This blog is where we share stories, announcements, and insights from around the iGEM community.
All tagged iGEM Community
For Damian Ungureanu, iGEM was more than a competition, it was a turning point. From working on conductive protein nanowires to rethinking his career path, Damian reflects on his journey, the value of interdisciplinary teams, and why Romania’s next generation should embrace synthetic biology.
My name is Shumvobi Mitra and I am currently both a high school student and the founder of RhizeUP, a startup based in Maryland in the United States. I first got involved with iGEM in 2023 with the iGEM Team East Coast BioCrew. What started as a competition project has now grown into RhizeUP, a startup tackling fertilizer runoff and supporting sustainable agriculture.
Tudor Onose’s journey into synthetic biology began with iGEM. As a team member in 2020 and 2021, and later as a mentor to the 2024 Warwick team, he’s seen the competition from two sides. Now a Ph.D. student at the University of Warwick, Tudor studies bacterial electrophysiology, and reflects in this interview with Andreea Cernei about team-building, mentorship and the future of synbio in Romania.
To understand the thought process behind the creation of the BioInnovation Summit, a new event for 2025 at the iGEM Grand Jamboree, we spoke with Nemanja Stijepovic (President of the iGEM Foundation), Dorothy Zhang (Executive Vice President of iGEM) and Nadine Bongaerts (iGEM alumna, and curator of the BioInnovation Summit).
Explore how SciComm is reshaping the relationship between science and society, from open-access platforms and citizen science, to inclusive storytelling and the risks of the digital age.
What does it take to build a synthetic biology ecosystem in a region with limited infrastructure? For Benjamin Arias, it starts with community and a commitment to open science. Benjamin Arias shares how he’s building grassroots biotech tools and creating space for students, educators and researchers in Ecuador
Can design bridge the gap between science and society? Synthetic biology is full of promise, but also complexity, confusion and misinformation. Effective science communication can make a difference and visual aesthetics play a powerful role.
Camila Gaspar Quinonez shares her passion for protecting the earth, leveraging the power of synthetic biology, working with microbes, and taking care what’s left of our planet in this alumni feature for the iGEM Blog.
Generative AI is changing the way we talk about science, helping to break down complex ideas and make them more accessible for some. The blog explore what AI is doing for science communication and where it might fall short of our hopes.
Stephanie Michelsen, founder and CEO of Jellatech, started her journey as a student participating at the iGEM Competition in 2018 with the University of Copenhagen. Fast forward to 2021, she founded Jellatech, a biotech startup producing high-value human proteins using synthetic biology, based in the United States.
Building Bangladesh’s synthetic biology future starts with passionate iGEMers like Showmick Paul, Usrat Nubah and Abrar Hasan. Read how iGEM is opening doors, inspiring young scientists and shaping the future of synthetic biology in Bangladesh.
Effective leadership requires courage, commitment and, most importantly, self-confidence. In this post, iGEM alumna Emily Mount shares how she gained confidence in her leadership abilities through UCSC’s longstanding iGEM program (10+years!).
Get insights on how to be a successful iGEM Team Leader in this blog featuring Madeleine Bourseul, Team Lead iGEM 2022 INSA Lyon1. Learn about the tips and tricks that can help you have a successful iGEM Competition season.
Dr. Marc Facciotti’s spent over 10 years mentoring UC Davis iGEM teams as an iGEM PI. Learn from him the ingredients of a successful iGEM team.
Read Dr. Mayi Arcellana-Panlilio’s journey as a PI of iGEM Calgary team, mentoring students to explore synthetic biology, lead interdisciplinary projects, build startups and achieve success across diverse career paths.
Learn about Dr. Thomas Gorochowski’s journey with iGEM, from starting the first Bristol team to mentoring future iGEMers, showcasing iGEM’s impact on his career
Meet Eric Herrera, the co-founder and CEO of Maverick Biometals, a finalist in the 2022 iGEM Startup Showcase in 2022 and Y Combinator S22 Cohort. Eric shared his remarkable entrepreneurship journey, starting with a single bench in a Baltimore basement to a 10,000 sq. ft. biotechnology laboratory. With a team of scientists from over 10 countries, Maverick Biometals is pioneering the production of lithium batteries and silicon semiconductors entirely through biological methods
2024 has been an incredible year for iGEM Startups, marked by notable funding trends among iGEM Alumni startups, particularly at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and synthetic biology (SynBio) within our ecosystem. This year alone, seven alumni startups have secured over $95 million in funding—from government grants to multimillion-dollar investments—highlighting the scalability and market potential of these groundbreaking technologies.
David Baker, Faculty Advisor of University of Washington iGEM team and Director of the UW Medicine Institute for Protein Design, has been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in computational protein design.
Ashwin Jainarayanan is a biofounder with a deep-rooted passion for advancing medical science through synthetic biology and immuno-oncology. Ashwin's journey of founding Granza Bio began during his PhD at the University of Oxford, when a serendipitous email mix-up connected him with Ashwin Nandakumar, who was working on another project at a nearby department.
