Introduction
During our fun journey to the iGEM competition we found fellow travelers with the same dreams and goals. Thus, on March 3, a wonderful collaboration with the Patras Medicine 2022 team began. From our first meetings, we got to know each other and after the presentation of the projects, we found that both teams intend to manufacture In vitro diagnostic tools for the early detection of non-small cell cancer of the lung (NSCLC). So we decided to solve together the problem of the high mortality of lung cancer, reaching the top which is DIAS with SYNPNOIA that is, with collaboration. So we established meetings every Thursday to coordinate our common course and appointed responsible for the Partnership Anatoli Betsou from the Patras Medicine 2022 team and Maria Kosmidou from the MetaThess 2022 team.
From our first steps, we planned to cooperate at all levels, that is, in Fundraising, in the Wet Lab and in the Dry Lab. We also organized joint actions for science communication and Synthetic Biology, we organized interesting Collaborations among ourselves and with other teams, while in the context of Human Practices we approached together several Stakeholders who helped us to improve our diagnostic tools so that they could be easily marketed. In addition, we attended a joint seminar on Safety, analyzed the 17 Goals for sustainable development of the United Nation and organized webinars and seminars together. The most important thing was that we created a beautiful company that we overcome difficulties together and shared our anxieties and worries while having a good time in our online meetings. The best moment was when we met up close in Thessaloniki and had the time to organize joint actions together. Let's browse this page and follow us on our journey!
Our Journey
• Our first Meeting | 3.3.2022 •
On the 3rd of March we contacted the Patras Medicine 2022 team on Social media and arranged a video call to explore the possibility of cooperation. Thus an online meeting took place between Maria Kosmidou and Anatoli Betsou. We briefly discussed our projects and thought of some ways of cooperation. So we agreed to be partners and travel together in the world of Synthetic Biology. We decided to communicate every Thursday to coordinate our common course. This is how our journey began!
• Acquaintance of the two teams | 10.03.2022 •
On the 10th of March we scheduled an online meeting to get to know each other. At the beginning everyone introduced themselves by saying a few things about their work and then we presented the two projects in detail. We then created a common communication platform and the leaders of each subgroup discussed ways of possible cooperation in their own field and scheduled different calls to discuss their progress in more detail.
• Fundraising training | 11.03.2022 •
On the 11th of March Maria Kosmidou, Leader of Fundraising of MetaThess team, trained the Patras Medicine Team about the steps a team must follow to find sponsors. So, together we made a sponsorship booklet, which includes information about iGEM Competition, our team members, our project description, our budget analysis, and finally specific sponsorship packages for our potential sponsors. The selling points were about the ways in which we can advertise our potential sponsors for example during our actions or on social media. We also prepared a list containing approximately 207 Pharmaceutical and Medical companies with their contact details and prepared the template mail where we will send to the sponsors attaching the Booklet. The next day the communications started and soon we ended up having as a common grand sponsor the Research Genetic Cancer Center (RGCC Group), which was established in 2004 from Dr. Papasotiriou Ioannis, Oncologist.
• Update on the safety rules in the laboratory by Mr. Apostolou Panagiotis| 11.04.2022 •
On the 11th of April, we scheduled an online meeting with Mr. Apostolou Panagiotis who is the Supervisor and Safety and Quality Manager at the Lab Facilities of Research Genetic Cancer Center in Florina, Greece. Mr. Apostolou informed us about the protective measures we should follow in the lab for our personal safety. In particular, he mentioned the dress code as well as the mandatory lab coats, nitrile gloves and protective glasses. He then discussed how to manage bacterial cultures and how to dispose of bacterial debris and agarose gels after electrophoresis. Finally, he mentioned the way of managing the eukaryotic cell lines, their cleanliness and mandatory processing in special laminar flows. Finally, he asked each group to study the escape plan, which follows the laboratory that works, in cases of fire, flood and earthquake.
