The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition is an annual synthetic biology competition that undergraduate university students worldwide participate in, with a focus on collaboration and education. iGEM is also an amazing place for undergraduate students to gain hands-on lab experience while learning about synthetic biology, while meeting like-minded peers!
My name is Grace and I am a second year student at the University of Guelph and it is my first year on the Guelph iGEM team. Our iGEM team consists of students from several different fields, including molecular biology, animal biology and engineering, all coming together to learn about synthetic biology to compete in the iGEM competition. On the weekend of May 4-5 this year, we underwent our ‘iGEM 101’ training to learn valuable lab protocols that we will be using over the summer for our respective projects. For many students - some of whom are engineering students who have never taken a university biology course - it was their first time using a micropipette or streaking out a plate. This is why iGEM 101 was such a great opportunity for students to gain lab skills while learning about synthetic biology. For our team it also provided a great opportunity for students to socialize with each other and develop further as a team.📷
On Saturday, we started off with safety training and then were taught basic, but very important skills such as aseptic technique, micropipetting, and how to streak out isolated colonies on agar plates in the morning. As the day progressed, we then applied these skills to vital cloning protocols such as plasmid extraction via miniprep, restriction enzyme digestion, and plasmid-DNA ligations. We also learned how to use more pieces of lab equipment, such as a centrifuge, along the way and it was great to see everyone getting more comfortable in a lab setting as the day progressed. Although there was so much information to absorb during this day, the executives made sure we understood why we were doing each step and provided guidance to make sure each protocol was done properly.
On Sunday, we began by transforming competent E. coli cells with our purified plasmids from Saturday and then learned how to use Benchling, an online lab book software to keep track of work throughout the summer. We finished the day with setting up a PCR from a patch plate and learning how a PCR works and its importance. It was awesome to see students helping out fellow team members with their technique and protocols and the teamwork and communication that took place with everyone.
Comments