The 2024 iGEM Grand Jamboree

They say that experience is the best teacher of all things. In October 2024, I, along with my ten teammates, had the honour of representing the University of Calgary at the International Genetically Modified Machine (iGEM) Grand Jamboree.  

iGEM is an annual synthetic biology competition held in Paris, France where undergraduate teams worldwide meet to address pressing community challenges through genetic cell engineering. One of the highlights of the iGEM competition is that it is both multifaceted and multicultural, bringing in a variety of disciplines and perspectives. More than just promoting scientific novelty and innovation, the competition advocates for communication with the community, impacted peoples, and stakeholders. 

Last year, my team looked to address the blood shortage crisis by creating a novel protein expression system in yeast to efficiently produce a promising hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier found in the common earthworm. After 5 months of vigorous work, we were proud to take our project, ErythrO₂ to the international stage. Ultimately, our efforts culminated in us acquiring a gold medal and winning of the best undergraduate safety award and a nomination for best undergraduate entrepreneurship at the Jamboree.  

What made these achievements especially meaningful was just how much each of us had grown. I took a leap of faith in November 2023 and applied for a position on the UCalgary 2024 iGEM team as a first-year student. Despite my initial apprehension, I was surprised and excited when I learned that I had secured a spot on the team. What followed were bloodshot eyes from staring at the computer screen completing literature review and molecular stimulations, tears of frustration tackling metabolic modelling and an all-nighter with 2 other teammates coding our team website right before the competition due date during peak midterm season. And I would not have liked it any other way.

iGEM transformed my understanding of research: I learned first-hand the importance of community-driven science and collaborative problem-solving. What initially drew me to iGEM was the creative freedom and decision-making power it offered students in the lab. The independence and control my team and I had over our project vision—along with the critical thinking required during troubleshooting—was an opportunity that is rarely given to undergraduate students. But beyond the science, each obstacle that we overcame inside and outside the lab made me realize that the best ideas and problem solving occurs when we listen to the community, bridge disciplines, and work as a team.

Walking to the Paris Convention Center on the first day, we saw a registration line so long that it snaked around the building dozens of times before compacting outside the center all the way to the Parisian streets. There were people from all walks of life: high school, undergraduate, graduate, judges, start-ups, industry leaders and synthetic biology enthusiasts. While we were there with distinct projects and results, we all had a shared curiosity for synthetic biology and a vision to bring change to the world through engineered biological systems.  

“Success comes to those who prepare”. 

None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support of the University of Calgary and Scholars Academy, the wisdom of my advisors and mentors, or the dedication of my incredible team. To each of you—thank you.