Awards/Achievements
Gold Medal
Criterion | Description | Link | |
---|---|---|---|
Excellence in Synthetic Biology |
Impress the judges with your work towards three Special Prizes of your choice . You must demonstrate excellence in both General Biological Engineering and in at least one Specialization. Note: Software and AI Village teams cannot select the Software Special Prize as a Gold medal criterion. By competition rules, teams in the Software and AI Village are not eligible to win the Software Special Prize. |
General biological engineering:
Find our
Model page.
Specializations:
Find our
integrated human practices
page.
Find our
education
page.
|
Best Diagnostics Project nomination:
Our project, Heartecho, stands out for its innovative integration of synthetic biology and clinical diagnostics in the critical knowledge gap of Reverse Cardio-Oncology. This new discipline investigates how cardiovascular diseases accelerate cancer progression, which is a vital but underexplored area in global health.
Innovative Diagnostic Approach:
We introduced the Loop-Initiated RNA Activator (LIRA) detection system and made it a dual-arm AND logic gate to identify key miRNAs linked to cancer progression in post-myocardial infarction patients. This system integrates with a cell-free platform to deliver visible results via chromogenic methods, ensuring simplicity, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness. By targeting miR142-3p and miR210-3p, which are aberrantly expressed after MI, our diagnostic kit enables early detection, potentially enhance cancer prevention for high-risk populations.
Comprehensive Modeling and Experimental Design:
Our modeling work serve the project by validating the structure and functionality of the LIRA system, while our experiments design focusing on the function verification of LIRA system. Our work goes beyond technical implementation, emphasizing innovation and comprehensiveness. Through this comprehensive process, we supported our project from concept validation to practical application, opening new perspectives for exploring the relationship between cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Impactful Human Practices:
By engaging stakeholders such as healthcare professionals, patients and ethicists, we ensured our diagnostic kit aligns with societal needs and ethical considerations. This integration of diverse perspectives refined our design and enhanced its relevance to real-world.
Extensive Education Outreach:
We emphasized public engagement through innovative educational efforts, making synthetic biology accessible to diverse people. Multiple approaches had inspired people's interest in the field and the deeper understanding of its societal benefits.
Holistic Project Documentation:
Our meticulously maintained and well-structured wiki provide transparency and replicability. From the experimental design to human practice activities, every aspect of our project has been documented to inspire and guide future teams.
By creatively addressing a global health challenge, advancing iGEM community, and demonstrating a strong commitment to societal impact, our project exemplifies excellence in diagnostics and deserves the nominees of Best Diagnostic Project.
Best Model nomination:
Our modeling work goes beyond technical implementation, emphasizing
innovation and comprehensiveness. Through this comprehensive
modeling process, we supported our project from
concept validation to practical
application, opening new perspectives for exploring the relationship
between cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Our Model conducted in-depth bioinformatic analysis for miRNA
identification. By integrating
bioinformatic analysis, ROC diagnostics, and experimental validation , we identified reliable biomarkers for screening cancer in
cardiovascular disease patients.
Our Model designed the single-arm LIRA structure capable of detecting
one kind of target miRNA and documented the design process into a
standardized process. Our Model performed a comprehensive analysis of
the stem-loop ratio at the binding sites between the single-arm
LIRA and miRNA, constructing 280 functional single-arm sequences.
This laid a foundation for further optimization of miRNA detection.
Further, we designed the double-armed LIRA structure capable of
simultaneously detecting two kinds of target miRNAs and meticulously
documented the design process into a standardized process, resulting in
the construction of 6 functional double-armed LIRA structures.
This design expanded the application range of LIRA, enhancing the
flexibility and accuracy of multi-miRNA detection.
Our Model carried out in-depth analysis and optimization of the designed
double-armed structures, utilizing a Random Forest model combined
with simulated data the value calculated according to the indicator for
parameter optimization. The effectiveness of the model was validated
through experimental verification.
Our Model also conducted kinetic simulations of the LIRA system
observing the response times and concentration changes of the LIRA
system. The analysis of concentration changes provided valuable insights
into the dynamic response of the LIRA system.
Innovatively, we introduced 3D surface analysis, simulating the
interaction between double-armed LIRA and varying miRNA concentrations,
ensuring that the LIRA system better aligns with the complexities of
clinical applications.
