Lab Inspirations
The 2021 Uppsala iGEM team served as a great inspiration to us, as they shared our vision of bringing cultivated meat to the wider world. They were the first iGEM team to address the issue of growth factors and serum-free media in cultured meat, using E. coli. Their work focused on FGF2, employing rational engineering screens and FEP to improve binding affinity to FGFR.
We also recognised the necessity for reliable and cost-effective growth factor expression, but approached the problem from the bottom up through consultations with industrial stakeholders and potential clients. The decision to use K. phaffii originated from outreach to precision fermentation and purification experts.
Similar to Uppsala, we opted for 6xHis tagging for bench-scale purification. For validation, we sourced mammalian cells, but chose immortalised satellite cells, as experts indicated these are common models for studying growth media.
Though we initially considered engineering our growth factors like Uppsala, we decided to focus on fundamental contributions toward our chassis, enabling future teams and companies to benefit. This strategy also allowed us to engage a broader range of stakeholders.
Education Inspirations
- Imperial College London iGEM 2016: Created a game for visual communication and public engagement. Inspired our bioethics gamified quiz and marble/Overlab festival games for diverse age groups.
- EPFL 2017: Ran workshops and designed materials for young audiences. Inspired our kindergarten outreach picture book and hands-on workshop activities.
- Sheffield 2024: Produced a comic book, inspiring our Webtoon series. Hosted the Mini Jamboree; we scaled this to panels, workshops, and collaborative events.
- Düsseldorf 2020: Postcard collaboration project expanded into educational letters and a digital collaboration with scrollable gallery experience.
- Washington 2012: Created plush toys (“biochemies”) representing DNA. Adapted into project-themed plushies and DIY kits.
- Cornell 2020: Covid-19 global survey and infographic campaign. Inspired global collaboration and hosting a webinar to discuss results.
- Exeter 2022: Produced the Test Tube Podcast for public engagement and discussion of synthetic biology topics.
- Uppsala 2021: Cultivated meat outreach via webinars and social media. Inspired us to diversify media formats.
- Official iGEM Blog: Provided guidance for new teams. Inspired our all-in-one guide on “How to iGEM”.
- City U Hong Kong 2024: Balanced outreach across audiences, inspiring our structured engagement from kindergarten to general public.
Human Practices Inspirations
- Uppsala 2021: Primarily engaged with academics on growth factors and cultivated meat. Inspired us to broaden our perspective, engaging industry leaders, stakeholders, and business experts to explore pathways to market beyond academia.
- McGill 2023: Featured a diverse HP network. Inspired our early-stage HP strategy, highlighting the range of fields to contact and how engagement influences both project and society.
- Heidelberg 2024: Presented concise HP takeaways in a fluid, navigable format. Inspired the design of our HP page with key takeaway bullet points to improve readability and user experience.