New Villages for 2024: Fashion & Cosmetics, Oncology, and Infectious Diseases
“The village was a living, organic entity, with blood flowing through its veins, and with a definite pulse and heartbeat.”
As the field of synthetic biology continues to develop and evolve over time, so does the iGEM Competition. For many years, teams competed within “Tracks” that defined areas within synthetic biology that were ripe for advancement. Each year, the Tracks of the iGEM Competition would be re-defined in accord with the needs of the field and the interests of the teams.
When the iGEM Grand Jamboree opened in Paris in 2022, “Villages” were introduced as an extension of, and replacement for, Tracks. iGEM Villages are thematic exhibition spaces at the Grand Jamboree that serve as nexus points for discussion around the Village's topic of interest.
By bringing teams together in physical space, Villages give teams an opportunity to interact and think more deeply about the potential implications of their work, encourage future collaborations between teams with similar interests, and reflect on alternative approaches to solve similar problems proposed by their fellow iGEMers.
By bringing teams together in physical space, Villages give teams an opportunity to interact and think more deeply about the potential implications of their work.
Villages represent the global challenges that iGEMers are most interested in working on, and the solutions that iGEM teams put forth reflect the future of synthetic biology. In keeping with the changing needs of synthetic biology and the interests of the teams, iGEM Villages are constantly evolving. This year, we are introducing three new Villages:
Fashion & Cosmetics
Outdoor apparel made with spider silk, shoes made from mushroom leather, animal-free collagen in skin care products: these are just a few examples of synthetic biology innovations that are gaining traction in the fashion and cosmetics industries. These consumer-driven industries touch the lives of almost everyone on earth, but they also use massive amounts of raw materials and have an immense negative impact on the environment. Can synthetic biology help move the fashion and cosmetics industries into a new, more sustainable, and animal cruelty-free era?
Possible projects could include:
Bio-based dyes and pigments
Protein- and cell-based materials (animal & insect free!)
Fabrics
Collection & bio-based recycling practices
Lipids and proteins for skincare
UV-blocking sunscreens
Bio-identical and novel fragrance molecules
Testing for counterfeit/adulterated cosmetics
Animal-free product testing
Oncology
With 1 in 5 people diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime, nearly every family globally is affected by this disease. Can synthetic biology help end cancer as we know it by creating solutions for early detection and treatment, boosting the survival rate, and ensuring access to quality services for cancer prevention and care?
Possible projects could include:
Immune-cell-based cancer therapies
Re-programmed bacteria to detect and report cancer
Engineered proteins to target cancer cells
Bacterial cancer therapies
Cancer-defeating synthetic circuits
CRISPR-based cancer therapeutics
Infectious Diseases
Our world has entered a new era of infectious diseases, where emerging, re-emerging, and endemic pathogens spread quickly, aided by increased international air travel and global warming. By engineering microorganisms that detect pathogens, deliver therapeutic agents, and rapidly synthesize vaccines, synthetic biology can reduce disease transmission, prevent future epidemics and pandemics, and save lives.
Possible projects could include:
Vector-borne diseases
Public health and pandemic preparedness
Point-of-care diagnostics
Population infection monitoring
High-throughput pathogen testing
Vaccines
Adjuvants for vaccine delivery
Biofilms
iGEM teams have been working on these topics for years, and for the first time will be united under these three new villages for 2024. We will also be retiring three other villages: Energy, Environment, and Industrial Scale-Up. Although we expect that interested teams will continue to work on these topics, there will be plenty of room for them among the full array of 15 villages at the 2024 Grand Jamboree.
We encourage you to consider the full listing of iGEM 2024 Villages when looking for a home for your iGEM project. And stay tuned for more information and examples of projects within the iGEM Villages!
iGEM Teams should submit final Village selections by June 21, 2024. competition.igem.org/deliverables/village-selection
