Communication

2023 Beijing Regional iGEMer Communication Meeting

On June 30, 2023, we were invited by the BNU-China to participate in the Beijing Regional iGEMer Communication Meeting.

Four other teams,CAU-China, Peking, and more, also joined the event.
BUCT-China aimed to establish close connections with fellow university teams, promote the concept and significance of precision medicine, and gather diverse feedback to better prepare for the conclusion of Engineering Cycle 1.0 and the commencement of Engineering Cycle 2.0.

Figure1. Group photo at the 2023 Beijing Regional iGEMer Communication Meeting

During the Communication Meeting, each team first introduced their respective projects. CAU-China, inspired by mycelium-based construction materials, plans to use engineered E. coli to create walls with outstanding overall performance, thereby contributing to environmental protection and sustainable development.

Peking's plans to construct an AND gate system (hypoxia and high lactate) in E. coli to enhance the targeting of pancreatic cancer. Additionally, this system will be transferred to an acoustic reporting system to track pancreatic cancer metastasis, combined with precision radiotherapy.

Figure2. Peking is carrying out project sharing

BUCT has designed a gastrointestinal probiotic that clears creatinine and urea in the gastrointestinal tract and synthesizes polyglutamic acid to boost the immune system, lower blood sugar levels, and promote intestinal health.

BNU-China designed the Slinkers protein linker family ,which cooperate and exhibit excellent drug release performance, achieving a convenient and standardized protein binding pattern.

Figure3. Everyone participating is listening and thinking positively

In addition to presenting their team's work, each team also shared the challenges they encountered and their needs for mutual assistance and collaboration. Teams gathered in small groups to discuss and find solutions. BUCT-China faced challenges regarding LATE-PCR design and how to effectively conduct Human Practice during holidays. The intense discussions provided significant inspiration and greatly helped in improving our design, contributing to the success of one module in our wet lab experiments and bringing us closer to achieving BUCT-China's overarching goal of precise diagnosis.

The Tenth CCiC (Conference of China iGEMer Community)

From July 8 to 10, 2023, we were invited to attend the Tenth Conference of China iGEMer Community (CCiC), hosted by the State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea.

Approximately 50 iGEM teams, including several top-tier universities, participated in this three-day conference, which featured academic lectures, team presentations, poster displays, workshops, and team discussions.

Professor Chen Xing from Peking University delivered the keynote lecture, focusing on the engineering design of genetic logic circuits, gene simulation route design, biological sensing applications, and novel CRISPR gene regulation tools for biomedical diagnosis and therapy.

These insights, both on a theoretical and practical level, deepened our understanding of iGEM's various tracks and its potential impact, and enriched our knowledge.

Figure4. Special lecture by Professor Xing Chen from Peking University

On July 10, BUCT-China presented our project progress, preliminary commercialization plans, future prospects, and expected societal and global benefits in a separate session at the conference.

We also engaged in close discussions with teams like DKU, NEFU_China, and others, learning about their creative design ideas, such as novel modular modifications of phages.
We received valuable suggestions from other teams and guidance from professors in various fields, which include addressing challenges in technology implementation and iterative approaches to optimizing machine learning algorithms, etc.

Figure5. Special lecture by Dr.Yiming Dong of ATANTARE

To sum up, our participation in the Tenth CCiC greatly contributed to refining our ideas for Engineering Cycle 2.0, improving team coordination and allocation of work, boosting our confidence in our project, expanding our network of contacts, and strengthening the influence and appeal of BUCT-China's project.

And what's more, BUCT-China would also promote the knowledge gained from the 2023 Beijing Regional iGEMer Communication Meeting and The Tenth CCiC to more interested students on campus, and try to explore more diversified ways to attract students' strong interest in synthetic biology and our precision medicine diagnosis project this year.

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2023 iGEM Entrepreneurship Seminar

BUCT-China's aspiration is to bridge the gap between laboratory research and clinical applications, ultimately leading to industrialization.

We are eager to see the "Polymerase-enabled Molecular Computing diagnostic technology" become a reality, benefiting society and making a mark in the field of precision medicine in China.
With this in mind, BUCT-China participated in the iGEM Entrepreneurship Seminar on July 30, 2023.

During the seminar, teachers from the Beijing Academy of Sciences discussed the industrial value and development of synthetic biology from various perspectives.

They highlighted that in 2020, synthetic biology companies in the United States raised a total of $7.8 billion in funding, which was 1.5 times more than in 2019 and double the amount from 2018.
Through this seminar, BUCT-China realized that iGEM entrepreneurship is not just about achieving results; it also involves profound reflection on the research topic and whether it can truly benefit human society in the future.

Figure6. Special lecture of 2023 iGEM Entrepreneurship Seminar

Then, BUCT-China engaged in online discussions with several other Chinese teams, including Thinker-Shanghai, LZU-China, and UM-Macau. Each team introduced their projects and initial entrepreneurship plans.

Figure7. BUCT-China presented the entrepreneurial plan of our project at the seminar

Finally, all teams delved into a deeper discussion on biosafety, providing new ideas for the safe design and operation of our projects, including the creation of new tools or the development of new methods to mitigate risks in synthetic biology work.

By the way , BUCT-China also participated in the 7th Chinese National Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Annual Meeting, watched and learned a lot of cutting-edge research in the field of synthetic biology and medical health, and inspired our team's innovative thinking and future iteration inspiration.
It also makes us once again deeply feel the great value of our "Polymerase--enabled Molecular Computing diagnostic technology" project -- promoting the development of green and efficient biomedical technology, demonstrating China's innovation and strength, and expanding the influence of important national development strategies.