Team:Queens Canada

This year, our team is investigating new methods of increasing the efficiency of biosynthesis and bioremediation using modified bacteria. Most bacteria possess tail-like appendages called flagella, which can be genetically altered for novel functions. Each flagellum is made up of a number of polymerizing proteins, often called flagellin.

By making chimeric insertions in the variable domain of the flagellin, we can incorporate fluorescent proteins, enzymes, and scaffolding proteins to extend the possible applications. By having a protein inserted into each monomer, it is possible to cluster thousands of proteins in close proximity to each other, thereby increasing the efficiency of production and break-down of various products.

There are a lot of considerations that need to be made in the design of chimeric proteins. To help introduce future teams to chimeric proteins and their standard design, we have summarized our work into a resourceful guide that covers all (or almost all) of the considerations that need to be made in designing a chimeric protein from start to finish.

SynthetiQ Experimental Dance is a group devoted to creating, testing and analyzing movement, in the form of dance, as a means of explaining scientific concepts. Inspired by Dr. John Bohannon's “Dance Your PhD Contest” and his TEDxBrussels talk in 2011, our first project was partnered with the Queen's Genetically Engineered Machine (QGEM) Team. Because our research and learning goals align perfectly with those of the QGEM team, we will be researching and presenting together at the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition in the fall.

As a part of our 2012 iGEM project, we started this group, devoted to using dance to explain concepts associated with synthetic biology, as well as our own research.

We made dance into our own unique tool for teaching others scientific concepts, as an alternative to use powerpoint presentations.

QGEM is an undergraduate team composed of both full-time members and volunteers. All faculties of the university are eligible to participate in the iGEM team and previous members have from the departments of Chemical and Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry, Life Science and Computing.

We would like to thank our sponsors who have supported us financially, allowing us to pursue this project. In particular, we would like to thank Queen's University and the Oil Sands Leadership Initiative.

Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of...researcher safety, public safety, environmental safety?