November 12, 2019

The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition was held in Boston on October 31 - November 4, 2019, and Ohio State was there! The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of synthetic biology, education and competition, and the development of an open community and collaboration. Each year, several hundred teams from around the world fly to Boston in early November to present their research and compete for prizes. This was the first year that Ohio State joined in. To prepare for the competition, the team spent spring semester learning about synthetic biology techniques. During the summer, the team transitioned to the lab where they applied what they had learned and began working on their engineered microbes. The team also provided extensive outreach to a local school (St. Joseph Montessori school) where they spent 15 days guiding students through a variety of exercises that taught them about microbes and DNA. The inaugural OSU iGEM team consisted of students Allison Howell, Jacob Riina, Prajwal Hegde, Jason West, Peter Menart, Phoebe Huang, Chris Kimmel, and Avery Brewer. The team was advised by Andrew Schwieters, Erin Connors, Robert Ward, and Sam Malloy, and directed by Anice Sabag-Daigle and Brian Ahmer in the Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity in the College of Medicine. This was made possible by generous funding from the campus-wide Infectious Disease Institute and the College of Medicine. We are already preparing for the 2020 competition. Many teams include software development, robotics, or mathematical modeling. All teams explore the social and environmental impacts of their work, as well as developing educational or community outreach programs. This is truly an interdisciplinary effort, therefore students with a variety of backgrounds are needed. If you are a student that would like to apply to participate, or a faculty member that would like to help, please contact Brian Ahmer at ahmer.1@osu.edu. Also, we are having an informational event on November 15th at 4 pm in BRT 105. The team will share their experiences from this year’s competition and sign up potential team members for next year.

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