University iGEM team continues to impress on world stage

LETHBRIDGE – Count it as nine gold medals now for the University of Lethbridge International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team.
 
The team consists of seven students, Keith Aiken, Taylor Sheahan, Graeme Glaister, Karin Otero, Sunseet Kharey, Rhys Hakstol and Courtney McDermott, and supervisors Dr. Andy Hudson, Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden and Cesar Rodriguez went up against 150 other collegiate division teams in Boston from October 27 to 31.

Their project looks at how to tackle medical hazards at the molecular level by creating a rapid, yet inexpensive detection system that allows medical personnel to target sterilization effectively.
 
“In the ten years we have been competing at iGEM, we have managed to win nine gold medals, which really is remarkable and speaks to the quality of our students, how they work with one another and how they pass that along from year to years,” noted Wieden.

Local emergency departments, and even the FBI and Public Health Agency of Canada, have now expressed interest in the project as it moves toward widespread field use.
 
“We are not only thinking of providing clean orderly EMS units for best practice clinical care for people we meet and transport; we are also thinking of our staff, their families and the potential transport of infection to other patients and health-care facilities we serve,” said Ward Eggli, EMS Resource Officer with Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services.
 
While the antibody-based test strip has been proven to be effective, work will continue between the iGEM team and Lethbridge EMS over coming months. Eggli says some testing still needs to be carried out to ensure the product is working to its fullest capability.
 
Judges at the Boston competition praised the team for seeking solutions to a real community issue. Taylor Sheahan agreed that it’s important that the team isn’t “just using cool science, but producing a tangible benefit.”
 
Lethbridge’s High School iGEM team also picked up a bronze medal at the same competition for their rapid wound treatment system project.