Notebook
Notebook
General Matters: We received the applications for the Team 2025. We interviewed the people that were interested in being part of iGEM 2025. After the interviews, we send the invitations to the new team members for the first team-meeting.
General Matters: The first teammeeting took place on the 14.01. In the beginning, we played a game to get to know each other. Afterwards, we decided on a date and time for the weekly teammeeting and also for a kick-off weekend. We talked about the structure of the iGEM season and planned the research phase. Since communication and organization are essential for team work, we introduced the tools we will use for communication and organization (Discord, Notion, Sciebo). To get some insights in iGEM projects, a short presentation about a former iGEM project should be prepared in groups and presented in 2 weeks.
General Matters: In the second teammeeting, we introduced the iGEM-Notion page and initiated the start of the focus groups. Furthermore, we presented the planning of the kick-off weekend.
General Matters: We heard and held the presentations about a former iGEM Project in the team-meeting
Sponsoring: During our first team meeting, we were informed about an estimated budget required for registration and participation in iGEM and the Grand Jamboree, distinguishing between essential and ideal funding needs. We then received valuable feedback and inspiration from SynBio members (past IGEM Münster participants), which helped us refine our next steps. Our key action points moving forward:
Marketing & social media: Our group was formed and on Saturday 1st we made a small brain dump, which we regarded thoroughly the next day. We decided on a timeline for future posts, group leaders and the responsible person for specific social medias. Guidelines for posting were set.
Human Practices: The Human Practices Team was formed.
Meetup: We decided that Florian Becker should be the team leader. We decided to look up which events could interfere with potential meetup dates and made a list.
General Matters: In our team-meeting we updated each other about the progress we did in our research projects to come up with a project idea.
Sponsoring: The team agreed on a regular schedule and assigned first contacts of potential sponsors to individual team members. Furthermore, goals were set for the next group meeting, including the revision of an existing Excel file from previous iGEM Münster teams, containing a list of past and potential sponsors, as well as the creation of an official sponsorship email account.
Marketing & social media: The team members did the organization for the group photo and continued to work on the social media concept.
Human Practices: The team focused on researching data regulations relevant to potential interviews, reviewing guidelines from other iGEM teams. Additionally, the team explored creative approaches to integrating inclusion throughout the project.
Meetup: The team proposed a potential date for the Meetup. We plan to survey other iGEM teams to gauge their interest and estimate the expected size of the event.
Teambuilding: We appointed a group leader, discussed the team fund, the trip to Carolinensiel and ordering/buying drinks and snacks.
General Matters: We decided on a weekend (01.05.-04.05.) to go to Carolinensiel. This weekend is planned to spend some together and grow as a team. We also talked about the medal criteria and what they mean for our iGEM roadmap.
Sponsoring: This week, the team made further progress in organizing sponsorship efforts. We created a shared Gmail account for sponsorship communication and divided the list of potential sponsors among team members for outreach. The deadline for flyer creation has been set for February 16, 2025. Additionally, two important tasks remain: confirming the delivery address for sponsorship parcels and verifying the bank account details for sponsor payments.
Marketing & social media: The team agreed on a layout for the posts on social media. The need for a new introduction of iGEM was highlighted and regarded, as posts from the previous years are too hard to reach.
Human Practices: The team continued studying Human Practices rules, with a focus on data security for interview transcriptions. Special attention was given to confidentiality and privacy compliance to ensure ethical handling of data.
Meetup: The group decided on organizing a smaller Meetup with potential international attendees. The preliminary schedule includes arrival on Friday, a poster session and lectures on Saturday, and departure on Sunday. Requests for initial venue options, including Münster Castle and the MPI, as well as accommodations, have been made.
General Matters: We planned another research weekend. Furthermore, we presented each other the research topics we are working on.
Sponsoring: The sponsoring flyer’s design is finalized, but text updates, an abstract about past iGEM Münster projects, and final checks are still pending. It was decided that sponsorship efforts will emphasize general benefits for sponsors rather than predefined packages. Initial outreach for donations and sponsorships has already begun. In a first meeting with the IMMB secretary (our financial advisor), we clarified financial processes and the university's support for the iGEM team. Additionally, bank account details from the previous iGEM Münster team were transferred, and a review of the remaining financial resources was conducted.
Marketing & social media: We have continued to improve the introduction for iGEM and the layout for posts on social media.
Human Practices: We continued our research about data security in interviews.
Meetup: Ideas for possible speakers and topics were collected. In addition, initial teams, accommodation and rooms are being requested.
