UNews - Michelle Wu

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge iGEM team earns gold for project that designs oral insulin delivery system

trevor.kenney — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 18:34:18 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Collegiate iGEM team set its sights on solving a problem that affects nearly nine per cent of the world’s population, and earned a gold medal for their efforts at the recently concluded International Genetically Engineered Machines World Jamboree in Boston, Mass.

The collegiate team, accompanied by the U of L’s High School iGEM entry that achieved a silver medal standing for its project, presented Algulin, which is the development of a novel method for the manufacturing and oral delivery of insulin to diabetics.

U of L iGEM collegiate and high school team members and their advisors in Boston. Back row (L–R) Catrione Lee, David Basil, Mark Lea, Dia Koupantsis, Laura Keffer-Wilkes, Thomas Byrne, Angeliki Pantazi and Chris Isaac. Middle (kneeling L–R) Linda He, Dewuni De Silva, Michelle Wu and Luke Saville. Front – Julien Todd.

“We wanted to do something different and meaningful, something that will have a positive effect on the people around us,” says Dia Koupantsis, a third-year biological sciences student. “So, we developed the project Algulin, an oral insulin manufactured in microalgae, in an attempt to democratize the manufacturing of insulin so that it can be widely available for individuals who need it.”

Diabetes is a massive global issue that requires lifelong management for those affected, imposing an enormous economic health burden that amounts to a $673 billion global expenditure annually. Currently, the most common method of relieving diabetes symptoms is through painful, expensive insulin injections. Some patients must self-administer the drug up to six times per day.

After interviewing diabetic patients, doctors and pharmacists, the iGEM team went about trying to find a way to deliver insulin to patients orally. The challenge, which has thwarted previous attempts, is to find a way to get the insulin through the stomach acid and into the small intestine for absorption without becoming seriously degraded. Their solution – microalgae.

Algulin is an oral insulin produced in microalgae. After testing three different microalgae, the group determined Cyanidioschyzon merolae, with its innate acid resistant membrane, could survive the stomach environment. Additionally, with a carbohydrate-based cell wall, C. merolae would degrade in the small intestine and allow for the therapeutic insulin to be absorbed through to its intended target — the portal vein.

“It was a challenging project because it involved working with an organism we’d never used before,” says Luke Saville, a fourth-year biochemistry student. “This promoted challenges in learning how to grow the organism and how to genetically engineer it to produce our insulin.”

U of L chemistry & biochemistry instructor Dr. Angeliki Pantazi is one of the team’s faculty mentors and lauds the team for the work they put in and the further potential of their project.

“The gold medal is exciting but it’s a little bit less about what we came back with and more about how we are training the next generation of scientists and leaders through these programs,” she says. “It’s a very student-driven program and I was impressed with why they wanted to pursue this project. They were concerned about people not being able to afford insulin and inspired by the first two Canadian scientists who isolated purified insulin and how they didn’t patent it for themselves but instead offered it to humankind for free.”

Now that the iGEM season is over, it’s up to the group to find possible investors to continue their work and eventually try and get a product to market. The next stage would be performing animal studies to see how the insulin is being transferred into the bloodstream and how it functions.

“I think it has great commercial potential,” says Saville. “By moving away from injectables and purification free insulin growth, we can dramatically lower the cost of diabetes management while providing a more comfortable way to administer medicine.”

Other members of the collegiate team included: Catrione Lee, Kalob Barr, Jesse Holbein, Allyson Lawrie-White, Landon McCabe, Joshua Omotosho, Kera Whitten and Dong Ju Kim. Graduate student advisors included Sydnee Calhoun, Aubrey Demchuk, Chris Isaac and Kristi Turton while Dr. Trushar Patel (chemistry & biochemistry) was the secondary investigator.

High school team earns silver

All four local high schools contributed to the team that presented CADAR (CRISPR assisted detection and removal) at the World Jamboree, a project designed to create a rapid diagnostic tool for identifying bacterial pathogens.

“Our team decided to choose CADAR because we saw the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria,” says Mark Lea, a Chinook High School graduate who is now in his first year at the U of L. “We found, through initial research, that there is a lot of over-prescription of antibiotics that further increases the amount of bacterial resistance. We thought finding an alternative and more novel approach to traditional antibiotic methods of identifying and then eliminating those pathogens would be an interesting project.”

Dr. Laura Keffer-Wilkes, the manager of Synbridge and high school team advisor, says the project was very ambitious for the high school group and she was pleased with the work they put in to try and develop a product that could be used in health care and patient care settings, in processing plants and even ambulances as a means to validate cleaning practices.

“It’s really student-driven, so they go after whatever motivates them, whatever passions they have,” she says. “As a high school instructor, I don’t want to stifle their creativity, and they used some very advanced technology in their work.”

The high school team consisted of: Alice Zhang, Andy Sun, Aroma Pageni, David Basil, Dewuni De Silva, Elisha Wong, Julien Todd, Karen He, Linda He, Katie Vienneau, Mark Lea, Michelle Wu, Mina Akbary, Natasha Woitte, Rachel Avileli, Rebecca Avileli, Shada Aborawi and Thomas Byrne.

High School Synthetic Biology Team Wins Six Medals for BioTreks Paper

caroline.zentner — Fri, 22 Jun 2018 17:27:38 +0000

The 2018 iGEM season continues to be a great success for members of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge-mentored Lethbridge high school team. The team submitted a scientific paper outlining their synthetic biology project, as well as participated in an online conference.

Members of the Lethbridge high school synthetic biology team pose for a photo in the lab.

“This was a great experience for the students,” says team mentor Sydnee Calhoun, a U of L biochemistry student. “We are so proud of their progress and how much they have learned this year.”

For their efforts, the team received medals for problem solving, conference participation, scientific rigor, innovation, collaboration, and visual communications. Michelle Wu also received special recognition for her excellent participation in the BioTreks Conference on April 28. The paper can be found here.

Taking a break from studying for exams, team members participated in a wet lab skills workshop June 16 and 17.

“I loved it! It was so much fun to get in the lab and learn all these new things,” says Mark Lea, a grade 11 student from Chinook High School.

The team was introduced to pipetting, transformations, PCR (polymerase chain reaction), restriction digestion and making competent cells – all techniques they will need for their project. They hope to create a more cost effective and energy efficient method of removing metal contaminants from effluent water and tailings ponds.

In order to complete their project, a significant amount of external funding is required. As this is an extracurricular activity, it is the team’s responsibility to cover all the operation costs – chemicals, equipment, competition and travel fees. To help offset some of these costs, the team has set up a gofundme campaign. All donations are welcome and will be acknowledged during the presentation at the iGEM Giant Jamboree in Boston. The team is made up of students from Winston Churchill High School, Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, Chinook High School and Catholic Central High School.

Follow the team’s progress on social media: @LethHS_iGEM and @lethbridgehsiGEM.

An iGEM team member works in the lab.

iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition, is the largest synthetic biology community and the premiere synthetic biology competition for both university and high school level students. iGEM inspires learning and innovation in synthetic biology through education, competition and by maintaining an open library of standard biological parts, the Registry of Standard Biological Parts.

Combining molecular biology techniques with engineering concepts, students work in interdisciplinary team to create novel biological systems. At the beginning of the competition season, each registered team is given a kit of 1000+ standard interchangeable parts called BioBricks from the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Working at their own schools, teams use these parts and new parts of their own design to build, test, and characterize genetically engineered systems and operate them in living cells in an effort to address real-world issues. Along with submitting their newly created BioBricks to the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, teams are required to actively consider the safety implications of their work and document their projects on team wiki pages. At the end of the competition season, teams converge at the Jamboree event to showcase their research. Teams present their work through posters and oral presentations, and compete for prizes and awards, such as the coveted BioBrick trophy.

For more information about iGEM, visit http://igem.org/Main_Page.

Lethbridge high school iGEM team wins award at first competition

caroline.zentner — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 16:26:59 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge high school International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team came away with the Best Opportunity Analysis award and an $1,800 travel bursary after competing at their first geekStarter jamboree in Canmore on May 26 and 27. The team earned the award for analyzing previous work done by iGEM teams and learning from its limitations.

Members of the U of L high school iGEM team pose for a photo following the Canmore geekstarter competition.

“The jamboree was really great. We got to meet other teams and learn about their projects,” says Michelle Wu, a Grade 10 student. “We also got good feedback on our project that will help with the next steps.”

The team, made up of 16 students from Winston Churchill, Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, Chinook and Catholic Central high schools, chose a project that will use synthetic biology to remove salt and metal ion contaminants from water. Their goal is to create a more cost effective and energy efficient method for desalination and recovery of heavy and precious metals from effluent water. They hope the technology they develop could one day be integrated into existing water treatment infrastructure. More information on the project can be found online at BioTreks.

The team will continue working on their Control-Salt-Delete project over the next few months in preparation for the annual iGEM Giant Jamboree in October at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, where they’ll join teams from all over the world for five days of competition.

geekStarter engages students in finding and solving authentic problems, and building solutions based in emerging Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The project-based learning experience culminates in inspiring community events and prestigious international competitions, where students share their research and innovations with other young scientists as well as with leaders in STEM. Through emphasis on multi-media presentations and networking, these events provide students with opportunities to celebrate their successes and build a community of peers across Alberta and the world.

For more information about iGEM, visit http://igem.org/Main_Page.

UNews - Michelle Wu

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge iGEM team earns gold for project that designs oral insulin delivery system

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