed the following deliverables: Wiki, Project Promotion Video, Team Presentation, and Judging Form.
Project Attributions	In our Attributions wiki page we acknowledged and conveyed our gratitude towards all of those who have helped and supported us throughout this project.
Project Description	Our project description can be seen in the Description page.
Contribution	We contributed to the future iGEM teams in various aspects. We provided several educational tools (escape room, 3D DNA model, lessons), measuring tool (OraCell), as well as new registry parts. Visit our Contribution page for more information.

Silver Medal

Criteria	Description
Engineering Success	Throughout the projects, we achieved several engineering successes, as detailed on the Engineering Success page. Modeling tests have shown a positive correlation between the concentration of the desired precursor and the endmost enzyme in our synthetic pathway. In conclusion, we have learned that this specific enzyme must be expressed constitutively. To implement this conclusion in our system, we changed our design accordingly. Many other iterations were made based on the engineering cycle to tackle multiple problems in our project.
Human Practices	To determine whether our work benefits for the world, we reached different associations and consulted a specialist. We have also reached the patients themselves via an anonymous survey. For more information, check our Human Practices page.
Proposed Implementation	To implement our vision into the real world, we came up with different models, discussed future considerations and developed tools for future mass production. Check our Proposed Implementation page for more information.
Collaboration	Our collaboration ranged from meetups, both in person and over video conferencing, podcast episodes, participation in our very own designed virtual escape room and utilization of our synthetic biology measurement tool for quantification of their own compound. For more information, visit our Collaboration page.

Gold Medal

Criteria	Description
Integrated Human Practices	Following the conclusions raised from our human practices, we engaged with various experts from both the industry and the academy to reach the full potential of our project. For further information, visit our Integrated Human Practices page.
Project Modeling	To gain insight into our proposed implementation, as well as to better design our synthetic circuit, we developed four different models: diffusion, mutations, fermentation, and kinetics. For more information, check our Modeling page.
Proof of Concept	We successfully proved that the enzymes catalyzing our pathway are being expressed in our engineered bacteria. Moreover, we proved that decursin is suitable to be a component of cosmetic products as it can penetrate the skin with proper efficiency. Check our Proof of Concept page for further information.
Education & Communication	We value education highly in our project; thus, we developed different content on different platforms to allow as many populations as possible to take part in synthetic biology. For all our work, please visit the Education & Communication page.

Track Awards

Best Biomanufacturing Project: For the many advantages of decursin, and chemotherapy-induced CIA in particular, we are aiming to produce decursin in a synthetic way via bacteria. By using biological systems we can produce decursin on a large scale without the related cons such as pollution, excessive cost, and time consumption.

Special Prizes

Criteria	Description
Best Education	In the post-Covid 19 world, it was important for us to use our educational work to bridge the gap between the virtual and the physical world. This way, we wish to allow free and easy access to education for various communities, as education should not be beyond the reach of anyone. Check pur Best Education page.
Inclusivity Award	To eliminate barriers and open the field of synthetic biology for other communities, we first investigated the key problems in our society. We took upon ourselves the challenge to open doors for three marginalized groups in particular: the local population of low socioeconomic status, war refugees, and students with ADHD and implemented all of it in our education. For more information, visit our Inclusivity page.
Best Integrated Human practices	Approaching partners from the industry and the academy helped us gain insight into many aspects of our project, starting from understanding the purpose and its necessity among cancer patients, through different changes in our synthetic biology designs and the development of different analyses and methods for quantification of our metabolites. Check our Integrated Human Practices page.
Best Measurement	The gold standard for measurements of small molecules is HPLC, a costly, time-consuming, and expertise-requiring method. This led us to develop our own measurement method, the OraCell. This method is based on mammalian cells that underwent stable integration of a plasmid that interfaces with the natural Hippo pathway in these cells. Check our Measurement page for further information.
Best model	Our team modeled the biomanufacturing system from micro to macro. We worked on multiple models and employed a stacking approach, where the output of one model was used as the input of another. Thus, we were able to optimize the system for large-scale production of our target metabolite - decursin. Check our Model page for further information.