Our IHP Story
We are developing a rapid test for cereulide, a toxin in a food people know and love - rice. Since this has never been done by any research groups before, we reach out to experts in the food safety field, interview food producers and restaurants, go on-site visits to where large batches of food boxes are produced and interact with other iGEM teams to receive insightful feedback on the research and development of our novel Cereulide test kit.
At the same time, as the UST iGEM team this year, we would like to grasp this valuable opportunity to promote the joy of scientific research on campus and to the younger generation of budding scientists in our community. Therefore, we are rolling out a range of educational events for the public on our campus, in secondary schools, and on social media. Our activities introduce the basics of synthetic biology and include hands-on experiences as well as interactive games. Through our passion for education, we hope to raise people’s awareness towards food poisoning, especially fried rice syndrome (cereulide poisoning) which is often overlooked but potentially fatal. When food manufacturers, catering organizations, and the general public, have higher food safety awareness and accurate knowledge of food safety measures, with the help of a convenient, intuitive cereulide test kit, fried rice syndrome can be effectively prevented to reduce foodborne illnesses and save lives.
With our curiosity and passion, we set off to write our unique IHP story. We believe that we just need to be bold and proactive to reach out since we would never know where we can end up, maybe surprises are along the way! So we just try everything rather than regretting why we didn't do that.
Market Research
Survey
We launched a survey to find out the general public's awareness of Fried Rice Syndrome, concerns about food safety, the use of genetically modified bacteria, and our market potential.
Marketing Advisor
This year, Professor Puig joins us as our marketing instructor!
Education
SynBioX Workshop
We want to share our passion for synthetic biology with budding scientists. By holding a synthetic biology workshop for local secondary students, we hope to arouse their interest in SynBio and motivate them to participate in iGEM to pass on the joy and irreplaceable experiences.
SynBio Online
To arouse the general public's interest in synthetic biology during the memorable occasion of the 20th anniversary of iGEM, iGEM Teams from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Wuhan University (WHU) launched iGEM SynBio Online, a Podcast Series to share stories of distinguished Synthetic Biology researchers, experienced iGEMers and experts in the industry.
Synthetic Sunday
To spread our love for synthetic biology, we post fascinating synthetic biology news stories on Instagram every Sunday!
Booth at HKUST
We held a booth in the academic concourse of UST to raise awareness of Fried Rice Syndrome and food safety among students, professors, and staff, promote our project, and receive practical feedback on our work.
Collaboration
iGBA Symposium
The 1st iGEM Greater Bay Area Synthetic Biology Industry-Academia-Research Forum was successfully held at Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai!
HK-Macau Symposium
We participated in the HK-Macau Symposium organized by the CUHK and took this wonderful opportunity to bond with other university teams and high school teams in Hong Kong.
UM-Macau Team
We talked about the iGBA event with UM-Macau and visited each other!
WHU-China Team
We made a dedicated synthetic biology podcast sereis with WHU-China team.
Outreach
HKUST Campus Safety Office
Professor Sit shared with us food safety and preventive measures in HKUST and inspired us with app-based food inspection protocols.
Mtg with HSEO
Professor Yu shared his 30 years of expertise in biosafety and encouraged us to include safety disposal and stakeholders' opinions in our test kit design.
Hardware Research
We met up with Dr. Liu to discuss the hardware and improvements of our rapid test kit.
Modeling Research
We discussed with Prof. Lam how we can improve our dry lab models.
Seamart Interview
We met up with Mr Lam from SEAMART to understand the commercial foodboxes manutfacturing processes.
Volunteering with Food Angel
To understand the procedures for the NGOs to produce large batches of food boxes for the needy.
Let's Yum Cha
We interviewed Dim Sum Master Suen Zhi Keung to get a glimpse into the traditional Chinese restaurant operations and relevant food safety measures.