Notebook
Date: Feb 18th-25th, 2025
Main Goal: Kickoff Meeting
Participants: Aveline Guo, Cherry Li, Emily Li, Ethan Liu, Howard Zhang, Judy Yu, Kevin Zheng, Kitty Yuan, Kitty Mai, Lily Li, Nina Yang, Sunny Hu, Yvonne Li, Zihan Chen, Zoe Wang
Location: Keystone Academy
Content:
Section 1 – What you may expect in iGEM
- Tangible Outcomes in iGEM Competition: Competition deliverables, participation certificate, medals, prizes
- Intangible Outcomes in iGEM Competition: A rewarding learning experience
- Insights from Judging iGEM Projects
Section 2 – Human Practices: Responsibilities & Improvement
- Human Practices
- Case Sharing
Section 3 – Briefing iGEM Villages and Engineering
- Popular iGEM Competition Villages & Engineering Cycle
- Basic Biology Laboratory Skills
- Data Processing & Analysis
- Common Research Software
Section 4 – Entrepreneurial Ventures in iGEM Projects
- Entrepreneurship Requirements in iGEM Competition
- Top 1 Business Plan in 2023 iGEM (High School)
Section 5 – Tips for Initial Project Brainstorming
- Innovation and Practically
- iGEM Responsibility
- Compliance with Competition Rules and Meeting the Gold Medal Criteria
Section 6 – Synthetic Biology Basics
- Tangible Outcomes in iGEM Competition: Competition deliverables, participation certificate, medals, prizes
- Intangible Outcomes in iGEM Competition: A rewarding learning experience
- Insights from Judging iGEM Projects
Section 7– iGEM Villages Overview
- Environment
- Healthcare
- Advancements
Section 8– Representative Projects
- Environment – Bioremediation
- Environment – Food & Nutrition
- Healthcare – Therapeutics
- Healthcare – Diagnosis
Section 9 – Attributes of High-Impact iGEM Projects
Learning Materials:
iGEM website: https://igem.org/iGEM Website: https://igem.org/
About Human Practices: https://responsibilityigem.org/human-practices/what-is-human-practices
About Judging and Awards: https://competition.igem.org/judging/medals
About Judging and Special Prizes: https://competition.igem.org/iudging/rubric
Whitelist for Experiments: https://responsibility.igem.org/safety-policies/white-list
https://2024.igem.wiki/keystone
https://2024.igem.wiki/gems-taiwan/ (Grand Prize Winner)
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xeuC-NExG99pte3zF7NnhA
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cOx9WU9BgapJMv4opk7Fcw
Notes:
In this lesson, we learnt that iGEM projects are organized into groups called “Villages”. These villages focus on solving global problems in three areas: the environment, healthcare, and technology. As we learned high-impact projects usually deal with a big problem in the real world, include strong work in the wet lab and dry lab, and show clear practical uses.
Date: Mar 4th-25th, 2025
Main Goal:
Literature Retrieval Guidance/Brainstorm 1
The Theoretical Foundation of Synthetic Biology
Basic Molecular Biology Experimental Operations 1
Participants: Aveline Guo, Cherry Li, Emily Li, Ethan Liu, Howard Zhang, Judy Yu, Kevin Zheng, Kitty Yuan, Kitty Mai, Lily Li, Nina Yang, Sunny Hu, Yvonne Li, Zihan Chen, Zoe Wang
Location: Keystone Academy
Content:
Section 1 – Genetic Engineering Classic Route Analysis
Section 2 – Literature Reading, Brainstorm
Section 3–Experimental content
(1) Theoretical explanation 40 minutes
(2) Laboratory safety training 10 minutes
(3) Pipette usage 20 minutes
(4) Plasmid extraction 60 minutes
(5) Preparation of nucleic acid gel 20 minutes
(6) PCR amplification of DNA fragments 40 minutes
(7) Agarose gel electrophoresis 30 minutes
(8) Result analysis and explanation 10–20 minutes
(9) Cell Lysis
(10) Protein Purification
(11) Separation and Identification of Proteins
Section 4-Group Brainstorm Sharing
Hairball Buster – Emily Li + Judy Yu
Gout to Probiotics – Cherry Li + Sunny Hu
Sun Allergy – Yvonne Li
SpiceShield – Lily Li + Zoe Wang
Date: April 1st-26th, 2025
Main Goal: Brainstorm，logo
Participants: Aveline Guo, Cherry Li, Emily Li, Ethan Liu, Howard Zhang, Judy Yu, Kevin Zheng, Kitty Yuan, Kitty Mai, Lily Li, Nina Yang, Sunny Hu, Yvonne Li, Zihan Chen, Zoe Wang
Location: Keystone Academy
Content:
Group Brainstorm Sharing (Final Round)
The Eco-Scent: Kitty Yuan + Nina Yang
Glucoguard – Type 1 Diabetes: Sophia Wu + Zihan Chen
Amyloidosis – Kevin Zheng + Howard Zhu
Bamboo & Algae as Carbon Sinks – Kitty Mai + Ethan Liu + Aveline Guo
SpiceShield – Lily Li + Zoe Wang
Review from Teachers
1. Mr. Kevin explains the voting rules
2. Each group has 2 minutes to campaign, briefly highlighting the proposal's key points; then each person casts 2 votes; the votes are counted, and the winning proposal group is announced.
