Contribution - ExoSPY iGEM

Drawing on our own experiences, we combined scientific knowledge, practical advice, and lessons learned throughout the competition to develop a suite of tools designed to help future teams navigate iGEM more effectively. These resources provide guidance on understanding the competition’s structure, staying organized, managing projects efficiently, and fostering collaboration. For us, iGEM is not just a platform for advancing synthetic biology; it is a vibrant ecosystem of learning, mentorship, and knowledge transfer, where each team builds upon the work of its predecessors.
In the spirit of sharing scientific culture, we also sought to bring biotechnology closer to high school students who had little or no prior exposure to this field. Through workshops and interactive sessions, we introduced them to the fascinating world of synthetic biology. Many students were so inspired by this hands-on experience and the opportunity to engage actively with science that it broadened their horizons and shaped their future career aspirations. You can relive these moments of exchange, which have enriched our journey as both scientists and human beings, on the Education page.

We are committed to supporting the next generation of iGEM participants. To facilitate their work, we provide detailed advice on scientific methodologies, project planning, mentoring strategies, and effective communication. Additionally, in the Sponsors/Partners section, we share our network of collaborators, including companies, laboratories, and financial supporters, so that future teams can more easily secure the partnerships necessary to bring their projects to life.

One of our major scientific achievements is the development of a novel biobrick BBa_25FSVSGX that enables the transmembrane display of a Claudin-4 ligand on extracellular vesicles. The complete design and characterization of this biobrick are documented on the Part tab.
All our experimental protocols are provided in detail on the Protocols page, allowing future teams to reproduce or adapt them for their own projects. These protocols not only summarize established literature but also include our own optimizations, addressing challenges we encountered and tailoring procedures to our specific context.

On the computational side, we developed a 3D modeling project, accessible on the Model page, and a Python-based notebook on the Programs page. Each step of the code is thoroughly explained to make it accessible and understandable, even for those with limited programming experience. These resources provide future teams with a foundation for modeling, simulation, and computational analysis in synthetic biology.