How to build a bacterium:

the educational impacts of iGEM

• The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) is

the premiere undergraduate Synthetic Biology competition. Student teams

are given a kit of biological parts at the beginning of the summer from the

Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Working at their own schools over the

summer, they use these parts and new parts of their own design to build

biological systems and operate them in living cells. This project design and

competition format is an exceptionally motivating and effective teaching

method.

feb maart april mei juni juli aug sept okt nov

What is iGEM?

MIT, Boston

iGEM-style synthetic biology

• Engineering

– Modularity

– Reliability

– Extendability

– Predictability

• Based on well-known laboratory

organisms

– “chassis”

• Open-source

iGEM “BioBricks”

Standardized Backbone

Quick assembly process, self-replicating (isoschizomers)

2008

2009

Regions/iGEM

Growth

From 2011.igem.org

Projected Growth In iGEM

Through 2015

iGEM criteria: Different subject areas: e.g. Medical, Food, Environment,

Energy, Information Processing, New Applications

Report on Wiki

Use, make, characterize new biobricks

Design, Modeling

Ethics

Safety, security

Open source

Find finances

Oral presentation Boston

Poster

How to build a bacterium:

the educational impacts of iGEM

• Requirements for participation at RUG,

• 20 ECTS; part of educational programme Masters or bachelor, HLO

Enthusiasm, motivation

Skills: life sciences, chemistry, pharma, modeling, math, informatics, TBK or a combination

Availability from April-Oct!! In particular July and August

Organizational skills, initiative, proactive

Flexibility (meetings outside office hours)

Regular meetings with team and instructors

Ideally 8-10 members

feb maart april mei juni juli aug sept okt nov

How to build a bacterium:

the educational impacts of iGEM

• Examples of projects:

Electricity generating bacteria

LED light- producing yeasts

Heavy metal detectors

Environmental oil cleaning

Protein origami

Probiotics with 4 functionalities

Synthetic biological clocks

Etc.

How to build a bacterium:

the educational impacts of iGEM

Education

We have made an effort to reach out to the public in order to increase

awareness about synthetic biology because we noticed, whilst talking to family

and friends about our project, that the general public knows little about the

subject. Often discussions concerning genetic engineering are lead by fear and

gut feelings. To us it appears as if lack of biological knowledge causes

participants in debates to stray from what actually matters: having fruitful

discussions about the ups and downs of biotechnological advances and realizing

its enormous potential.

It can be really easy for scientists to lose view of society when their research is

no longer easily explicable in layman terms thus causing a fissure between

science and general society. In our view this problem can be solved by

education and transparency. Scientist should make it their duty to open up and

try to actively invite the general public to engage in dialog. In line with this view

one of our team members has visited high school biology classes to present our

project and tell students about iGEM.

OUTREACH: We reached out to the public by visiting

high schools to present our project and synthetic

biology in general. Moreover we offered high schools

the opportunity to send their students over to our lab

for a master class in which we tried to get teenagers

interested in the life sciences and to show them all life

on earth is build up from basic parts which are shared

by humans and organisms as different to us as

tomatoes.

March

Special thanks to

Douwe, Eva, Nadine,

Esenguel

for enthusiastic contributions

Megan Lizarazo

• Learning effects/benefits: Setting up project independently

Learn to work interdisciplinary; divide tasks

Develop teaching skills

Organize seminars; invite scientists

Organizational skills: Find sponsors

Regular meetings

Task divisions

Reporting, + website, wiki

Presentation skills

Competetive aspects, strategies

Start external collaborations

Increased enthusiasm for science; work outside hours

t

How to build a bacterium:

the educational impacts of iGEM

iGEM 2011

Regional Jamboree at VU

Amsterdam

international Genetically Engineered Machines

Dutch teams include: Amsterdam, Delft, Groningen,

Wageningen, Leiden

Organization = cooperation

Douwe Molenaar

Main organization

Aljoscha Wahl, Eva Brinkman, Nadine Bongaerts

Organization

Elly Muilman

Finances

Oscar Kuipers

Judging

The VU venue

• All lecture rooms / canteen / poster

rooms in one building

– Six equal lecture rooms with a capacity of

200

– Aula Capacity 1500

Integration into European Society

• iGEM is a very good vehicle to communicate synthetic biology to the public

Ambitious projects, very applied, easy to communicate

-- Meeting of Minds --

• Future politicians meet future scientists

– Members from youth organizations evaluate the impact of previous year

projects

– Meet the scientists to discuss

• Podium interview with press at the end of this meeting

Special Human Practice prize

(planning)

Design a museum exhibition room for your Synthetic

Biology project

Interactive, illustrative, easy to understand

Winning design will become realized in the

science museum Nemo (Amsterdam)

Acknowledgements

• iGEM teams Delft and Groningen

• Aljoscha Wahl (TUD)

• Douwe Molenaar (VU)

• Martijn Herber, Auke van Heel (RUG)

• Sponsors! DSM, SBN, NGI, Sigma,

Kluyver center, Universities, Gratama,

Rathenau, Nemo, etc.

Project 2010 hydrophobofilm