Section 1- Educational Activity Workshop
1. The types of media platforms and responsible persons have been determined, and the content for each platform team has been finalized.
2. Educational activity plans for grades 1-3, grades 4-7, and the elderly have been completed.
Homework:
Judy, the leader of the children's group, and Howard, the leader of the elderly group, remind the students responsible for each part to send the completed PPT, promotional pages, and card design files to the group tonight.
Students responsible for designing the logo, team name, and slogan must submit the finalized versions to the group by next Saturday to facilitate registration on the online education platform and updates to subsequent content.
Section 2- Entrepreneurship Workshop
Work Division:
Market Size: Emily, Judy, Zoe
Unmet Needs: Aveline & Lily
STP: Zihan
Porter's Five Forces: Yvonne
SWOT: Sunny Hu, Kitty Yuan
PESTEL: Howard, Kevin
Competitor Analysis (Comparing Metrics): Cherry, Nina, Ethan Liu
7P Analysis: Emily, Judy, Zoe
Financial Forecast: Aveline & Lily
Risk Assessment: Zihan, Kitty Mai
Date: May 3rd-25th, 2025
Main Goal:Education,human practice, Wetlab
Location: Keystone Academy
Participants: Aveline Guo, Cherry Li, Emily Li, Ethan Liu, Howard Zhang, Judy Yu, Kevin Zheng, Kitty Yuan, Kitty Mai, Lily Li, Nina Yang, Sunny Hu, Yvonne Li, Zihan Chen, Zoe Wang
Main Goal: Interview Techniques and Human practices
Content:
Section 1
Ways to conduct interviews, emphasizing the importance of maintaining an objective stance, avoiding leading questions, and paying attention to details during the interview process.
The steps of qualitative research, including identifying the research phenomenon, clarifying the research questions, reviewing existing literature, designing interview outlines, conducting interviews, and writing research reports.
How to select appropriate interview types based on research objectives and nature and provided examples on how to design interview questions and conduct interviews.
Section 2
Student Leader Election/Review of Educational Activities
Election for Coordinate team leaders:
Candidates - Howard, Aveline, Judy, Sunny, Zihan
Rules - Each candidate has 5 minutes to give a campaign speech, with the first 3 minutes being assisted by PPT, and the last 2 minutes being spent answering questions from classmates. After all candidates have finished their speeches and Q&A sessions, immediately vote, count the votes, and announce the results.
Section 3
Results
Finalized future schedules and educational content of visiting the Kang Yu Xuan Elder’s Home.
