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COMMUNITY OUTREACH

SHAD

For the past three years, QGEM outreach has worked in partnership with the SHAD summer enrichment program at Queen's University. We have been able to introduce molecul ar biology to high school students to spark interest while simultaneously sharing our own enthusiasm for learning, a concept SHAD aims to promote. QGEM volunteers worked alongside a team executive member to mentor the students through a two-day workshop covering techniques from lab safety and pipetting to DNA miniprep, restriction digest, and gel electrophoresis. The students used these techniques to determine the culprit in a murder mystery. While waiting for the lab results to finish, participants partook in a mini-lecture on blood components and were guided through a tour of the Queen's Anatomy Museum. With members of QGEM having gone through the SHAD program themselves, the team was extremely excited to introduce this workshop and the hands-on lab experience to a new group of budding scientists. Our workshop continues to be a deemed a highlight of the high school student's SHAD experience.

QGEM 2015 Public Seminar

QGEM organized and hosted a public seminar to encourage members of the Kingston community to learn more about the fascinating applications of synthetic biology. The seminar focused on the use of our project for the cryopreservation of hearts. The seminar began with a brief overview of iGEM and the Queen’s team in particular. A background of antifreeze proteins was given, as well as an explanation of the fundamental aspects of our scaffold and circularization projects.

A very important aspect of the presentation involved discussing some of the societal implications of organ cryopreservation. There is currently a discrepancy between the number of organs available and the number of patients on the waiting list. Many people die waiting for organ transplants. We explored some of the different policies employed in various countries to increase donation rates. We discussed the advantages of prolonged organ storage times, such as better donor-recipient matches due to an increase in the distance that an organ can travel before deteriorating. The circularized AFP construct was also discussed for its stability and possible applications to industry. We engaged the audience through a question and answer period at the end. The Kingston Whig-Standard, a local newspaper, attended the event and wrote an article featuring QGEM online. http://www.thewhig.com/2015/07/28/group-eyes-game-changer-for-transplants