General Matters: We had another research weekend to dive even deeper into the different project ideas. To get more profound feedback on which project ideas are feasible, we planned an evening to present the ideas to professors, postdocs, and former iGEMers to ask for their opinion and tips.
Sponsoring: We finalized the sponsoring flyer and discussed several key topics, including new team photos, the possibility of crowdfunding, and the savings from previous iGEM teams.
Marketing & social media: The preparations and ideas for posts, possible formats and publications in social media have been prepared individually.
Human Practices: The meeting has been postponed by one week. Further research was carried out.
Meetup: The kick-off meeting with Ms. Pott for the project management module has taken place.
General Matters: We have written a “Quality Improvement Funds” application in which we have applied for the application fee to be covered by this pot of money.
Sponsoring: Outreach to potential sponsors started. Additionally, we set goals for the number of sponsorship requests each team member should send per week.
Marketing & social media: We optimized the subgroup’s organization by choosing assignees for the launching posts about ongoing series and the leader for each social media platform. To keep a recognizable view in the feed, color palettes were chosen.
Human Practices: We discussed preparations for the next Human Practices meeting scheduled in two weeks. The familiarization with Human Practices principles and guidelines will continue.
Meetup: This week, the team planned task timelines for project organization and discussed the possibility of rescheduling the Meetup, as the preferred venue at Münster Castle is unavailable for July 4-6, 2025.
General Matters: Discussed further organizational issues.
Sponsoring: All sponsoring inquiries up to this point have been discussed among the focus group members, and a standard protocol for weekly updates has been established. Additionally, it was suggested that all team members reach out to a select number of potential sponsors to enhance engagement.
Marketing & social media: The group launched its introductory post, followed by the completion of the individual member pictures. Additionally, its first continuous series, Fun Fact Friday, on Instagram was published to awaken the general public’s interest in scientific facts.
Human Practices: Further research was carried out.
Meetup: The team agreed to hold the Meetup at Münster Castle from July 25 to 27, 2025.
General Matters: Expert round took place this week. Three topics were presented and discussed in a round with professors, PhDs and other students interested in synthetic biology. Meeting with our PI to organize further workflow and lab-start → S1 instruction?
Sponsoring: The focus group met with Petra Bölling, Head of the University of Münster's Funding Department, to explore additional financial support opportunities and seek further assistance with sponsorship matters. During the regular focus group meeting, the newly established protocol for weekly updates was implemented, and the first sponsorship commitments were recorded.
Marketing & social media: The group launched its second continuous series, Wisdom Wednesday, on Instagram to help the general public better understand diverse laboratory techniques. To ensure accuracy and improve team organisation specific members were assigned to handle future posts in the ongoing series, while supervisors took charge to oversee such posts.
Human Practices: This week, the team reviewed successful Human Practices strategies used by past iGEM teams. We discussed how to adapt these approaches to address the three current topics under consideration.
Meetup: Possible programme items for the MeetUp weekend were discussed.
General Matters: We decided on a project. Luckily, we were very happy with all project ideas, making the decision easy. We are excited to work on the Phage project for the next months.
Sponsoring: The weekly update on sponsoring enquiry was completed. Due to the resignation of a team and focus group member, the assigned potential sponsors had to be redistributed among the remaining members. Additionally, the final cost estimate for this year’s project was created.
Marketing & social media: The team published its second FunFactFriday post on Instagram and prepared further posts.
Human Practices: The team reviewed how previous iGEM teams implemented their projects and integrated Human Practices.
Meetup: This week, tasks for the upcoming weeks were assigned among team members. Additionally, the team discussed design elements and catering options for the Meetup.
General Matters: The focus this week was on refining our project ideas and aligning them with the feedback we had gathered from experts. Each subgroup prepared initial outlines of their concepts for discussion in the team meeting.
Human Practices: We reviewed the latest expert interviews and documented insights into our structured format (summary, aim of contact, insights, implementation). These were shared in the team meeting and integrated into our ongoing decision-making process.
Wet Lab: The lab group started compiling a list of protocols needed for the upcoming experimental phase. Members researched appropriate strains, vectors, and growth conditions that would align with our project.
General Matters: During the weekly team meeting, we presented our first consolidated project ideas and discussed their feasibility in terms of time and resources. Feedback was collected and documented to help guide the selection process.
Sponsoring: The sponsoring group started contacting local companies using the newly designed sponsorship flyer. Additionally, a database of potential sponsors was expanded.
General Matters: With project selection approaching, we evaluated the pros and cons of each idea. Emphasis was placed on innovation, feasibility, and alignment with iGEM values.