Photos:
Section 4
Main Goal: Student Leader Election/Experimental Design Review
Participants: Aveline Guo, Cherry Li, Emily Li, Ethan Liu, Howard Zhang, Judy Yu, Kevin Zheng, Kitty Yuan, Kitty Mai, Lily Li, Nina Yang, Sunny Hu, Yvonne Li, Zihan Chen, Zoe Wang
Location: Keystone Academy
Content:
Election for Wet Lab Leaders
Election for Dry Lab Leaders
Section 5 Review of Human Practice Activities
1. Reflection on Kang Yu Xuan Elder’s Home Visit
Discussed for improvements on the team’s experience educating elderly residents about Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Used a PowerPoint presentation to explain AD
Conducted interactive activities:
Memory card game
Coloring
Discussed the impact of these activities on engagement and understanding
2. Decision to Use Notion
Agreed to use Notion as the centralized tool for:
Taking notes
Organizing meeting content
Tracking progress
3. Planning for Neurologist Interview
Began coordinating a suitable time for an online interview with a neurologist
Ensured team availability and roles for the upcoming interview
Date: June 3rd-17th, 2025
Main Goal:
Review of Business Plan Development
Online Interview with a Neurologist on Diagnosis and Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease
Award Strategy Analysis - Specialization
Participants: Aveline Guo, Cherry Li, Emily Li, Ethan Liu, Howard Zhang, Judy Yu, Kevin Zheng, Kitty Yuan, Kitty Mai, Lily Li, Nina Yang, Sunny Hu, Zihan Chen, Zoe Wang
Location: Keystone Academy
Content:
Section 1
- Review HW previously assigned on April 26th. Revised and improved the section on “Unmet Needs” in the business plan.
- Analyzed the current market strategies related to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and existing technologies
- Began preparing for the upcoming interview (related to AD expert consultation)
Section 2
Discussion mainly focuses on the early screening and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease:
Current early screening and diagnostic methods for Alzheimer's disease in China were introduced, including medical history inquiry, symptom observation, neuropsychological tests, imaging examinations, etc.
Advantages and disadvantages of these methods were discussed, as well as possible future development directions such as blood testing and urine testing.
How to improve the acceptance of Alzheimer's disease testing among the elderly, including strategies such as science education and psychological counseling.
The possibility and challenges of incorporating Alzheimer's disease testing into public health programs were discussed, including cost control, policy support, etc.
Section 3
Previous class content reviewed and introduced the process of using the Flex system to screen high protein nucleic acid aptamers.
Explained the principle and application of Crispr technology and biosensors.
Discussed the optimization direction of the project, including model optimization. Emphasized the need to consider factors such as design purpose, functionality, and carrier selection during the project process, and select appropriate sections for modelling based on experimental results.
Reviewed the list of iGEM Special Prizes and discussed strategic alignment with our project by analyzing past winning cases for Best Part Collection and Best Measurement.
Identified key criteria across special prize categories: coherence, documentation, functionality, reproducibility, and usefulness.
Date: June 22rd-30th, 2025
Main Goal: Materials and Experiments
Participants: Aveline Guo, Cherry Li, Emily Li, Ethan Liu, Howard Zhang, Judy Yu, Kevin Zheng, Kitty Yuan, Kitty Mai, Lily Li, Nina Yang, Sunny Hu, Zihan Chen, Zoe Wang
Location: China agricultural university
Content:
Preparation of culture medium
Gene synthesis and primer synthesis, material procurement
PCR amplification of the target gene
Transformation and verification
Date: July 1st-31th, 2025
Main Goal:
Task Allocation Clarification for the Educational Activities
Laboratory safety training and experiments
Participants: Aveline Guo, Cherry Li, Emily Li, Ethan Liu, Howard Zhang, Judy Yu, Kevin Zheng, Kitty Yuan, Kitty Mai, Lily Li, Nina Yang, Sunny Hu, Yvonne Li, Zihan Chen, Zoe Wang
Location: China Agricultural University/China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
Content:
Section 1
Reviewed the lab design section of the project, focusing on SELEX and CRISPR-Cas12a technologies.
Clarified the daily schedule and structure of upcoming summer training activities.
Section 2
Youth education: Emily- Contact the YunAi organization, conduct education activities; Aveline, Lily - PPT+experiment design
On campus education: Aveline, Lily – Syn-bio week
Middle-aged education: Determine the time and location of the event (Aveline contact Jiangshan Fu community); Zoe, Judy. Emil, Kitty Mai, Sunny - Prepare a PowerPoint presentation for middle-aged people to share AD and synthetic biology
Section 3
IHP: Howard - Send a questionnaire
Business plan: According to the previous division of labor, each group needs to send the completed parts to the group before the training starts
Section 4
Prepare questions for the interview with Rashik Chand
Finalize the Survey Questions for “Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness and Detection Needs”
Prepare interview questions for 7.14th Interview with Mr. Wang
Brainstorm of the Team’s Wiki’s overall layout and style
Started working on the hand-drawn components
Establish social media accounts for the team [Dou Yin, Xiao Hong Shu etc.]