• Meeting with PIs of our teams | 3.05.2022 •
On the 3rd of May, both teams scheduled an online meeting with Mrs. Kallergi Galatea and Mrs. Kalogianni Despoina, the PIs of Patras Medicine team, and with Dr. Vizirianakis Ioannis, the PI of MetaThess team to present our projects to them. After the presentation, they congratulated us on our innovative ideas, our project design, and our working method. Furthermore, they said they are particularly pleased that both teams are working on molecular diagnostic tools for the early diagnosis of lung cancer. They believe that our projects can have an impact on the public and with the right steps, it could easily be sold in diagnostic centers for the annual screening of patients for lung cancer in a few years. Also, they promised us that they will help us regarding the experimental design and the problems that may arise in the laboratory. Finally, they stated that they are very happy for our cooperation, wished us good success in the competition and ended their feedback by saying “See you in Paris!”
• The first meeting of Dry Lab teams | 19.5.2022 •
On the 19th of May, we started the cooperation about the Dry Lab part. One of the most crucial parts of our partnership with Patras Medicine team was the modeling process of our projects. We identified together the need for a solid model that could predict and evaluate the behavior of our designed system. The partnership for the in-silico evaluation of our systems consists of 3 main parts. The first part is the evaluation of the thermodynamic properties of the designed sequence. Every project had identified the biomarker for the detection and the next step was the design of the RNA sequences that could make the detection possible. After constructing a library of candidates' sequences, we helped each other to select the ideal candidate. The software ViennaRNA was used for the calculation of the thermodynamic properties such as Minimum Free Energy structure, frequency of MFE in the ensemble and the Concentration dependency plots and these results guided us to discern the best candidate sequence for each biomarker.
• Collaboration - World Cancer Survivors Day | 5.6.2022 •
The first Sunday of June is designated as World Cancer Survivors Day. Thus, since both teams were dealing with projects related to cancer we wanted to honor the people who survived and beat this difficult disease. So, we designed and created a graphic dedicated to this day and published it on our teams' social media. This publication was accompanied by a text we prepared which mentioned some statistics about deaths due to cancer, the importance of early diagnosis and finally we mentioned that the two teams are trying to solve the problem of high mortality so that the public stays tuned for the revelation of our Projects.
• Wet Lab 25.6.2022 - Troubleshooting •
During this year our team's wet lab members participated in several “wet lab meetings” with iGEM Patras medicine teams. These meetings were quietly beneficial for the experimental design and implementation of our projects since our cooperation led to the development of new ideas and to the faster completion of “open” experimental issues that occupied both teams. During these meetings large troubleshooting conversations were conducted and different experimental protocols and tips-and-tricks were exchanged to accelerate the experimental procedures and achieve the desired results.
• Preparing our Business plans | 17.7.2022 •
At the beginning of July, after receiving the first laboratory results, both teams started the business analysis of the Project. So we studied the Intellectual Property and designed the Business Model Canvas where we filled in the value of our diagnostic tools to the target group while also doing an initial cost analysis. After that we met each team's Fundraising Officers, introduced the BMCs to each other and gave feedback to improve them.
In addition, because both Projects aim to create In vitro diagnostic tools for the same type of cancer, we did a stakeholders analysis and SWOT Analysis together. We also performed a market analysis, and defined the target group which includes people over 60 years old, smokers, as well as people who come into contact with harmful chemicals every day. Finally, we designed the Funding Strategy for the future plans and looked for ways of funding in the European Union and Entrepreneurship and Continuity competitions that we could participate in.
• The second meeting of Dry Lab teams | 26.7.2022 •
The second part that we worked together was the Molecular Dynamics Simulations. The evaluation of the sequences with the ViennaRNA gave us an insight about the interactions with the biomarkers based solely on the secondary structures. We decided to take a step ahead and we proceeded to delve into finding information about the RNA-RNA interactions and protein-RNA interactions. iGEM Patras Medicine guided us through RNA – RNA molecular dynamics simulations with the oxRNA software. They presented their methodology and shared with us the pipeline needed to complete a simulation of this type, but we considered it more crucial to proceed with the Molecular dynamics of LbuCas13a-crRNA sequences since they play an important role in our system’s behavior. We shared with each other the appropriate literature to achieve our goals and they helped us with the GROMACS software that we based upon for the molecular dynamic’s simulations.
• Collaboration - World Friendship Day | 30.07.2022 •
Every year July 30th is designated as World Friendship Day. Our beautiful collaboration with the Patras Medicine 2022 team led to new friendships. So we took advantage of this World Day and designed a graphic design that we published together on social media where we officially announced for the first time that we are partners and working together for the iGEM Competition.
