iGEM Synthetic Biology competition
This year the Cambridge iGEM team worked on novel systems for intercellular communication. This included new peptide signalling systems, outer membrane pores, transcription activator components and Gram positive chassis systems. For more information see the team wiki. The Cambridge team received Gold Awards and a prize for best BioBrick.
Recruitment for iGEM2008
Cambridge Biologists, Engineers, Mathematicians, Programmers:
Want to be part of an exciting team project?
We are recruiting students for a team project in Synthetic Biology over the summer at the University of Cambridge as part of the international Genetically Engineered Machine competition, iGEM2008. An assembled team of undergraduates and postgraduates/postdocs will face the challenge of conceiving and designing a simple biological system using standard, interchangeable parts and operating it in living cells. As well as spending the summer weeks designing the system and synthesising and testing the parts, there will be the opportunity to attend an end-of-competition jamboree at MIT with other international teams. Last year, the competition ran with teams from a 58 universities worldwide including Cambridge. The teams have constructed systems with functions that ranged from biological sensors, artificial navigation, multicellular patterning to a bacterial blood substitute. The competition is an opportunity for biology students to learn about practical engineering approaches to the design and modelling of non-linear systems; and for engineering students to gain hands-on experience with molecular biology techniques and biological systems at the frontier of this exciting research area. The project is ambitious and we plan to start after the exams in early July, and to run through the summer. The early part of the project will start with a series of seminars and brainstorming sessions, and everyone will participate in the concept/design stage. The schedule during the later assembly phase of the project will be more flexible. The project will be based in teaching labs in the University, with access to a budget, and advanced research equipment.
The iGEM competition throws together students from different disciplines, requires them to initiate a novel scientific program over the summer, and challenges them to learn and share different skills. The competition has provided a new educational model in an exciting new field. In Cambridge, we are unreservedly positive about the educational aspect of the competition. As well as learning challenging new scientific skills, the competition has allowed students to obtain hands-on experience with genetic manipulation techniques, project brainstorming, management, teamwork, fund-raising, collaboration and presentation in an international forum.
A number of stipends will be available (£2000 over 10 weeks) and these will be awarded on a competitive basis. As well as this limited number of studentships, we can provide space on the team for students with external funding. We will fund the team’s trip to the iGEM2008 jamboree in the USA in November.
The Cambridge organisers are: Jim Ajioka, Department of Pathology; Jorge Goncalves, Department of Engineering; Jim Haseloff, Department of Plant Sciences & Gos Micklem, Department of Genetics and CCBI.
If you are interested in participating, contact the iGEM2008 organisers
c/o Dr. Jim Haseloff, (jh295@cam.ac.uk),
Department of Plant Sciences,
University of Cambridge
and forward a copy of your cv.