We believe that critical self-reflection is essential for growth. This self-assessment offers a comprehensive review of our project's strengths and weaknesses, framed by the iGEM award criteria to clearly demonstrate our accomplishments and guide future work.

Based on past work and submissions, our self-assessment indicates that we have met the criteria for the bronze medal.
In addition to bronze, our self-assessment further substantiates our compliance with the silver medal criteria, as we successfully achieved engineering outcomes and implemented human practice initiatives.
Moreover, we assert that our project exemplifies excellence in synthetic biology. Below, we present three links that we believe validate our adherence to the gold medal criteria.

Based on the engineering achievements in this project, we constructed a new composite part HucR^SD-P119-HucO-GFP-LacZ, which forms a biological circuit for salidroside detection. This system leverages the highly specific binding affinity of the engineered transcription factor mutant HucR^SD toward salidroside, enabling precise target recognition. The reporting module generates visual quantitative signals through absorbance or fluorescence. Compared to HPLC detection, this biosensor directly processes fermentation broth and facilitates rapid detection via microplate readers. This capability provides real-time feedback for strain optimization, significantly accelerating the metabolic engineering Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle.
Moreover, modification of the regulatory protein HucR sequence suggests this composite part could be modified for rapid detection of diverse natural products (e.g., uric acid, xanthine, shikimic acid). This versatility establishes a foundational framework to streamline future iGEM team workflows. For more information, Please visit our Parts page. Our business plan is founded on a deep, data-driven understanding of the cardiovascular health market, through which we have identified significant unmet needs and precisely defined our first potential customers. Extensive cross-age demographic research has revealed that existing solutions are predominantly focused on treatment, are often costly, resource-unsustainable, and inconvenient. We have targeted clear customer segments including overworked professionals, the elderly, sub-healthy individuals, and high-altitude travelers whose needs for safe, affordable, and effective daily prevention are not adequately met by current market offerings. Our solution, a salidroside-based health supplement produced via synthetic biology, directly addresses these gaps.
Our plan outlines a logical and realistic product development roadmap with clear milestones, timelines, and resource allocation, supported by a thorough risk assessment and mitigation strategy. We have conscientiously evaluated the long-term impacts, outlining positive contributions to public health and ecological conservation while proactively addressing potential negative perceptions through transparency, rigorous safety protocols, and responsible risk management. Please visit our Entrepreneurship page.
Our Human Practices work stands out for its reflective approach, demonstrated by our initial surveys and brainstorming sessions that clarified project goals and identified societal needs, such as public concern about stress and cardiovascular health. This led us to prioritize research avenues and make conscious decisions about project direction. We acted Responsibly by engaging with experts from diverse fields – traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, cardiovascular disease specialists, business professionals, and research design experts – to gain a comprehensive understanding of potential impacts and to ensure our project's safety and efficacy. Crucially, our work is responsive, evidenced by how we actively incorporated feedback from these stakeholders. For instance, our understanding of public preferences for product forms and our acknowledgment of limitations in initial surveys have directly influenced our subsequent research and promotional strategies, embodying the principle of "closing the loop" by adapting our project based on real-world learning. We ensure that subsequent iGEM teams can build upon our HP work to conduct richer endeavors, better realizing the goal of reducing people's risk of cardiovascular disease. For more information, Please visit our Human Practice page.