• Collaboration - World Lung Cancer Day | 1.08.2022 •
August 1st is World Lung Cancer Day. Since both our projects are related to this type of cancer we decided to organize a joint activity. So we prepared an image showing the forms of all lung cancer subtypes such as adenocarcinoma. Additionally, we wrote a text that included the definition of lung cancer and gave detailed information on each type of lung cancer, namely Small cell lung cancer (SCLC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and large cell lung cancer. Finally we listed some statistics that prove the high mortality rate. So we published a post on social media containing this information announcing that both teams are working with Projects aimed at early diagnosis of lung cancer.
Meeting with the National Organization of Medicines | 3.08.2022
From our first steps we were interested in studying the regulatory framework in which our Project is embedded and discovering the limitations that exist. For this reason, we performed an insightful zoom meeting with Ms. Nikokavoura Aspasia, Chemist and Employee of the Health Material Evaluation Department of the National Organization for Medicines. National Organization for Medicines (EOF in Greek) is the regulatory organization in Greece for medicinal and pharmaceutical products for human and veterinary use, food supplements, medical aids and cosmetics. We found out that our diagnostic tools are medical technology products and for such products, there has been new legislation established ( regulation 2017 746) that has facilitated the approval process so that it is carried out more directly, including all stages of the product. All products are classified into three categories according to their specialization and ours is subject to category C. Conducting specific experiments to ensure the effectiveness of the tool is strictly defined for each category. We were also informed that the exact completion of a technical file for our product is mandatory. This file should contain detailed information not only about the process and the production stages but also preclinical, and clinical data and information about the stability and specificity of the product. After the file is completed with all of the above information, it has to be sent to a notified body and that is the last step of the approval process.
The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world! | 7.08.2022
On the 7th of August, we scheduled a meeting in order to study the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Foundation to transform our world. After discussion and analysis of the goals, we discovered which goals we achieve with the projects we implement. So we wrote corresponding texts analyzing each goal. For more information visit: Sustainable
• PodCast “The SynBio Voice” - Episode 4 | 14.08.2022 •
On the 14th of August uploaded to Spotify episode 4 of the Podcast “The SynBio Voice” which is essentially an interview of the MetaThess team from the Patras Medicine team. During the Podcast, Maria Kosmidou, member of iGEM MetaThess team referred to a previous experience in the IGEM competition analyzing the positives that a student can gain from participating in such a competition.
Then he gave some tips and pointed out which points a team should pay attention to in order to receive a gold medal. In addition, he mentioned the characteristics that a student should have to take part in the competition such as enough time, appetite for work and some knowledge of Synthetic Biology. Finally he described the project of the MetaThess 2022 team. The discussion ended with wishes for good luck to all IGEM teams over the world!
• Translation of the Script of Promotion Video | 18.08.2022 •
According to the iGEM Competition timeline, September 2nd was the deadline for the uploading of promotion videos for our projects. We first prepared the video and then wrote the text which will be recorded to be combined with the image. Both teams made promotion videos in English and in Greek. So, on August 18th we thought it would be a good idea for each team to translate the Greek text of the video into English. In this way we saw the content of each group's video and gave our feedback. Finally it was another way to spend our time pleasantly in a fun call all together!
• Webinar: “A Step Closer to the Gold Medal” | 1.09.2022 •
On the 1st of September, we organized with our partners a webinar in order to help the iGEM teams to get one step closer to the Gold Medal of the Competition. Two workshops were planned in the webinar. The first was related to bioinformatics analysis, which programming languages we use and which databases we can analyze. In this way we wanted to help iGEM teams to validate the biomarkers they chose for their projects and take their first steps towards modeling. The first session was held by Kardamiliotis Konstantinos, member of MetaThess team. In the second part of the webinar a workshop about Graphic Design took place. All the way to the iGEM Competition the teams are asked to make graphics for their actions or social media. So Nteriki Eirini, a member of Patras Medicine team showed how to use the Adobe Illustrator program which is a software for Graphic Design. Using this program a member of an iGEM team can create whatever graphic he wants to meet the needs of his team. The webinar had a great response and the audience learned interesting tools used by a team for the complete implementation of the Project.
