Education & Outreach Overview:

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In 2025, our education initiatives reached hundreds of people through hands-on workshops, mentorships, community events, and university seminars. From BLAST high school students solving mock outbreaks to families at Sci-Fri building candy DNA circuits, we made synthetic biology engaging and accessible across ages. At the undergraduate and professional level, we fostered dialogue through seminars, Hackathon workshops, and the Mid-Atlantic Meetup, highlighting the growing role of computation and AI in biology. Together, these efforts built scientific literacy, inspired future researchers, and connected synthetic biology to real-world challenges.

Young Scientists Outreach

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As part of the Building Leaders for Advancing Science and Technology (BLAST) program run by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, our team hosted 80 students who participated in bioengineering hands-on activities! The BLAST program is completely free of cost and gives rising high-schoolers from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, and without previous experience, the opportunity to explore STEM fields.

We hosted 4 three-hour sessions in which students were tasked with solving a mock “outbreak” based on real molecular techniques. Students followed sequential steps to develop hypotheses and narrow down the cause of the “outbreak” as they (1) investigated bacterial plates from environmental samples under a light microscope and collected their own samples from around the building, (2) performed a DNA extraction on various fruits, (3) loaded a agarose gel with PCR results using 16S primers to determine if the “outbreak” is bacterial, (4) performed a gram stain on samples of confirmed gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, along with the “culprit” bacteria, and visualized the results under a microscope with oil immersion, and (5) built their own SynBio circuits from candy “parts” to visualize a potential solution for the bacterial “outbreak”. Additionally, students toured our SynBio lab spaces and attended a career talk given by Dr. Saha and other professors here at William & Mary.

We talked to the students about the focus of our project this year and how their experiments with collecting environmental samples were directly relevant to our goals of expanding synthetic biology to aqueous environments, especially since many students took samples from locations such as sink faucets and water fountains. Furthermore we introduced students to the idea that this kind of sequential testing and forming of hypotheses is something that we do in the lab every day, not with an outbreak, but with discovering what makes up environmental samples.

The students completed a survey at the end of the program to get feedback on the different workshops, iGEM hosting the bio-engineering workshop. On average, the bio-engineering workshop was rated highest out of all four, with 41 out of 80 students claiming that it was a favorite. In fact, several of the participating students reached out after the program to ask further questions about the topics mentioned during the workshop.

This year, we had the privilege of mentoring two incredible high school students, Cora Brauner and Alexandria Carline, who joined us eager to dive into the world of synthetic biology. Over the course of three weeks, they didn’t just watch from the sidelines—they rolled up their sleeves, shadowed our work in the lab, and even carried out some procedures themselves under careful supervision.

Cora was captivated by the world of mycobacteriophages and their potential for tackling bacterial growth in household pipes. She took on the challenge of conducting phage enrichments from real household pipe samples and succeeded in isolating novel phage. Her findings proved that phages are alive and well in plumbing systems—surviving without being completely degraded—and her work offered us a fresh perspective on the microbial communities hiding inside everyday household infrastructure.

Alexandria was equally captivated by the world of neural development. Working closely with an Honors student focusing on genes involved in neural development, Alexandria not only mastered the technique of in situ hybridization and obtained key results, but also assisted with all of the microbiology and phage experiments in the laboratory.

Not only did their experiments provide a “proof of concept” for our project, but it also gave our team valuable insight and inspiration, all thanks to the curiosity and determination of our student mentees. Moreover, it taught them the importance of STEM and synthetic biology research which they will take back to their home schools.

Community Outreach

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On September 19, 2025, William & Mary hosted its third annual Sci-Fri event—a night of science open to the entire Williamsburg community, welcoming participants of all ages and backgrounds. The evening featured liquid nitrogen ice cream, lab tours, and a variety of hands-on activities run by select labs across William & Mary’s campus, including our iGEM team!

To make synthetic biology and Sci-Fri engaging and accessible for everyone, the W&M iGEM team led three activities simultaneously: 1) guided tours of the Bioengineering Lab, 2) candy-based demonstrations of DNA circuits, 3) DNA extractions using strawberries and kiwis, and 4 )a brand-new AI activity station where guests got hands-on with machine learning and synthetic biology problem-solving. Because the event lasted two hours, guests had plenty of time to rotate through activities, creating unique and memorable experiences in the lab.

