What is iGEM?
The International Genetically Engineered Machine is a student-led synthetic biology competition with more than 280 participating collegiate teams worldwide. Each September, teams from Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas gather in Boston to share their research findings. iGEM is also much more than a competition. The iGEM Foundation is dedicated to education and competition, advancement of synthetic biology, and the development of open community and collaboration. The community has a long history of involving students and the public in the development of the new field of synthetic biology.
What is Synthetic Biology?
"If you ask five different experts in the field what synthetic biology is, you'll get 7 different definitions."
Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary branch of biology, combining disciplines such as biotechnology, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, systems biology, biophysics, computer engineering, and is in many ways related to genetic engineering. The definition of synthetic biology is debated not only among natural scientists but also in the human sciences, arts and politics. One popular definition is "designing and constructing biological devices, biological systems, and biological machines for useful purposes." However, the functional aspects of this definition stem from molecular biology and biotechnology.
What is UMaryland?
The University of Maryland is the state's flagship and land-grant institution with 37,500 students in 12 schools and colleges, 9,000 faculty and staff, and a $1.9B annual operating budget, including $500M in external research funding. It is a member of the Association of American Universities.
The University of Maryland chapter of iGEM, UMaryland iGEM, was founded in 2014. It showed great promise by winning a gold medal at its inaugural international convention, a great feat for a rookie team. Riding on this momentum, UMaryland iGEM has since doubled in membership and has taken on multiple research projects: designing a PCR machine that costs less than $50 to build, making a drug that treats macular degeneration, creating an antibiotic-free alternative to lab work, and educating the community about synthetic biology. More information about our work can be found at UMDiGEM.com
How can I be involved?
Contact our community/outreach director, Robert Hand.
rhand@terpmail.umd.edu
Support us financially!
In order to sustain our efforts both inside and outside the lab, we are asking for your help. By donating to UMaryland iGEM, you are not only helping us solve these issues, but also giving the next generation of leaders, scientists, and engineers the opportunity to get hands-on experience with biotechnology, genetic engineering, teamwork and more. Although each day we work with microscopic processes and structures, the potential outcome of our research would make huge advances in the world of medicine and biotechnology. With your support, we will be one step closer to making those advances.
Donations of any amount are welcome and will be recognized appropriately!
