Celebrating iGEM 2021: The future of synthetic biology

The iGEM 2021 teams have once again shown their brilliance and ingenuity, and are well on their way to creating the future of synthetic biology. During normal times, completing the iGEM competition would be an accomplishment to be celebrated, but the iGEM 2021 teams have done so in particularly challenging times as our world continues to battle the pandemic. They have persevered despite the challenges and uncertainties over lab access, data collection obstacles, or an inability to travel. What an accomplishment!

This year, 350 teams of student scientists and engineers from 46 countries and regions worked creatively and tirelessly to push the frontiers of synthetic biology – with or without access to a laboratory. They have identified important local problems, presented their ideas for engineering biological solutions, addressed tough questions about the safety and security of their work, and sought innovative ways to include ever more diverse groups of people.

An international panel of over 300 judges, the largest judging panel in iGEM’s history, cast their votes to select the winning teams. The accomplishments of the iGEM 2021 teams were amazing indeed, with 169 teams earning gold medals, 101 teams earning silver, and 50 teams earning bronze. The “Top Ten” iGEM teams in each section were recognized for their exceptional work, and dozens more teams received awards and special prizes for demonstrating excellence in each of 8 tracks and other categories. Nominees and winners of the grand prize were:

Undergraduate

🏆 Grand Prize

Toulouse_INSA-UPS  (France) for combining synthetic biology with the art of perfume creation by engineering Elixio, a synthetic microbial consortium for sustainable production of violet fragrances made from atmospheric carbon dioxide.

🥇 1st Runner-Up

NUS_Singapore (Singapore) for creating PRYSM – Photo-Regulated Yeast for Synthetic Biology Manufacturing – to boost the agricultural yields of high density urban farms through on-site production of pesticides.

🥈 2nd Runner-Up

ShanghaiTech_China (China) for developing MIBOM – Mussel Inspired Biocompatible Osteogenic Material – a flexible osteogenic glue with properties of adhesion, structural strength, stress-sensitive degradation, and drug release capability to promote healing of comminuted bone fractures.

Overgraduate

🏆 Grand Prize

Marburg (Germany) for developing a cell-free system to accelerate plant genetic engineering to promote innovation of agricultural crops and other plants that play a major role in world nutrition.

🥇 1st Runner-Up

TUDelft (Netherlands) for creating an accessible, rapid diagnostic test for micronutrient deficiencies that could enable resource-limited countries and regions to more effectively address the “hidden hunger” crisis caused by lack of vitamins and minerals.

High School

🏆 Grand Prize

LINKS_China (China) for engineering a synthetic leather substitute from kombucha, spider-silk and natural dyes, without the environmental and animal cruelty problems of current industrial leather production.

🥇 1st Runner-up

SZ_SHD (China) for designing “Alpha Gel” - a biological depilatory gel for hair removal that safely degrades keratin and alleviates the environmental hazards of keratin waste disposal.

Click here to see the official 2021 Competition Results press release

“The intention of iGEM was always to make an industry of synthetic biology – to enable a revolution in becoming good at materials. We’re only 20 years into this revolution, but some students will turn their iGEM projects into their future work and make their dreams become a reality. They will see this revolution become really big over the course of their careers.”

– Randy Rettberg, President of iGEM Foundation and iGEM Europe.

We are proud of the accomplishments of all the iGEM 2021 teams, and excited about the many new and ever improving iGEM programs, including:

After iGEM

The After iGEM program supports the competition's 60,000+ participants in their future endeavors to continue to work toward a strong, responsible and visionary synthetic biology industry. 

iGEM EPIC

The Entrepreneurship Program Innovation Community (EPIC) supports the development of iGEM’s entrepreneurial community. The vision of the program is to become the driving force behind hundreds of SynBio based start-ups globally to help accelerate our transition to a more sustainable bioeconomy.

iGEM Leagues

Two new iGEM competition leagues in Latin America and India are planned for 2022, designed to expand the role of synthetic biology in these emerging bioeconomies.

Paris in 2022

We are planning an amazing in-person event in Paris, France in 2022, and are inviting other groups to have their events together with us during the iGEM Giant Jamboree. For example, we anticipate bringing together experts in governance and policy from many organizations around the world that care about the same issues we care about at iGEM.

2021 was another exciting, experimental year as we built infrastructure and developed fresh initiatives for the new iGEM, including a new platform built to feature live judging sessions, team presentation and promotion videos, and a livestream of commentary, workshops, interviews, and more. We invite you to join us in 2022 when the next iGEM season begins!

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Invest in the future by partnering with iGEM, exhibiting at future iGEM Giant Jamborees, or sponsoring iGEM teams. Contact: sponsor [AT] igem [DOT] org.

Click here to see the official 2021 Competition Results press release.