Marketing & Social Media: The group prepared Easter-themed social media content to maintain engagement and visibility of the team online.
General Matters: We finalized our internal voting process for project selection. The procedure was agreed upon during the meeting to ensure transparency and fairness.
Meetup: Preparations for our JuniorJam meetup advanced, with initial logistics planning and venue inquiries.
General Matters: We had an introduction in lab methods held by Prof. Prüfer and performed a laboratory workshop to gain insight into common methods in synthetic biology and cloning.
Sponsoring: We met with a sales representative from INTEGRA to discuss sponsorship opportunities, scheduled and planned further meetings with industry representatives, and had our weekly sponsorship update.
Marketing & Social Media: We continued producing posts.
Human Practices: We discussed special projects that we want to tackle, e.g., an art exhibition.
Meetup: We contacted the Greek team after building the first schedule ideas.
Teambuilding: We went through with the planned trip to Carolinensiel, which had a positive impact on the team.
Endolysin Platform: We discussed the things we researched in the meantime.
Biofilm destruction: We did further research in depth on how to induce biofilms and which bacteria and phages to use best.
Drylab: We continued learning about the methods that we will use.
General Matters: We completed the registration of our team roster.
Sponsoring: General updates and progress of the individual members were discussed, as well as the next steps. We decided not to continue writing a specific application for funding, as the chances of success were slim.
Marketing & Social Media: Ideas for a logo and a name were presented to the team and a meeting was arranged.
Human Practices: We continued finding and contacting interview partners.
Meetup: We continued to improve the schedule and discussed potential speaker candidates.
Endolysin Platform: We continued the search for feasible endolysin candidates and inducible plasmids and planned the wetlab work.
Biofilm destruction: We met with a scientist experienced in Biofilm destruction to exchange ideas and questions. The team also discussed further assistance offered by another German scientist. Individual findings and questions were shared for better understanding.
Drylab: We continued researching machine learning and modeling.
General Matters: We held a PowerPoint and presentation workshop to prepare for our appearance at the BFH Meetup next week. Brainstorming for possible project titles was also carried out.
Sponsoring: General updates and progress of individual members were discussed, along with next steps for foundations. We had an online meeting with a representative of Greiner Bio One regarding possible lab material donations and sponsoring packages for our meetup.
Marketing & Social Media: Final stages of logo design were carried out, a provisional project name was elected, and business cards were designed and printed.
Human Practices: Potential interview partners continued to be sought and contacted.
Meetup: The team continued to work out the timetable and discussed the evening program.
Teambuilding: Finances of Carolinensiel were discussed and further activities planned.
Endolysin Platform: Continued searching for feasible endolysin candidates and inducible plasmids and planning the wetlab work.
Biofilm destruction: More research on planned lab work; emailed Prof. Hust and Prof. Horz with questions regarding phages.
Drylab: Continued learning about the methods that will be used.
General Matters: We attended the BFH Meetup and presented our project for the first time. Valuable feedback was received for integration in upcoming weeks.
Sponsoring: Each group member outlined their individual work process for updates. New exercises were introduced and assigned. A visit with a representative from Neofroxx resulted in seven boxes of pipette tips, with photos taken.
Marketing & Social Media: Continued creating posts and working on social media presence.
Human Practices: Prepared questions for the next interview.
Meetup: Discussed speakers, possible judges, and evening location.
Endolysin Platform: Continued searching for feasible endolysin candidates and inducible plasmids and planning wetlab work.
Biofilm destruction: Continued research for planned lab work and discussed open questions regarding peptide usage.
Drylab: Progressed on coding of the Top-model and divided tasks for an upcoming sponsoring opportunity.
General Matters: We had a big discussion with all wetlab groups to restructure and rethink lab work. We decided to focus on the in vitro expression approach and fuse Wetlab 1 and 2 into a new group: Endolysin Platform. Drylab approach was also reconsidered.
Sponsoring: Talk with Louis Schanzmann (former iGEMer) regarding sponsoring contacts and worked on funding applications.
Marketing & Social Media: Continued building social media presence.
Human Practices: Prepared and conducted next interview; initial ideas for the ethics lecture collected.
Meetup: Attended BFH meetup and discussed adaptations for our own meetup.
Endolysin Platform: Fused Wetlab Teams (Cell-free expression and Recombinant expression) into Endolysin Platform. New aims: establish an endolysin screening platform, test efficacy of combinations of endolysins and endolysins with antibiotics, create fusion proteins with peptides to improve bacterial lysis. Focus shifted to cell-free expression due to time constraints and platform limits.
Biofilm destruction: Further research and discussion for planned lab work.
