Building the future by giving back: Asimov partners with iGEM to accelerate mammalian synthetic biology
If you were in Paris for the iGEM Grand Jamboree, you may have already heard the news – Asimov is partnering with iGEM to build the future of mammalian synthetic biology! We are thrilled to be giving back to the community that has helped inspire, support, and connect students with each other to make synthetic biology the technology that will transform the world. Asimov will provide iGEM teams with the following: our genetic design software tool, Kernel; a new mammalian parts collection; a team grant to test mammalian genetic devices; and the 2023 iGEM Distribution Kit, including the DNA Kit Plates and Measurement Kit.
“iGEM provides the experience of a lifetime to budding scientists; it's the path by which many synthetic biologists break into the field, myself included,” says Alec Nielsen, Asimov’s CEO and iGEM alumnus. “My life wouldn't be the same if not for iGEM, and I'm proud to have gone from an undergrad team member, to a team mentor, to a Jamboree judge, to a track organizer, and now to a partner through Asimov.”
Asimov is developing a new way to program living cells by building the first computer-aided design (CAD) platform for biology. CAD has revolutionized other engineering fields, enabling modern computers, rockets, skyscrapers, and more. At Asimov, our goal is to build a true CAD platform for biology to accelerate advanced biotechnologies that can tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.
“Asimov brings a wealth of resources to iGEM, with best-practices for the manufacturing of the iGEM distribution kit and state-of-the art technology in mammalian synthetic biology. They have a deep understanding and commitment to the iGEM community. We are thrilled to welcome Asimov as a partner in creating the future of synthetic biology.”
- Vinoo Selvarajah, Director of Technology, iGEM Europe
Asimov will support the iGEM 2023 teams in several ways:
(1) Access to Kernel
iGEM teams will gain access to Kernel, Asimov’s genetic design software tool. Kernel offers many features to help iGEM teams easily design plasmids for their projects, including:
Drag & Drop design
Add, move, and rearrange plasmid elements easily with the click of a mouse, a feature that is especially useful for iterative design.
Registry parts at your fingertips
The entire Registry of Standardized Biological Parts will be pre-loaded in Kernel so you can easily search and find genetic parts that may be helpful for your design.
Collaborate on genetic designs
Kernel enables teams to share designs with other teams to facilitate collaboration with one another on plasmid design.
Trouble-free import and export
You can easily import sequences, individually or in bulk, into Kernel. And when your design is complete, you can export the plasmid map and other graphics for your wiki, as well as the sequence information for your plasmids.
Ongoing support
Asimov team members will be with you every step of the way, with tutorials and ongoing support throughout the 2023 iGEM Competition season.
Beta Test Kernel
Asimov is looking for a few teams to volunteer their time to beta test Kernel in April. Do you like testing software and trying to find ways to break it? Then this opportunity is for you! Beta testers will meet with Asimov programmers and test drive Kernel before the full launch in May - and did we mention we’ll send you some swag for helping out? Stay tuned for more details!
(2) Genetic parts for mammalian cell systems
Asimov has developed a cutting edge mammalian synthetic biology platform to advance the design and manufacture of biologics and gene therapies. Teams who want to engineer mammalian cell systems will have access to a new, highly characterized mammalian parts collection curated by Asimov scientists, including basic parts such as promoters and coding sequences, as well as more advanced parts such as transcriptional units to help teams take the best measurements for their projects.
Mammalian synthetic biology design guide
Asimov will provide a beginner’s guide to mammalian synthetic biology to give teams access to the most reliable techniques for engineering mammalian cell systems.
How to use the parts collection in your lab
Asimov has designed the mammalian parts collection to follow the iGEM Type IIS assembly method, allowing teams to take advantage of a tried and true assembly protocol.
(3) iGEM Team Grants
Engineering mammalian genetic devices is a difficult undertaking. Many iGEM teams have wanted to work in mammalian cells but have been unable to due to a lack of equipment and infrastructure. That is about to change! Asimov will be providing grants to 12 teams to engineer mammalian genetic devices – you provide the designs, and Asimov will build and test your designs in mammalian cells, and provide the data back to you:
Who can apply?
Any iGEM 2023 team that wants to engineer mammalian cell systems – teams that have no access to equipment or infrastructure for working in mammalian cells, as well as teams that do have capacity but want to push the envelope.
When are applications open?
Applications for the Asimov team grants will be available early in the iGEM 2023 Competition season to allow sufficient time for teams to propose designs, and for Asimov to provide data back to the teams. Details about the offer, including the timeline and application process, will be announced later this month!
What do we need to prepare?
Applications for the Asimov team grants will be made available in early 2023. In the meantime, you could start thinking about the impact the Asimov team grant will have on your team, and about the impact your design for a mammalian cell system will have for the wider synthetic biology community.
(4) iGEM 2023 Distribution
Asimov’s commitment to iGEM goes beyond mammalian synthetic biology. We are thrilled to announce that Asimov will be manufacturing the 2023 Distribution kit components, and working with iGEM HQ to ship the Distribution to your lab! We will be developing new automation workflows to manufacture the DNA Kit Plates and Measurement Kits, and implementing quality control measures to ensure the correct DNA sequence and concentration of each plasmid in the Distribution Kit.
We believe Asimov’s partnership with iGEM will usher in a new era for mammalian synthetic biology for the competition teams, where the future leaders of synthetic biology will be able to design, build, test, and learn from mammalian systems, regardless of where in the world they are located or their capacity and infrastructure for working in mammalian cells. At Asimov, we believe the future will be genetically engineered. We are thrilled to be building that future together with iGEM!
