About This Project

Synthetic Biology is an emerging field with tremendous potential to solve economic and ecological challenges. To kindle the development of this field, students internationally need more accessible educational resources. At iGEM Community, we aim to fill this gap by developing affordable, instructional SynBio 101 kits that will introduce students to Synthetic Biology and empower them to imagine a future in which this technology is used to solve problems - small or large.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Synthetic Biology has been driven by over two decades of student engagement. For example, the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition is an event featuring high school and undergraduate students that consistently drives progress at the frontier of the field. In order to encourage involvement in events like iGEM, hands-on experience in the field is crucial for students. Currently, while projects like BioBuilder, Bits in Bio, and miniPCR's BioBits do exist, many of them are not readily open to everyone. Thus, there still remains a need for a low-cost, easily accessible kit to introduce students to Synthetic Biology, expanding on our prior community biology efforts like Friendzymes (Subramanian) and GEM-Gate (Camenares).

What is the significance of this project?

We hope to inspire a dramatic expansion in the number of students that are aware of, and interested in, the field of Synthetic Biology. On top of fueling increased participation in synergistic programs (such as iGEM), we hope to accelerate the adoption of Synthetic Biology curriculum at both high school and undergraduate institutions, sparking the rapid growth of the global bioeconomy. By designing our educational kits to be both accessible and affordable, our workshops will be the first foray into Synthetic Biology that students in many regions have. We strongly believe that by exposing these students to Synthetic Biology, they will be inspired to become the next generation of scientists by pursuing further opportunities in academia, industry, policy, and human/planetary health.

What are the goals of the project?

This project will evaluate the role of low-cost Synthetic Biology kits on participation in the life sciences over two years. Initially, we will gain feedback from students on the availability of existing synthetic biology education in their countries. Next, we will use this feedback to target our kits towards developing regions that we have identified a lack in such curricula, coordinating with institutions in order to optimize their affordability and accessibility. As such, it will not require a specific type of institution, prerequisite knowledge, or setup for the workshops to be conducted and maintain value. Finally, after this first year, we will measure participation by tracking enrollment in iGEM or other partnering, synergistic initiatives during the second year.