Drylab: Further conceptualized workflow by building a pipeline.
General Matters: In our team meeting, we discussed possible gold medal criteria, which ones to focus on, and brainstormed how to answer all questions from the judging handbook to ensure our project will be valuable for iGEM in the future.
Sponsoring: An application is being submitted to Xynabio retroactively, and several new funding requests (including Rituals and the Mobility Fund) have been sent out. Diapharm is currently unresponsive, and the status of the module funds is to be clarified with Andrea.
Marketing & Social Media: Deliberated the optimal arrangement for posts on the laboratory group's presentation and considered changing post frequency, aiming for quality over quantity.
Human Practices: Discussed current project status and potential interview candidates.
Meetup: Prepared for an upcoming workshop and discussed progress.
Endolysin Platform: Discussed research progress and ideas; received first plasmid (pALICE01) for the cell-free expression system and designed constructs including a tag and POI.
Biofilm destruction: Created a potential vector for ordering and conducted further research for planned lab work.
Drylab: Distributed tasks and connected with the Biofilm destruction lab group for cooperation.
General Matters: Discussed village selection and identified three possible options to decide next week (Therapeutics, Infectious Diseases, Conservation).
Sponsoring: Received the thermocycler from Analytik Jena and continued acquiring sponsoring contacts.
Marketing & Social Media: Further work on posts.
Human Practices: Prepared an interview questionnaire for the next interview.
Meetup: Attended the Project Management Module workshop and made further plans for the meetup.
Endolysin Platform: Planned lab work for the upcoming week and worked on plasmid design in SnapGene. Prepared media for casting plates.
Biofilm destruction: Discussed genes needed on vectors and planned primer preparation.
Drylab: Discussed progress on tasks and took the group picture.
General Matters: Decided on the village “Infectious Diseases” as first preference, with “Therapeutics” or “Conservation” as alternatives.
Sponsoring: Received a new scale and discussed meetup requirements for possible sponsors/donors.
Marketing & Social Media: Continued work on posts.
Human Practices: Conducted an interview with a lawyer and biologist regarding authorization of phage therapy and considered other potential interview partners.
Meetup: Reached consensus on financial remuneration and registration period for the meetup and considered other possible speakers.
Endolysin Platform: Shifted focus from high-throughput screening to high-yield expression platform to leverage advantages of cell-free in vitro expression. Transformed competent E. coli Turbo with modified pALICE01 plasmid and used cPCR for verification.
Biofilm destruction: Discussed peptide functions and selected the best-performing and least hemolytic options.
Drylab: Continued working on designated tasks.
Sponsoring: Funding efforts ongoing. Secured €800 from AStA and €750 from Sparkasse for the meetup. Applied for additional funding from the city utility. Jamboree fee pending; Prof. Schmid following up.
Marketing & Social Media: Media design workshop conducted.
Human Practices: Conducted further interviews and discussed next steps.
Meetup: Updated on progress and made key planning decisions.
Teambuilding: Various activities planned.
Endolysin Platform: Performed first transformations with pALICE01 plasmid and began cloning pALICE_lysin plasmids via restriction-ligation.
Biofilm destruction: Ordered vector and started planning lab work.
Drylab: Continued working on designated tasks.
Sponsoring: Raised €43,000 in donations and funds so far. Requested further contacts recommended by Invitris and Louis. Companies like Eppendorf and Zymmo Research want to meet at the institute.
Marketing & Social Media: Designed team T-shirts and discussed team logo color. Prepared a post highlighting a speaker for the meetup.
Human Practices: Prepared the ethics lecture.
Meetup: Made important planning decisions and decided to invite all European teams.
Endolysin Platform: Continued experimental work to obtain sufficient plasmid quantities for the ALICE reaction. Started initial design for a Golden Gate-based modular expression platform.
Biofilm destruction: Began lab work and made bacterial stocks.
Drylab: Updated on progress and connected with the Endolysin Platform group.
Sponsoring: Discussed individual progress and outstanding foundation inquiries. Created a sponsor list for the meetup as a weekly goal.
Marketing & Social Media: Agreed on T-shirt design and ordered them. Prepared further posts for the meetup weekend.
Human Practices: Discussed further processing of interviews.
Meetup: Continued planning.
Wiki: Planned general structure and searched for inspiration from previous years.
Endolysin Platform: Progressed in cloning vectors and endolysins; obtained first verified and purified constructs.
Biofilm destruction: Made electrocompetent cells and performed gDNA extraction.
