UCL DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING

iGEM is an annual, undergraduate synthetic biology design competition which UCL entered for the first time in 2009. This year 128 teams entered worldwide from internationally leading universities.

UCL Biochemical Engineering sponsored a truly multidisciplinary team comprising Biochemical Engineering students Ali Ali-Albazergan, Arif Abed, Carolina Moujaes, Elena Pallari and Omar El Saidi and also James Brown, Mariam Awlia and Xiang Chen from the Research Department of Structural & Molecular Biology, Veronika Raszler from the Department of Science and Technology Studies and external student David Bennett from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

The team worked throughout the summer making full use of the industrial biomanufacturing facilities at the Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering (ACBE) before the final iGEM jamboree event at MIT in November. Building on the silver medal success of UCL’s iGEM 2009 team was a major goal for 2010. Team member Omar El Saidi said: “We are all delighted at our success, and really enjoyed the opportunity to work on a truly multidisciplinary project that has real-world relevance. I personally really enjoyed building the team’s website.”

At the conclusion of iGEM 2010 Carolina Moujaes has started the final year of a Biochemical Engineering MEng. She reflected: “iGEM 2010 provided a great opportunity to develop real hands-on practical fermentation skills. Collaborating with students and advisors from art, design and social sciences background was also a real eye-opener and has made me aware of the different perspectives people have on synthetic biology, engineering and science in general. I also found the Jamboree at MIT very fascinating with over 2000 international students from different countries bringing in novel ideas and

making people aware of the new science of synthetic biology.”.

The UCL team – called ‘Project Hypoxon’ – set out to reduce the financial and environmental cost of manufacturing medicines by genetically re-programming the E. coli cells in which many modern medicines are made. Currently these cells are controlled by addition of chemicals to trigger drug production. By constructing a synthetic gene network in the cell Project Hypoxon hoped to allow the cells to trigger be triggered by simple changes in their environment, such as low oxygen or changed temperature, without the need to add chemicals. The technology could ultimately be deployed in commercial E. coli strains commonly used in drug manufacturing, in order to boost productivity and reduce the cost of drug production.

Each iGEM team is supported by staff instructors and student advisors who guide the students through the experience. Project Hypoxon were supported by Dr Darren N. Nesbeth and Professor Eli Keshavarz-Moore from UCL Biochemical Engineering, Professor John Ward of the Research Department of Structural & Molecular Biology and Dr Jane Gregory from the Department of Science and Technology Studies. Additional advice and creative input was also provided by the artist Giulia Ricci, a recent alumnus of the Slade School of Fine Art.

As well as research, iGEM teams are encouraged to explore the possible societal impacts of synthetic biology. Media skills and public engagement are also an essential for success. Dr Nesbeth commented: “iGEM is a great opportunity for UCL to encourage students from different departments and faculties to come together and work on a project. By focusing on today’s biochemical engineering challenges we also enable UCL iGEM teams to take their projects out into the wider world of the general public. Recruitment for iGEM 2011 is already underway and we will finalise a roster by the end of November.”

Financial support for UCL’s iGEM 2010 team was provided by Eli Lilly, Lonza Biologics and the Health Protection Agency, which are all partners in the Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre programme within UCL Biochemical Engineering, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. For more information about iGEM, follow the links above, or contact Dr Darren N. Nesbeth for details of iGEM 2011.

UCL context

The IMRC at UCL focuses on improving and enabling manufacture of so-called ‘next generation’ medicines such as potent protein products, gene therapy vectors and new classes of vaccine. It’s work also has major implications for fields as diverse as biofuels and regenerative medicine.

The ACBE is a globally-recognised centre of excellence in linking bioscience insight to bioprocesses understanding, enabling research discoveries to be directly translated into real healthcare outcomes. It has invested over £30 million in new facilities in recent years and has its own pilot plant facility for the scale verification of bioprocess performance.

Links

http://2010.igem.org/Team:UCL_London