The undergraduate CU iGem (international Genetically engineered machines) team recently competed in Boston at the giant jamboree (October 25th - 28th). The competition had over 3,000 participants from 300 teams representing more than 40 countries. A truly international event that gave the CU students a chance to share ideas with budding synthetic biologists from across the globe. The students had designed a therapeutic antibody engineered with a small molecule switch to protect against potentially deadly overreactive immune responses. They began building their protein designs over the summer and fall and presented their research to an audience and panel of judges in Boston. Their work received bronze award status and encouragement to expand on their research in the future. Keynote talks on the final day included the CSO of PVP Biologics and the CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks that were both former iGem students that took their team’s projects all the way to current well funded biotech ventures. As a highlight of the Boston trip, The CU students were invited to visit the Ginkgo Bioworks operation and saw first hand just how far their ideas and experiences as an undergraduate researcher could possibly take them.
