Overview

This year Boston University hoped to elevate the realm of education for our community. As a team, we know that it is our responsibility to pay forward the lessons we have learned. We aimed to share our knowledge of synthetic biology to engage with students and inspire interest in STEM fields. We did this in a few ways. By educating students K-8, we build a strong science foundation for the youngest ages. We also got the opportunity to work with high school students as well. When working with these students, we can explain our project in-depth and even gain their feedback while also showing them a niche realm of science that broadens their horizons. Our goal is to bring science education to a younger community and continue sharing our knowledge.

iGEM Community

Imperial College of London

As part of our engagement with fellow members of the iGEM community, we were visited by Jonathan Collard who leads iGEM at the Imperial College of London. We got the chance to speak with him about all things iGEM and his experience as the team lead. It was an enjoyable and sociable conversation to share insights on how best to work together and propel our project to new heights. When he messaged us asking to connect, we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to talk to a fellow member of the community.

Virtual North American Jamboree

As part of the iGEM community, we were approached to lead and be responsible for the Virtual North American Jamboree. We were thrilled to be a part of the planning throughout, and took on the role of Technical Lead for the Jamboree. This entailed managing the Zoom and breakout rooms. We also played a key role in organizing and reaching out to ventures to secure sponsorship prizes for the competition. Coordinating this event was a thrilling way to connect with other iGEM teams and share our presentations in preparation for the Grand Jamboree.

Local Community

Hennigan K-8

Our iGEM team had the incredible opportunity to share our excitement and passion for science with 4th graders from the Hennigan school. At their school, they had an ongoing week dedicated to STEM, and we got to participate and share some biological concepts with them. Because our project includes a pH sensor, we chose to focus our presentation on pH. We first introduced ourselves and how our backgrounds brought us together. Then, we dove into an explanation of pH and its significance. Drawing from our own curiosity and experiences with testing pH levels, we wanted to reinforce their learning with an interactive experiment. We brought color changing pH test strips and an array of different pH level solutions so the students could make hypotheses on which solution had high or low pH levels. We all had a lot of fun, and the students seemed eager and curious about both our project, and the experiment we had brought them. By the end, we had the opportunity to excite the students about biology, showing them how simple concepts can create powerful technology for our world. It was an incredibly enjoyable experience for everyone involved and it was heartwarming to see bright minds engaged with new topics.

Boston Leadership Institute

Boston University was also visited by the Boston Leadership Institute Three-Week Summer Engineering Program on one of their field trips. We as the iGEM team had the opportunity to present our project in front of these high school students. It was both good practice for us to explain the nuances of our project to an audience that may not have had experience in synthetic biology, and an informative presentation for them to learn what biotechnology could look like. It was thrilling to show the intersection of engineering, technology, biology, and programming all in our one project. Beyond just science, we also were able to share our personal journeys as college students–discussing anything from life as a student, to our research experience to how we ended up on the iGEM team. At the end, we got to share our research and hopefully inspire bright young innovators to chase their dreams in the biotechnology field.

STEM Pathways High Schoolers

STEM Pathways provides a 5 week long internship opportunity for high school students to engage in laboratories on BU’s campus. As the iGEM team, we also had the chance to meet with, and form a connection with these high schoolers. Early on in the semester, we presented our project in front of both them and a wider audience in the Biological Design Center. Throughout the summer, they collaborated with us on ideation for the promo video, design for the app, and hardware design. This provided us with a fresh perspective, and them with the chance to engage with real world applications. Their interest and curiosity in our project was refreshing, and we hope that they could use the things they learned with us to inform their future careers.

Cultivarium Visit

We were invited to visit Cultivarium’s lab, a company that works to bring unconventional microbes to biotechnology. They sponsored our team after we applied for their scholarship and were gracious enough to give us a tour of their lab, as well as the strain Lactobacillus delbrueckii. They also hosted a career panel and discussion with us, offering valuable insights into industry trends, job opportunities, and tips for advancing in our careers. We shared our presentation with them, and they gave us feedback and asked thoughtful questions that provoked positive change in our presentation structure.

Lab Meeting with el MIG

The lab that hosted us, el MIG, invited us to share our presentation at one of their weekly lab meetings. We had the chance to ask PhD students and other undergraduates in the lab about their research and some struggles that they had to overcome. Because they were working with similar species, this also helped us gain a stronger biological understanding of the requirements for our project. We also fielded their questions and afterwards, adjusted our project appropriately after the feedback we received.

Tribute to STEM Pathways

Unfortunately, STEM Pathways, the program that hosts the iGEM team and does educational outreach for many labs in the Biological Design Center is being closed down. Besides just the iGEM team, STEM Pathways has helped countless undergraduate students enter research experiences. We would like to share some stories from individuals who have been impacted by STEM Pathways.

Kelton Nguyen:
STEM Pathways allowed me to do undergraduate research that fully transformed my career path. Having STEM Pathways to support me allowed me to discover the amazing science that can be done in synthetic biology. It laid the groundwork for connecting me with organizations that built my skillset both professionally and personally, ultimately landing me my first full-time job in science. STEM Pathways, of course, could not have been the same without Hailey, who always provided my cohort and I a shoulder to lean on after failed experiments, burnout, and crazy job market. Ultimately, STEM Pathways taught me the importance in investing in the next generation of scientists!

Marko Radulovic:
Being a part of STEM Pathways gave me the opportunity to hone in on my research over the summer and conduct experiments that ultimately resulted in two second-author publications in leading developmental biology journals- work that would not have been possible otherwise. The program also strengthened my passion for outreach, allowing me to lead synthetic biology workshops for high school students in partnership with BioBuilder. STEM Pathways has had a lasting impact on both my scientific career and my commitment to inspiring the next generation of researchers.