Location: China Agricultural University/China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
Section 4
Training on Safety Standards for Biological Laboratories [Need to Elaborate]
Afternoon – Howard, Kevin, Lily, Nina
Configuration of LB medium
PCR amplification of target genes
Plasmid extraction
Section 5
Conduct online interview with Rashik Chand
Send out the survey for “Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness and Detection Needs” on wenjuan.com
Goal: ≥100 responses
Conduct online interview Mr. Wang (a family member of an AD patient)
Establish future dates the educational activities on youth and middle-age; complete and finalize both educational PPT.
Prepare question for interview with Dr. Lu on July 15th
Section 6
Electrophoretic verification of the digested vector and target gene fragment
Gel-purified DNA fragment ligation into the vector and transformation of the recombinant construct containing the target gene into E. coli
Section 6
SDG Workshop
Conduct online interview with Dr. Lu (from Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine)
Prepare questions for interview with Jin Nuo Mei Biotechnology Co., Ltd on July 16th
Section 7
Screening of single colonies
Large-scale cultivation and expression induction
Section 8
Prepare questions for interview with Jin Nuo Mei Biotechnology Co., Ltd and rehearse the interview
Location: Building 16, Courtyard 25, Jinghai Fourth Road, Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone
Visit and conduct off interview with Jin Nuo Mei Biotechnology Co., Ltd
Section 9
Protein extraction, purification, and identification
SDS-PAGE and Tau peptide immobilization
Section 10
Planning for content and distribution for Promotion Video and develop the script
Production and filming of promotion video, including drawing out the animations
Section 11
DNA library preparation
Initial SELEX screening – First Round
Section 12
Continue working on production of the promotion video
Prepare for the educational activity in the afternoon
Afternoon Group A– Emily, Judy, Zoe
Education Activity
Afternoon Group B – Howard, Zihan, Ethan, Nina
Continue working on the animations of the promotion video
Prepared Interview questions for the offline interview with Mr. Zhang on July 19th
Section 13
Positive SELEX screening round 2-7
Conduct interview with pharmaceutical and chemical investment expert – Mr. Zhang Antong about our business plan
Prepare interview question for the online interview with Dr. Hu on July 20th.
Revise business plan based on suggestions from the interview with Mr. Zhang
Section 14
Promotion video editing
Organize notes for Wiki
Work distribution for the defense presentation slides
Online interview Dr. Hu Chunyi
Continue revising business plan based on suggestions from the previous interviews
Section 15
Negative SELEX screening round 8 to 16.
Flow cytometric detection
ELISA verification of binding
Finalized work distribution for the defense presentation slides and Wiki content of the first summer training session.
Work on the defense presentation slides for the first summer training session.
Section 16
Defense presentation for the first summer training session. Content including:
Project Background,Project Goals,Methodology overview , Results, Human Practices,Safety
Date: August 1st-30th, 2025
Location: China University of Technology and Keystone Academy
Participants: Aveline Guo, Cherry Li, Emily Li, Ethan Liu, Howard Zhang, Judy Yu, Kevin Zheng, Kitty Yuan, Kitty Mai, Lily Li, Nina Yang, Sunny Hu, Yvonne Li, Zihan Chen, Zoe Wang
Content:
- Second round of nucleic acid aptamer screening using the SELEX system
- Measurement of fluorescence values by flow cytometry
- Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) measurement
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
- Wiki content writing, e.g., data and results organization, experimental documentation, etc.
- UI motion design and visual design
- Plasmid Construction of Cas12
- Expression and Purification of Cas12 Protein
- Preparation and Measurement of crRNADetermination of the Concentrations of ComDNA and the Tau/BD-tau Aptamer-dsDNA Complex
- Quantitative Analysis of the Cas12a Reporting System
- Educational Activities/SDGs
- Educational Activities/Interview with the professor
- Modeling and Hardware
Date:September 1st-27th, 2025
Location: China University of Technology/Keystone Academy
Participants: Aveline Guo, Cherry Li, Emily Li, Ethan Liu, Howard Zhang, Judy Yu, Kevin Zheng, Kitty Yuan, Kitty Mai, Lily Li, Nina Yang, Sunny Hu, Yvonne Li, Zihan Chen, Zoe Wang
Content:
- Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) measurement
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
- Wiki content writing, e.g., data and results organization, experimental documentation, BP etc.
- Quantitative Analysis of the Cas12a Reporting System
- Optimizing Modeling and Hardware
