Synbio.UCSD

synbio.UCSD is an academic organization established by the members of UC San Diego’s 2015 iGEM team dedicated to raising interest in synthetic biology both on the UC San Diego campus and among the local community.

The purpose of SynBio@UCSD is to:

1. Raise awareness of and drive interest in the field of synthetic biology.
2. Provide workshops to build the skillsets needed to be effective in synthetic biology.
3. Encourage interdisciplinary modes of thinking and collaboration.
4. Create an inclusive community for individuals of all biology-related interests.
5. Foster the growth and development of Open Source Biology.

Our goal is to ultimately expand the role of biology and establish a local and international community of collaborators. We have compiled emails of the listed iGEM teams from across the world, and we would like to invite anyone interested in synthetic biology to establish a SynBio organization at their school and set this international movement in motion.

During the month of May, an educational workshop was held every Monday and Friday for 2-3 hours in order to help attendees better understand the 2015 iGEM project.

Interdisciplinary Efforts

We reached out to design.UCSD, the undergraduate, pre-professional design organization on campus, in hopes to collaborate with them and make synthetic biology an interdisciplinary community. The following PowerPoint on the left is what was pitched to the organization.

We also encouraged an interdisciplinary iGEM 2015 team by seeking out interested participants from not only the Bioengineering department, but also the Biology and Physics departments.

On-Campus DIYbio Lab Space

One of our long-term goals is to establish a DIY bio lab space on campus. To meet this goal, one of our first steps was meeting up with the local DIY bio labs, hearing their story, and receiving advice. During the Southern California Meetup, we met a member of the LA Biohackers, the Los Angeles DIYbio lab community. In September, we met up with Callen Hyland, the person who runs the public biotechnology lab at the La Jolla-Riford Library and is also connected to SD Wet Lab, the San Diego DIYbio community.

Library Talk

With help from San Diego Wet Lab, the team arranged a presentation at the La Jolla Riford Library on Wednesday, September 16.