Although we take every opportunity to connect with the community, the doors of the Bioengineering Lab (BEL), home of the W&M iGEM team, are usually closed. Sci-Fri offered a rare opportunity to step inside, with open doors and continuous tours to demystify the space. Guests learned how equipment is used day to day and saw active experiments, from photobioreactors filled with cyanobacteria to PVC pipes coated with pink mycobacteria. Many undergraduate visitors expressed strong interest in pursuing research, especially with the iGEM team.

The AI station added a new dimension to Sci-Fri this year, combining data science with biology in an engaging and accessible way. Participants were invited to interact with a preprogrammed image recognition model by classifying four pictures of forests from a set as either “deforestation” or “non-deforestation.” Their inputs directly modified the weights of the model model, which they could then test to see how their contributions affected accuracy. This demonstrated in real-time how the ML model’s performance depends on training data. Afterward, participants used ChatGPT to brainstorm potential problems that synthetic biology could help solve. Each person was asked to submit one idea, and our team selected the most creative response to win a raffle prize gift card. This station sparked lively discussions, showing how AI and synthetic biology can complement each other in tackling environmental challenges.

The candy circuits were a crowd favorite among younger scientists. We explained the parts of a genetic circuit—promoter, RBS, coding region, and terminator—and how each contributes to gene regulation. To simplify these concepts, we compared the circuit to a roller coaster: the promoter and RBS as the staff that start the ride, the coding region as the roller coaster itself, and the terminator as the end. Participants then built their own circuits with candy, using different types to represent the relative strength of each part (for example, dark chocolate Hershey’s Kisses for strong promoters and rainbow Kisses for weak ones). After building their circuits, they were encouraged to evaluate their design—and, of course, enjoy their creations.

The fruit DNA extractions were another highlight, offering a hands-on introduction to molecular biology. Participants chose strawberries or kiwis, then mashed the fruit, added a lysis buffer, filtered the mixture, and used ethanol to reveal the DNA. The visible strands were collected in microcentrifuge tubes, and attendees were thrilled to take home their very own DNA samples to show off to their friends and family. Their questions showed deep curiosity about DNA’s composition, the purpose of each reagent, and the science and purpose behind the process. Undergraduate students especially enjoyed this activity, often working in groups and making it a fun social experiment.

With an estimated 350 attendees, the event truly offered something for everyone—whether hands-on DNA work, candy-fueled learning, AI-driven exploration, or curiosity-driven lab tours. Overall, Sci-Fri was a huge success and will continue inspiring our community for years to come.

Our iGEM Bioengineering Lab (BEL) is located at the first-floor entrance of the Integrated Science Center (ISC), which is the academic center of William & Mary’s STEM departments, classes and research at William & Mary. The ISC houses our largest lecture hall, numerous laboratories across various disciplines, hosts public events, and serves as a prime destination for tour groups. As a result, a constant stream of people pass through our lab every day, including visiting tour groups. Our window-mounted television screens are an ideal location to present on synthetic biology and showcase our projects to the public and the university community. It is a popular stop for those who want to learn more about our lab or synthetic biology. Our 24/7 slideshow features information about iGEM, our team members, our outreach and IHP activities, and past and present W&M iGEM projects and achievements. We use this screen to teach about the field of synthetic biology: we explain what synthetic biology is, why synthetic biology research is so important for developing global solutions, and advertise opportunities to participate in bioengineering research. While working in the lab, it's common to see people reading this slideshow outside at all times of the day. Our lab, fondly nicknamed “the fishbowl,” has tall glass walls, so people passing may also observe our work. We often invite them into the lab to explain the importance of synthetic biology research and iGEM! We placed our posters near the glass facade along with some automated equipment, such as our Opentron robot and 3D printer. This screen is a great opportunity to interact with the community and showcase our research.

