At the SBC Expo, the NJTECH-CHINA-A team dove actively into the conference dedicated to biobased materials and energy chemistry—an event perfectly aligned with our antimicrobial peptide research goals. When Teacher Chen Xuejun delivered his lecture on the development and application of biobased antibacterial agents, every team member leaned in, hanging on his insights into cutting-edge trends (like the integration of biobased carriers to enhance antibacterial stability) and real-world application cases (such as biobased antibacterial agents in veterinary care). Post-lecture, we gathered immediately to unpack the content, engaging in profound discussions on how to leverage biobased material advances to optimize our antimicrobial peptide formulations—fueling our excitement to bridge academic insights with our project's practical needs.

At the "GO for GOLD" exchange conference 2025, two key sharing sessions brought profound insights to our team. Dr. Bao Yuhan, serving as both the liaison officer and coordinator of the iGEM 2025 Human Practice Committee, took the lead in sharing. With a focus on the core value of human practice in scientific projects, she used vivid real-world cases—such as how previous iGEM teams connected their research to community needs—to explain the core points of human practice work and its far-reaching significance in promoting the social application of scientific achievements. Later, IGEM 2025 Ambassador Zhang Xiaohan shifted the focus to team operation. In an interactive way, she shared practical experience in team division (like how to match members' expertise with project modules) and collaboration mechanisms (such as efficient communication methods for cross-group tasks), which not only solved many doubts we had in team management but also let all on-site iGEM members gain actionable strategies.

Beyond the official sharing, we actively engaged in in-depth exchanges with other participants. We had in-depth discussions with several teams that also focus on antimicrobial peptide research: we shared our current progress in pet wound treatment application, exchanged solutions to technical difficulties like peptide stability, and even discussed potential directions for joint research. Most notably, we reached a cooperation agreement with the XJLU-Software team. They have built a comprehensive antimicrobial peptide database covering peptide sequences, antibacterial spectra, and toxicity data—this resource will greatly reduce our time in literature retrieval and data verification, providing strong support for the subsequent optimization of our antimicrobial peptide formula. Additionally, we communicated with representatives of on-site pharmaceutical companies, introducing the technical advantages of our project and seeking professional opinions on product development and market access. Their suggestions on formulation improvement and quality control standards were extremely valuable for us to adjust our research direction.

Our team walked away from the CCiC Conference with eye-opening, actionable insights—especially when it comes to biosafety, a cornerstone of our antimicrobial peptide project. A key takeaway hit home: unlike the well-established regulatory frameworks for traditional fields like materials science, biosafety regulation is a relatively young discipline. In the era of limited technological capacity, high-risk microorganisms were tightly confined to biosafety laboratories, creating a clear line of control. But today, the rapid advancement of gene-editing technology has blurred that line, exposing more laboratories to unforeseen biosafety risks—a reality that demands urgent attention.

What struck us even more was the reminder that biosafety ethics remain overlooked by many research teams, including some iGEM teams during project applications. This was a critical wake-up call: it reinforced our resolve to make biosafety a non-negotiable priority in every phase of our work. Moving forward, we're doubling down on in-depth research into domestic and international biosafety laws and regulations specific to pet medicine—ensuring our project not only pushes the boundaries of antimicrobial peptide innovation but also adheres strictly to the highest safety standards, protecting both pets and the broader ecosystem.

Right after updating our project, we headed to South China University of Technology for an in-depth offline exchange—this face-to-face interaction proved incredibly valuable. We kicked off with a detailed project report, walking the university's experts through our antimicrobial peptide research progress, current technical bottlenecks, and preliminary product design. The subsequent focused discussions were even more illuminating: the experts pinpointed areas for improvement in our experimental protocol (such as optimizing peptide purification steps) and offered targeted advice on product application scenarios. These insights not only gave us a trove of actionable suggestions but also sharpened our clarity on the project's optimization direction. Buoyed by this exchange, we quickly integrated the proposed improvements—adding the application of double-plasmid transformation technology to boost antimicrobial peptide expression efficiency, and incorporating more Human Practices (HP) concepts to better align our research with real-world pet owner needs.

We participated in an online seminar themed "Humanistic Care" hosted by Tongji University—and the experience was a game-changer for our project's Human Practices (HP) work. Host Wu Yifeng shared insightful perspectives on how to weave humanistic care into scientific research, while the team from South China Agricultural University offered concrete suggestions, such as conducting more targeted surveys with pet owners to understand their emotional needs during pet treatment. This exchange was a pivotal realization: we'd previously viewed HP as a standalone task, but now we understand it must be integrated into every aspect of humanistic care—from designing pet-friendly product forms to communicating with owners about treatment processes. Inspired by this, we promptly made minor adjustments to our project's design concept, ensuring every research step prioritizes both pet health and owner well-being.

The 25th China International Industry Fair (CIIF), themed "New Industrial Drivers, Boundless Smart Manufacturing", concluded successfully at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). This 5-day global industrial gala gathered over 3,000 Chinese and foreign exhibitors from 28 countries and regions, fully presenting the global industrial development landscape of "high-endization, intelligentization, and greenization". It vividly demonstrated the strong resilience and innovative vitality of China's industrial economy, becoming a key platform for global industrial players to exchange cutting-edge technologies and explore cooperation opportunities.

At the SBC Expo, our NJTECH-CHINA-A team joined the biobased materials and energy chemistry conference—it perfectly matched our antimicrobial peptide research! When Teacher Chen Xuejun spoke on biobased antibacterial agents' development and application, we all listened closely: he shared cutting-edge trends (e.g., biobased carriers for antibacterial stability) and veterinary cases. Right after the lecture, we discussed how to use these biobased insights to optimize our antimicrobial peptide formulas and apply the academic ideas to our project.