Best Integrated Human Practices:
IHP is integrated with the project throughout the entire process,
promoting and enhancing each other. Significantly, ethics was considered
all the time. For the final implementation of the project, we have
embraced the full-scale commercialization. Through extensive and
meaningful interaction with all stakeholders, we have successfully
achieved the closed loops.
The modern spectrum of diseases and the lack of public awareness have
led to societal demand for Heartecho, which we have keenly
identified.
This year, we have interviewed 23 stakeholders, including
experts, doctors, patients, and corporations. This
comprehensive approach not only enhances our understanding of the
project but also supports informed decision-making throughout its
various phases.
After considering the current public understanding, as well as
ethical and legal standards, Heartecho has determined the demand
and established the specifications.
Through advice from multidisciplinary experts, we
gradually generated, promoted, and refined our project,
transitioning from ischemic heart disease to coronary heart disease, and
finally determining myocardial infarction as the final choice.
With continuous patient and public feedback, Heartecho's features
have been iteratively improved.
Additionally, we take responsibility for our stakeholders through
interviews, sports activities, social welfare publications, and social
media .
Best Education nomination:
Our education core is "Wider and Deeper", which symbolizes our
commitment to engaging a broader range of communities in synthetic
biology, fostering deeper communication and understanding.
To ensure inclusivity across all age groups, we've cultivated an
expansive education tree, organizing activities according to the
unique characteristics and needs of different age groups, which has
successfully integrated 17 schools and reached out to
1,682 participants .
We noticed the difficulties faced by minority students in
accessing synthetic biology and recognized that
teachers, parents, and community workers are not only a new
community, but also have the potential to influence and inspire more
people to explore this fascinating field.
To further enhance engagement and learning, we've hosted a series of
innovative events, such as
"iGEMers' Day," "Design the Heart in Your
Mind," "21 Days, Let's Make Heart Healthier," and "Lab Wonders & Micro
Art"
. These events have provided exciting platforms for participants to
appreciate diverse applications in synthetic biology.
We ingeniously designed four games, including
two video games, a jigsaw
puzzle, and a card game
named SYNO. These games have been instrumental
in making synthetic biology education more accessible and enjoyable for
learners of all ages.
In view of the benefits of multi-sensory learning, we innovatively
commence our educational journey through sight, hearing, smell, taste,
and touch.
Additionally, we've crafted four unique theme handbooks, each enriching
the learning experience and providing valuable resources for learners to
explore and delve deeper into the subject.
We constructed an educational activity feedback form to promote mutual
learning and/or a dialogue. Ultimately, we close the loop of education.
Our aspiration is that through our dedicated efforts, the knowledge of
synthetic biology will inspire and empower individuals to contribute to
the advancement of this cutting-edge discipline, ultimately benefiting
society and driving progress in the field of synthetic biology.
Best Wiki nomination:
As a medium and window to show our project to the world, the Wiki should not only ensure the integrity and readability of the content, but also have enough aesthetics and interactivity to impress the readers.
We read the whole requirements from the official website carefully before writing the web page, and strictly follow them in the subsequent design to ensure that all our text, images, etc. are correctly cited. These are undoubtedly the basis of everything that the Wiki does.
We hope that when readers browse our website, they are not reading the content unilaterally, but communicating and interacting with us. For example, when a reader browses the Home page, the inspiration and logic of our project will gradually show with the scrolling of the mouse; When the reader selects content in the left-hand or jumps to other pages at the end of the Home page, a simple animation will help him/her to locate. At the same time, we also combine the basic needs and daily habits of the presented content to design, such as turning notebook pages into an electronic calendar, and adding mutual-support cooperation teams to the gachapon machine, which we believe will improve the reader's experience.
Our web page is a "purple" wholeness, which is a memory point that we leave to our readers. After countless adjustments and revisions, we have a good-looking logo that perfectly interprets the meaning of our project, a page background that looks like a sunset landscape, and a header image that visualizes the content when each page is first entered - a consistent "blood vessel" background to echo the theme of the project, and a consistent typography format that makes the connection between pages more compact.
We value the importance of illustrations. Good illustrations can not only make many texts seem monotonous, but also summarize or supplement the gains given by the text more intuitively. We iterate on the colors, layouts, and presentations of our illustrations to make them stand out on our pages.