The last meeting of the Finance teams | 05.09.2022
On the 5th of September, we scheduled the last meeting for the team's members who deal with the business and financial analysis of the project. In our last meeting, we focused on our future funding strategy. We have prepared our Pitch Deck presentations in order to approach investors. So, we presented to each other and suggested corrections. Also, we looked for the patent filing process and made an initial estimate of the revenues we will have if we license our patent to industries that will be able to produce our diagnostic tools. Finally we discussed the format and categorization of the information that will be added to the wiki so that it is fully understood.
Thessaloniki International Fair - TIF | 17-18.09.2022
The Patras Medicine 2022 team, following an invitation from the MetaThess 2022 team, visited Thessaloniki to participate with a Stand at Pavilion 14 named “Academia” of the 86h TIF. This year, 212,000 people, including members of the government, visited the TIF. Both teams came into contact with visitors of different ages where we described how their diagnostic tools work and how we propose to add it to the annual blood tests of the population for the diagnosis of lung cancer in the early stages. Most showed great enthusiasm and confirmed the value of our diagnostic tools while sharing personal stories of relatives who died of cancer due to late diagnosis and limited treatment options. They encouraged us to continue the research and develop new diagnostic tools for other types of cancer as well and promised us that they will be among the first to test our test in a diagnostic center in the future. These new acquaintances motivated us to continue our research in order to finish our diagnostic devices and take them to the market soon. Finally, the Patras Medicine team's members answered the questionnaire of the MetaThess team, which validated the value of our projects.
• In-person meeting of the wet lab teams - Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology -School of pharmacy - AUTH - 17.09.2022 •
Driven by the collaboration in the context of the experimental procedures of our projects, we had the honor to host in our lab the wet lab members of iGEM Patras medicine team. Initially, we guided them around our lab premises such as the facilities which are specially designed for molecular cloning experiments and cell cultures procedures. We exchanged views regarding the cloning methods followed by each team during the experimental development of each project, and discussed different difficulties encountered regarding the Golden Gate assembly cloning methodology and the protein expression experiments. In addition, since members of our wet lab already conducted some experiments during this day, members of the iGEM Patras medicine team participated in the experimental procedures of the PCR setup protocol, giving appropriate feedback. During this day, we exchanged the experimental protocols developed by each lab, we discussed cloning tips, and of course we took magnificent photos that will remind us of this unique day for the partnership of our teams.
• Greek Medical Association | 18.09.2022 •
On Friday 18.09.2022 we contacted the Greek Medical Association. Firstly, we presented our diagnostic tools and explained that in this way we can achieve early diagnosis to increase the survival rates. They validated that prevention and early diagnosis could dramatically change cancer mortality rates. For this reason, the Greek Medical Association, this year launched a campaign to inform the public about the importance of lung cancer prevention and to protect the population from environmental pollutants and smoking. Finally, they wished us good luck in the competition and they congratulated us on our projects.
• Collaboration - Poster | 18.09.2022 •
After we found that both teams belong to the track of Diagnostics we decided to organize a Collaboration together with teams belonging to the same track. So we contacted several groups and asked them to send us a photo from their laboratory and to write to us which disease the diagnostic methodology they are developing for the iGEM Competition targets. Then we gathered the material and made a Poster showing the photos of the groups from their laboratories and the disease they diagnosed. This poster was published on the social media of both groups.
• Seminar “Synthetic Biology Approaches in Cancer Translational Research” | 19.09.2022 •
On the 19th of September, we organized a Seminar about Synthetic Biology which was addressed to students. This webinar took place in Thessaloniki KE.D.E.A. Conference Hall and was attended by approximately 100 students from the faculties of Medicine, Biology, Pharmacy, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. The first part of the conference program featured talks on the science of Synthetic Biology and what could be applied. Then it was described what the iGEM competition is and what conditions exist for someone to be able to participate. After this report, the two teams presented their projects to the public, receiving very encouraging comments on the impact of the diagnostic tools to the public. In the third part of the program, speeches were heard about the applications of Synthetic Biology in the treatment of lung cancer, in the construction of drug delivery systems and in pharmacogenomics. Finally, they were presented by Mr. Mpochalis Eleftherios the diagnostic techniques used today and explained the reasons why they are not capable of early diagnosis.