Undergraduates & Professionals Outreach

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On July 25th, the William & Mary iGEM team hosted the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Meetup, bringing together regional iGEM teams including the University of Virginia, Baltimore Biocrew, the University of Maryland and William and Mary. Each team gave a 20-minute presentation followed by open discussion and Q&A, creating space to exchange ideas, critique project designs, and offer feedback. In addition to project-focused sessions, the meetup included a discussion on the use of AI in synthetic biology, discussing the problems and possibilities for these new tools with the potential to shape the field. The event had plenty of time for project discussion (over a catered lunch). The meetup closed with an ice cream social, allowing teams to connect informally and strengthen collaborative social and scientific relationships. Hosting this meetup allowed W&M to make longer-lasting professional connections and to share protocols and approaches. Teams both received valuable external feedback on their projects and contributed to the broader iGEM community by fostering knowledge exchange and regional collaboration.

As part of William & Mary’s Biomathematics Seminar Series, our team presented our project twice during the year, once on April 25th and again on September 27th. These weekly discussion groups are designed to bring together faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates across biology and mathematics to explore challenges and innovative approaches. For our team, the seminars became both an educational experience and an opportunity for community outreach within the university. We utilized this opportunity to obtain constructive feedback, but also educate undergraduate students from a variety of different majors on the importance of mathematical modeling, AI, and computational approaches in synthetic biology.

Spring Seminar April 2025: Building Foundations

At our first seminar in April, we introduced the biological motivations and mathematical goals of our project. We aimed to help participants without a biology background understand the ecological context, while giving those from biology a clearer view of the mathematical challenges.

Key Outcomes:

• Better interpreted the concept of “deployment” in synthetic biology into mathematical terms
• Received feedback on how to construct spatially dependent models of aquatic environments
• Practiced making ecological engineering problems approachable to an academic audience

This session helped us translate real-world environments and situations into usable mathematical frameworks, while also learning how to frame synthetic biology problems for non-specialist audiences.

Fall Seminar September 2025: Refining and Communicating Models

By September, we returned with a more developed model describing how synthetic biology constructs behave in flowing water systems. This presentation emphasized communication just as much as the science itself.

Key Outcomes:

• Used visualizations and system geometry to clarify complex post-deployment behaviors
• Improved the clarity and accessibility of our graphs based on audience feedback
• Fielded questions that highlighted where technical details needed more plain-language explanation

Through this seminar, we not only strengthened our model’s accuracy but also practiced our outreach skills: showing how mathematical tools can be communicated across a variety of disciplines and sparked the interest of many students in synthetic biology.

On August 26, William & Mary launched the new School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics, bringing together the Data Science program, Computer Science, Physics, and Applied Science, home to our iGEM team, under one school. To celebrate the opening, the university hosted an open house for students and faculty. As part of the Applied Science department, our iGEM team was invited to table at the event to showcase how synthetic biology connects with data science, computation, and mathematical modeling.

At our table, we highlighted the interdisciplinary nature of iGEM by sharing how our project integrates wet-lab bioengineering and synthetic biology, computational design, and modeling approaches. To make this connection fun and accessible, we ran an interactive activity where students built “genetic circuits” out of donuts, bagels, and toppings. Each food item represented a circuit element (such as promoters, ribosomal binding sites, coding regions, and reporters), allowing participants to design and appreciate their own “synthetic circuits”.

In addition to the hands-on activity, we gave lab tours to interested attendees, showing them our Bioengineering Lab (BEL), highlighting the variety of equipment and projects, all while introducing them to iGEM’s role on campus. Many students, particularly new freshmen, were excited to learn that they could combine their interests in data science, computation, and biology through iGEM. For us, this event was a valuable opportunity to spark interest in synthetic biology and demonstrate the growing role of synthetic biology within the university’s new school and scientific research at large.

This year, William and Mary’s annual Hackathon theme focused on the environment and building programs to solve environmental problems. This Hackathon hosts various undergraduate and graduate students from all over, competing to create projects in two days. Workshops are a staple of these Hackathons to allow students to learn and gain skills on various topics. In order to further share our bioinformatics work and get students interested in synthetic biology, our iGEM team hosted one of these workshops.

Our presentation discussed bioinformatics and the skills entangled within it, along with highlighting just how applicable bioinformatics is in not only our project but a wide variety of biology applications. Our goal was to inspire more computational involvement outside of just software engineering to enable future collaborations across disciplines furthering synthetic biology goals.

Not only did we get to engage and share with our community, our team got valuable feedback from computationally minded people on ways to involve more computational tools to advance our project and biology in general.