Throughout our iGEM journey, RDFZ-China has always embraced the spirit of collaboration and collective innovation.During the 2025 season, our team actively engaged with multiple iGEM communities and partner teams both at home and abroad.

We participated in the China iGEM Conference (CCiC) — the nation’s largest synthetic biology exchange event — where we delivered a public presentation, displayed our project poster, and shared ideas with dozens of peer teams.Beyond the conference, we established in-depth collaborations with MPA-USA, CAU-China, and BNDS-China, spanning from cross-border gene circuit discussions to hands-on lab visits and academic roundtables.

Through these partnerships, we gained valuable insights into project design, safety mechanisms, and science communication. Each exchange not only strengthened our technical foundation but also reflected our belief that true scientific progress arises from open dialogue, mutual learning, and shared vision across borders.

Date: August 6–8, 2025 Venue: Beijing Zhongguancun Exhibition Center

As one of China’s largest synthetic biology events, the China iGEM Conference (CCiC) gathers nearly a hundred iGEM and iDEC teams each year.

At the 2025 CCiC, we proudly delivered a public presentation introducing our project RectomeDy FotoZymogen, focusing on the innovation of our red-light-controlled probiotic therapy for colorectal cancer.

Figure. Scenes from RDFZ-China’s participation in the 2025 China iGEM Conference (CCiC).(A) Team members at the CCiC backdrop; (B) delivering our project presentation; (C) reporting progress on the wet-lab module; (D) introducing our project to other teams during the poster session; (F) attending other teams’ presentations; (G) discussing and exchanging ideas with fellow teams during the poster exhibition.

During the poster session, we exchanged ideas with teams from various tracks, receiving valuable feedback on hardware safety and gene circuit design.

These conversations broadened our perspective, especially in terms of clinical applicability and human-centered design, and inspired us to further refine our hardware for better user comfort and biosafety.

Our collaboration with MPA-USA began through online academic exchanges centered on postoperative colorectal cancer treatment.Both our teams shared a similar therapeutic focus, which made our discussions highly constructive and technically relevant.

Figure. Our first offline meeting with team MPA-USA at the ccic venue — group photo taken in front of our project poster, with MPA-USA members on the far left and right, and RDFZ-China members in the center.

We jointly explored the use of mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a biological safeguard mechanism.By comparing our respective logic-gate implementations, we improved the reliability and redundancy of our own kill-switch circuit.

Beyond circuit design, we also exchanged views on targeting strategies and immune activation mechanisms, creating a shared understanding of engineering probiotics for localized cancer therapy.This cross-border collaboration not only deepened our technical foundation but also strengthened our shared vision of safe and precise biotherapeutics.

We were invited to visit China Agricultural University (CAU-China) for an in-person exchange on project design and public science communication.

During the visit, CAU-China members guided us through their synthetic biology laboratory, introducing their latest educational tools and experimental setups.

We also engaged in a friendly Synthetic Biology Card Game session — a creative learning activity developed by CAU-China to popularize complex biological concepts in an engaging way.

Through these interactions, both teams shared ideas on how to integrate public education and project outreach, which inspired our later design of interactive HP activities for high school audiences.

Figure. Collaboration activities with CAU-China — upper left: presenting our project; upper right: group photo at China Agricultural University; bottom: CAU-China members guiding us in using their synthetic biology educational card game.

This collaboration not only strengthened our understanding of synthetic biology education, but also built long-term friendship and trust between our teams.

We engaged in a productive Human Practices exchange with BNDS-China, during which we shared innovative ideas and resources and discussed the inspiration behind our respective mascot designs. Additionally, we exchanged valuable insights on wet lab techniques and numerical modeling approaches. We also participated in a roundtable meeting hosted by BNDS-China, which provided an exceptional platform for in-depth discussions on project design and experimental strategies. Throughout the meeting, each team shared their success stories and technical challenges, fostering an atmosphere of mutual learning and collaborative growth.

From international brainstorming with MPA-USA to in-person visits with CAU-China and insightful roundtables with BNDS-China, every collaboration enriched our project both technically and culturally.

Through these partnerships, we learned that synthetic biology is not just about constructing circuits—it’s about building connections, understanding perspectives, and growing together as a global community.