The Team!

In Loving Memory of Lily (12/25/11 - 2/25/24)

This project is dedicated to the best girl in the world

Lily was an Australian Shepherd we rescued in February 2012 when she moved to her forever home in Springs, NY, US. She quickly bonded with our family, and we all grew to love her in our own ways. My sister, Catherine, became particularly close with Lily, even giving her full name: Lilian Elizabeth Vilar. Lily would always perk up when anyone said Catherine was coming home, even from sleep. I always loved doing my work with Lily laying near my desk and taking occasional breaks to play with her, though she was always down for more. She never met food she didn't like, talked back when you played with her, dug more holes in our yard than we can count, ran around practically every beach in East Hampton, staffed shifts at a children's museum, and was a light in the lives of everyone (human and dog) that she met. There's a reason we called her "the best girl in the world".

As my siblings and I grew older, so did Lily, but she remained healthy and happy for years. However, in March of 2023, Lily was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma. Even with a poor prognosis, we chose to put our hope in a combination of drugs and chemotherapy that the veterinarians told us had a low chance of saving her. Against all odds, she took the treatments well and successfully fought the cancer for nearly a year, much longer than the few days initially predicted. Through it all, from changing her diet, celebrating her remission, playing with her favorite toys, giving her many treats, and saying goodbye after her cancer returned, we did our best to be there for her in the same way she had always been there for us.

In early February 2024, as the previous year's iGEM team members tasked our team with creating project ideas, I thought of Lily's situation. I began to investigate if there may be a way to give others in her situation a better fighting shot. From this starting point, I researched microRNAs and their correlation to cancer and developed the first version of this project. On the 25th of February 2024, only two days after I presented the idea for the first time, Lily crossed the rainbow bridge with me and the rest of her family by her side. The SBU iGEM team went on to select this project and, after many months of hard work, we learned at the Paris Convention Center that our project had won gold. For me, this moment was bittersweet as I knew Lily was looking on from above. This project and all its efforts are dedicated to her fighting spirit and memory, and I hope it can serve as a sign of the love for her held by everyone whose lives she has changed.
-Manny (aka "Uncle Manny" and "Uncle Tio" to Lily)