Celebrating 20 years of iGEM at the 2023 Grand Jamboree
The iGEM 2023 Grand Jamboree brought together over 4000 people to celebrate 20 years of iGEM, the heart of synthetic biology. This was the largest event to date, attended by synthetic biology researchers, industry reps, startup founders, investors, journalists, experts in governance and policy, and the general public, to glimpse the future of synthetic biology.
Over 400 multidisciplinary teams from more than 45 countries and regions showcased their synthetic biology innovations, ideas and initiatives for humanity's most pressing problems, including the climate crisis, agriculture, human health, foundational advances, biomanufacturing, and more.
An international panel of over 417 judges cast their votes to select the winning teams, and the results were impressive – with 190 teams earning gold medals, 142 teams earning silver, and 38 teams earning bronze. Some of the top teams and projects include:
Undergraduate
🏆Grand Prize winner
McGill (Canada) aimed to help patients with pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal cancers with the fewest treatment options, with their project “Proteus”, a modular system of chimeric fusion proteins that kills cancerous cells while sparing healthy cells that could expand the treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients,
1st Runner-up
Vilnius-Lithuania (Lithuania), “Exullose” created tools for in vivo alterations of bacterial cellulose in Komagataeibacter xylinus, to drive the sustainability and versatility of bio-based materials for industrial applications
2nd Runner-up
NUS-Singapore (Singapore) took on the challenge of unpredictable RNA design by developing two tools that work hand-in-hand to predict, design, and optimize RNA sequences: “OTTER” that predicts RNA interactions, and “SIGNAL” a high throughput data generation workflow,
Overgraduate
🏆Grand Prize winner
Estonia-TUIT (Estonia). Concerned about the decline of bee populations globally caused by the deformed wing virus, this team engineered “BeeYeast”, a modified yeast that produces short hairpin RNAs to boost the bee's immune response, protecting them from the virus's harmful effects.
1st Runner-up
Leiden (The Netherlands). In their project “PHAse out”, this team engineered the non-model organism Methylobacterium extorquens, to produce a biodegradable plastic without using valuable agricultural feedstocks.
High School
🏆Grand Prize winner
Japan-United (Japan) aimed to revolutionize depression prevention and treatment with their project "Saffrocure", by engineering bacteria that can safely produce three antidepressant compounds naturally present in saffron, a flower cultivated in Japan for centuries.
1st Runner-up
BASIS-China (China) took on the challenge of stress, which is particularly problematic among adolescents, with their project “CyanoScent”, engineered cyanobacteria that use carbon dioxide and sunlight to produce terpenes for aromatherapy, which can serve as a complementary therapy to alleviate stress.
The 2023 Grand Jamboree expanded this year to include a multitude of presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and satellite events designed to bring together all facets of the growing field of synthetic biology, including:
Responsibility Conference 2.0 offered a platform for multi-stakeholder engagement to deliberate ongoing initiatives and emerging concerns in the realms of biorisk, biosecurity, and biosafety.
BioInnovation Fair, including Startup Showcase, brought together synthetic biology industries, media, startups, incubators, investors, and other stakeholders to connect, network, and forge game-changing deals.
iGEM 2023 Hackathon, an exciting community of programmers, designers, and tech enthusiasts worked together to make a lasting impact on iGEM’s future.
And a very special exhibition documenting and celebrating the advances in synthetic biology made by iGEM teams over the past 20 years.
We are proud of all the iGEM 2023 teams who have given the world a glimpse of what the future of synthetic biology may hold, and are grateful to the entire iGEM Community who have supported the teams throughout the years in solving local problems and tackling global challenges using the tools of synthetic biology.
There are many ways to engage with iGEM, and we invite you to:
Explore iGEM’s alumni program – iGEM Community – for more opportunities to work toward a strong, responsible and visionary synthetic biology industry on an international level;
Learn more about iGEM and the future of synthetic biology by following the iGEM Blog;
Participate in iGEM by starting a team, becoming an advisor or judge, joining a committee, and more. Information and resources for participating in iGEM 2024 will be available here: competition.igem.org;
Invest in the future by partnering with iGEM, exhibiting at future Grand Jamborees, or sponsoring iGEM teams. Contact: sponsor [AT] igem [DOT] org.