Drylab: Ran unbiased simulations (1–3 μs) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with energy groups to analyze Coulomb and Lennard-Jones interactions. Observed CM15 inserting into the OC region after 4000 ns, indicating higher effectiveness when separated from the endolysin; SMAP29 unaffected by attachment.
Sponsoring: Several sponsors confirmed support, including product donations, software access, and initial funding. Some contacts are pending. Additional outreach ongoing.
Marketing & Social Media: T-shirts ordered and further posts for the meetup weekend uploaded.
Human Practices: Continued planning the art exhibition and interview preparation.
Meetup: Planned and prepared the meetup weekend; created a timetable with task distribution.
Wiki: Continued collecting ideas for Wiki design.
Endolysin Platform: Delivered and prepared primers for Golden Gate. Amplified and purified endolysins and Strep vector for Golden Gate.
Biofilm destruction: Performed first transformation with M13 KE vector and gDNA extraction.
Drylab: Continued unbiased simulations for rough membranes and investigated AMP interactions with rough/smooth LPS. Observed SMAP29 insertion with N-terminal end.
Sponsoring: Crowdfunding platform almost ready to launch.
Marketing & Social Media: Prepared and posted several updates for the meetup.
Human Practices: Planned further interviews.
Meetup: Successfully organized the meetup weekend.
Wiki: Continued working on the wiki.
Endolysin Platform: Conducted an interview with Prof. Christine Heilmann on autolysins and performed further research.
Biofilm destruction: Continued lab work and improved transformations.
Drylab: Researched Lipid A layer insertion and methods to detect membrane disruption.
Sponsoring: Continued working on current exercises.
Marketing & Social Media: Organised meetup pictures; polished team introductions (some still missing).
Human Practices: Collected questions for further interviews.
Meetup: Meetup was carried out successfully.
Wiki: Continued work on the Wiki.
Endolysin Platform: Busy with the meetup.
Biofilm destruction: Busy with the meetup.
Drylab: Worked on visualisation, plotting, and presentation.
Sponsoring: Continued current exercises.
Human Practices: Conducted further interviews.
Wiki: Started preparing the promotion video.
Teambuilding: -
Endolysin Platform: Performed Golden Gate Assembly of HY-133 endolysin and Alice01 plasmid. Started Alice reaction with PlyEc2, E84, PlyYouna2, and T4.
Biofilm destruction: Tried the next electroporation.
Drylab: Performed additional calculations.
Sponsoring: Continued current exercises.
Marketing & Social Media: Finalised and uploaded promotion video.
Human Practices: Conducted further interviews.
Wiki: Focused on promotion video.
Endolysin Platform: Conducted initial endolysin activity assays on PlyEc2 and E. coli K12 without success; optimisation and troubleshooting planned for next week.
Biofilm destruction: Multiplied and cleaned phages/DNA.
Drylab: Used PackMemb tool to analyze lipid defects; modified for LPS instead of phospholipid.
Human Practices: Conducted further interviews.
Wiki: Made design choices and began implementation in code.
Biofilm destruction: Attempted first Biofilm destruction experiment.
Drylab: Wrote Python program to convert parameters from GROMACS ITP file for PackMem; studied lipid packing defects.
Sponsoring: Continued current exercises.
Human Practices: Followed up on interviews and discussed Wiki concept.
Wiki: Continued coding, focusing on menu bar and header.
Endolysin Platform: Continued troubleshooting protein expression in ALICE-Kit (including work at Prüfer Lab); finalised design and primer order for fusion constructs.
Biofilm destruction: Purified phages, isolated and amplified DNA.
Drylab: Finalised calculations; used PackMem to study peptide insertion into LPA phase.
Human Practices: Prepared art exhibition; discussed Wiki design.
Wiki: Discussed content for team page.
Endolysin Platform: Finalised troubleshooting; performed western blot to confirm protein expression. No expression detected; lab work discontinued.
Biofilm destruction: Prepared samples for screening.
Human Practices: Discussed Wiki development for human practices.
Wiki: Discussed areas for improvement (e.g., home page); updated progress and current issues.
Biofilm destruction: Prepared samples for screening in S2 laboratories on enteroaggregative and K12 E. coli strains.
Human Practices: Continued writing Wiki texts.
Wiki: Continued working on design and implementation.
Biofilm destruction: Conducted first screening experiments on enteroaggregative E. coli.
Marketing & Social Media: Continued creating posts.
Human Practices: Continued writing Wiki texts.
Wiki: Discussed landing page content and assigned responsibilities for subpages.
Biofilm destruction: Repeated experiment with longer biofilm formation; obtained final results from biofilm destruction screening.