Team:Dundee/Project

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Project

Topic Selection

The team initially held a preliminary meeting to explore ideas that would lead to the decision of a project topic. We broke off into smaller teams to enable discussions to be carried out on areas that may benefit from a synthetic biology solution. From this initial meeting, the team recorded all of the discussed ideas in preparation for a final decision.

The final project goal was decided from the team's second meeting. During our various meetings, the topic of healthcare arose frequently, and was clearly an area of interest to many members of the team. Various healthcare related issues were explored, and the team finally narrowed down the options to tackling C. diff infections in the human gut. The team felt it was feasible to construct a synthetic biological solution that could combat and possibly eradicate C. diff infections.

Project Planning Mindmap

Decision Rationale

The team, originating mainly from Dundee, live within the catchment area of Ninewells Hospital. Ninewells, as well as many hospitals within the country, have faced their own problems with C. diff outbreaks, and the challenges involved in tackling such a problem. Investigation into the area revealed little work by way of a synthetic biology solution, so the team were attracted to the opportunity of developing a synthetic biology foundation to attack the problem.

Furthermore, the number of factors and variables involved within tackling C. diff infection are considerable, ranging from complex cellular interactions to flow factors. This problem lent itself to a wide range of possibilities in terms of mathematical analysis and modelling of the problem area.