• European Commission in Greece | 22.09.2022 •
On Tuesday 22.09.2022 our team visited with our partners Patras Medicine 2022 team the European Commission's office in Thessaloniki, Greece. After the project presentations, they congratulated us on our projects because they emphasized that they consider it important to have easy-to-use diagnostic devices on the market and in diagnostic centers that will contribute to the early diagnosis of lung cancer. In addition, they told us that they looked at the lung cancer mortality statistics published by the World Health Organization and were disappointed. So, they were happy that there are research groups of young people trying to find a solution to such serious health problems. We were suggested after the manufacture of our diagnostic device to organize an information campaign mainly for high-risk groups such as smokers or people with asthma. Finally, they urged us to look up the European regulation related to in vitro diagnostic tools such as ours to see the approval process. Indeed, after this discussion, we arranged a meeting with a representative of the EMA (European Medical Agency) on October 1st for relevant information.
European Medical Agency | 1.10.2022
On Saturday 1.10.2022 we scheduled with our partners iGEM Patras Medicne 2022 team, an online meeting with a Representative of the European Medical Agency (EMA). Firstly we described the mechanism that our diagnostic tools use as well as the process that a microbiologist must follow to use the DIAS and SYMPNOIA tool and obtain the diagnostic result. The EMA Representative informed us that in 2021 the law 2017//0746 concerning medical devices for laboratory tests considered IVDs (in-vitro Diagnostics) was amended to be classified in the category of Companion Diagnostics. In order to file and get our tool approved for this category, we would have to associate it with a chemotherapy drug for lung cancer. So we searched the literature and suggested that in cases where our diagnostic test is positive, the patient should be referred for more specialized tests and once the existence of the cancerous tumor is established, cis-platin and paclitaxel should be administered to shrink the tumor. He also told us to read the medical device legislation 2017/0746 carefully and follow the steps outlined there. Finally, he recommended us to contact the Ministry of Health and more specifically the HTA - Health Technology Assessment to inform us about the process we need to follow in order to add the DIAS diagnostic tool to the annual screening.
Cancer Prevention Research Group in Greece (CPRG) | 2.10.2022
On the 2nd of October we organized in collaboration with the CPRG Group and the iGEM Patras Medicine 2022 team a webinar about lung cancer. In the webinar, there were some greetings from professors and speeches about the epidemiology of lung cancer and its types. Then Mr. Velissariou Hlias and Mr. Mpochalis Eleftherios presented the project of the Patras Medicine 2022 group and the diagnostic methods used today. Finally, Mrs. Gouliou Ioanna and Mrs. Kosmidou Maria presented the project of our team and the therapeutic methods used to treat lung cancer. The webinar was attended by approximately 300 people including doctors, researchers and journalists. At the end of the webinar, the audience's questions were resolved and it was discussed how important prevention and early diagnosis are in diseases such as cancer. It was understood by the public that if the cancerous tumor is detected early and it has not metastasized then surgery can save the patient. We received a lot of positive feedback from the public which confirmed that there is a need for in vitro diagnostic tools that can easily, quickly and cheaply diagnose cancer. We are proud because many believed in our ideas and expressed interest in being among the first to do these diagnostic blood tests. Finally, they wished us all the best.
• The last meeting of Dry Lab teams | 3.10.2022 •
The final part of our dry lab collaboration was the analysis of reaction kinetics. iGEM MetaThess team informed the Patras Medicine team about the importance of predicting the fluorescence signal in their simulations to compare it with the experimental data. We provided to them the MATLAB script that we utilized for the analysis of our system, and we gave them insights for constructing a simple but also accurate model to predict these values.
Our last meeting | 7.10.2022
On October 7th, the last virtual meeting between those responsible for the partnership occurred. At the specific meeting, the iGEM MetaThess team showed the other the final form of their wiki and vice versa. Again, we emphasized the design of the partnership and shaped its final form for both our wiki pages.
It has been a long road, but we indeed gained so much from this ongoing collaboration as partners.
~ See you in Paris our lovely Partners ~
Our Partnership's journey had stations every Thursday. So, you can see more detailed what we did here: