by Jenny Loeb

Promega’s Jenny Loeb interacting with teams at the 2018 Giant Jamboree in Boston, MA.

I have trained for and completed ten half marathons, but nothing has been able to physically or mentally prepare me for the iGEM Giant Jamboree. For the record, I have been to three Jamborees and, despite trying to learn from my previous years’ experience, it just does not seem to help. The funny thing is that even though I find myself completely drained by the final day of the Jamboree, I am still energized, excited, motivated and inspired by the iGEMers I have met and the projects I have heard about. My flight back home cannot come fast enough. I can’t wait to get back to my desk at Promega and sit down with the rest of my colleagues (who are also drained from their Jamboree experience) to start to plan our iGEM support for the next year.

Despite having transitioned from R&D bench work in both the academic and corporate settings to work on the business side of science for a privately held global life science tools company, Promega, I have never lost my interest and excitement for creative and amazing scientific research. I am very fortunate in my current position (Global Commercialization Market Segment Manager, Academic-Government) that I have an opportunity to work with a talented group of people within Promega to build a program to support iGEMers from all over the globe as they start down their first intensive hands on scientific experience.

At Promega, we are working to build tools and resources about various scientific and professional growth areas to help current students so that they do not struggle as much as we all did when we were going through school. We have established programs specifically for iGEM participants such as our annual reagent sponsorship, “Ask the Expert” iGEM exclusive webinars, Entrepreneur and Career workshops at the Jamboree, and access to our technical support scientists whether you are using a Promega product or not. Based on feedback from iGEMers at the Jamboree, we feel that the resources we are building and the support we are providing help iGEMers to not just enjoy but also thrive and feel supported as they move throughout the iGEM season and beyond.

With over 300 teams participating in iGEM the past few years, it is almost impossible to meet with every team while at the Jamboree, though my colleagues and I do our best to interact with and learn from as many teams as we can. We do this by attending as many presentations and posters each day as we can and sharing what we learn from each team with the world via Promega’s Twitter and Instagram channels.

We want to amplify the amazing work that iGEMers are doing, and by sharing their progress with other scientists on a larger platform, we help get the word out about the projects and ideas that each team has achieved. It’s rewarding for us just to meet the people we have been interacting with throughout the season. We meet with the iGEM teams that we have sponsored to take pictures, and conduct interviews for blog stories or social media posts on (Facebook Live or Instagram Story). Additionally, we have a booth at the Jamboree where we answer questions, take pictures, and give out Promega goodies such as our Molecular Biology Lab Guide and, in 2019, reusable straws.

Chaos of iGEMers interacting with Promega’s team while at the 2019 Giant Jamboree in Boston, MA. Photo courtesy of Jenna Gravitter — Chaos of iGEMers interacting with Promega’s team while at the 2019 Giant Jamboree in Boston, MA.
*Photo courtesy of Jenna Gravitter*

When planning activities for the Promega booth at the Jamboree, we try to come up with fun and interactive experiences for iGEMers so that they can relax for a few minutes. For example, in 2018 we conducted a voting activity at our booth where iGEMers were asked to pour a scoop of coffee beans into one of six graduated cylinders. Each graduated cylinder had a challenge that iGEMers may have faced throughout the competition, and the iGEMers were asked to pour their scoop into which ONE of the six challenges they faced the most throughout the competition. The top three challenges for 2018 were… drum roll please … Ligation, Transformation and Transfection. PCR was a close fourth. Building on this information, my colleagues and I at Promega developed three webinars addressing these three challenge areas with the hope that the information and answers to iGEMers’ specific questions would help teams to not struggle as much and overcome these challenges.

*Day 3 Chart your Challenges voting results from the 2018 Giant Jamboree*

For the 2019 Giant Jamboree, we decided to try something new – a scavenger hunt within the Hynes Convention Center. Over 200 people started the hunt but only 21 completed it. And the winning team – KU Leuven from Belgium – was awarded a Reagent Sponsorship that gives their institute’s 2020 iGEM team $2000 in free Promega product to use throughout the competition.

An additional piece of my job that is really fun and cool is that I have an opportunity to attend iGEM Meetups to interact with iGEMers face to face throughout the summer months. In 2019, I was able to attend the iGEM Spring Festival in Bonn, Germany where I was fortunate enough to meet ~150 iGEMers from all over Europe. Three of my Promega colleagues from Germany came with me to interact with and learn more about the projects that the iGEM teams were just starting to work on. We learned about what each team was planning for their project and how they were going to execute all of their plans, and in turn we were able to provide insights into the world of industry. We discussed the kinds of industry jobs iGEMers can get with a science degree, and my Promega colleagues shared their journeys and talked about what they do in their current roles at the company.

Another iGEM Meetup I was able to attend in 2019 was the Pacific Northwest Meetup in Seattle, Washington, USA. This Meetup was smaller than the one in Bonn, but the energy and excitement were just as strong. Because it was later in the summer (August), the iGEM teams had already spent a fair amount of time working on their projects and had some exciting results. I was blown away by what each team had learned and accomplished, by how well they communicated their projects and results, and by the confidence with which they answered questions. I didn’t know it at the time, but I also had a sneak peak at one of the iGEM 2019 finalists – the yOIL project from the Calgary iGEM team. When the Calgary iGEM presented at the closing ceremony of the 2019 Giant Jamboree, I could barely contain my excitement, having not only met the team members but also having gotten serious in depth knowledge of their project from the meetup.

*Registration table for the Pacific Northwest Meetup, Seattle, WA*

*“The Wall of iGEM” outside my cubicle at Promega Corp, Madison, WI*

Back in the office at Promega, there is “the wall of iGEM” built just outside of my cubicle that holds memorabilia from previous iGEM seasons. When the Giant Jamboree is finally over and my colleagues and I return to the office, we (just like the iGEMers) need to stop, catch our breath, and review all the activities from the past year. We typically get together one or two weeks after the Jamboree for a series of meetings where we talk about what went well, what could be better, and what kind of feedback we received from the iGEMers and the global iGEM community. And we continue to build the wall of iGEM as we begin to prepare for the next iGEM season.

Now it’s 2020 and another new iGEM season is set to begin. My colleagues and I are already implementing our iGEM plans and look forward to interacting with the 2020 iGEM teams and rolling out our activities and sponsorship programs. So be sure to stay tuned for information on sponsorship applications, meetups, and other iGEM exclusive offers from Promega!

As for me, I don’t know yet whether or not I will register to run my 11th half marathon in 2020. I do know, however, that I will be at the iGEM 2020 Giant Jamboree. And I also know that my training had better start in earnest to be ready for this next iGEM season.

This blog post is a guest contribution by a Partner Sponsor of the 2019 iGEM Competition. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities at iGEM.