Team:Calgary/Human Practices/Outreach

Previous to my tour of the iGEM lab at the University of Calgary I was unfamiliar with the project, really only having heard snippets here and there about it from my friend, and UofC iGEMer, Jeremy. I had no idea that there was such a fantastic undergraduate initiative out there for students to engage in! One of a kind, I discovered that iGEM was an international competition utilizing techniques in the up-and-coming field of synthetic biology to engineer and modify basic processes of life. I was intrigued that iGEMers literally got to play around with bacteria and make them do such things as glow green or smell like bananas as if they were LEGO. I find it remarkable that although the actual work involved in producing these results is a great deal more tedious and complex then simple LEGO pieces, the fact that these results can be produced is revolutionary.

Moreover, I found out that the U of C iGEM team is not merely concerned with lab work. It was interesting to see how they had members working fulltime in other initiatives such as SecondLife, Marketing and Ethics. I liked the fact that were so many aspects to the project and that there were different things within iGEM to be involved in, whatever your interests. In addition, I really admired the U of C team because it seemed that they had built a strong working relationship and were on track to start building a community. The facilitator of the project, Sonja, allowed freedom within the project that allowed for all kinds of hands-on learning, and it sounds like the team members were able to learn more than they did in any type of biology class. I admired the sense of trust and support that the lab seemed to have, and I am excited to hopefully be a part of iGEM myself in the future!

This past summer, I had the opportunity to take a tour of University of Calgary’s iGEM lab. And to be honest, before I entered that lab I had no clue whatsoever of what iGEM actually was. However, during my tour I learned all about the iGEM competition and what it entitled; how each team was given identical kits and then set free to go explore the new realm of synthetic biology. I loved the idea of how much independence students received on this research opportunity, never before had I ever heard of such a thing. During my tour I was even given the opportunity to go work in the lab, donning lab coat and latex gloves, I grew my first bacteria culture ever. After spending the afternoon with the University of Calgary’s iGEM team, I have never found myself so excited about biology. This stuff even topped my first dissection. iGEM seems like the best research opportunity a student could ever have. Not only does iGEM offer students a chance to work in the newly emerging field of synthetic biology, but it also gives them an opportunity to work with a team of students who are wholly committed to the competition. After learning that iGEM is an international competition, I found out that Rice University has a team competing as well. I’m not only excited to see how both the UofC and Rice teams do at the iGEM Jamboree, but also to hopefully be a part of either team in 2010.