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iGEM Travel Fund

Project Story

Our Story: We are a student-led initiative of 25 interdisciplinary members, guided by three dynamic and knowledgeable advisors, all dedicated to advancing synthetic biology to solve real-world problems and enhance our local prairie community. Our team is an interdisciplinary group with members coming from various faculties including Science, Arts, Agriculture, and Engineering.

Our student members gain experience in various disciplines including hands-on experiments, computational modeling, website development, community outreach, survey development, and science education. Our project is overseen by Dr. David Levin (Professor, Department of Biosystems Engineering), Dr. Nediljko Budisa (Canadian Research Chair in Chemical Synthetic Biology) and Dr. Lori Wilkinson (Canadian Research Chair in Migration Futures).

iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, is a prestigious global event that challenges young minds to push the boundaries of synthetic biology leading to phenomenal innovations. For two consecutive years, Prairie iGEM has earned a silver medal at the iGEM competition, alongside a prestigious impact grant, and nominations for our innovative technology. In the first year, we developed a biosensor to target invasive zebra mussels without harming the ecosystem. Last year, we created PLAnet Zero, a bio-based tool designed to degrade plastic and address plastic pollution in our province.

As a student initiative, we have decided to continue our efforts to tackle poly-lactic acid (PLA) plastic composting in our province by further developing a bio-based tool to degrade PLA and by educating Manitobans on waste management. PLA degradation requires specific temperature and moisture conditions that are difficult to maintain in our composting facilities, preventing PLA degradation and causing it to be instead diverted to landfill. As local businesses attempt to go green and switch to these compostable plastics, plastic pollution is only worsening.

To this end, we are developing a biological device that uses enzymes to degrade PLA, allowing for bioplastic composting in our current infrastructure.

To make sure our project is useful, we engage with local experts such as the Sustainability in Action Facility on the UofM campus and the Sustainability Department at the Forks. We are also working with social scientists to further understand waste management habits in our local community and to help guide our project direction.

Our goal is to raise funds to support our project development and to fund our team members to fly to Paris, France for the iGEM Grand Jamboree International Competition. Let’s invest in young minds to propel Manitoba to be at the forefront of synthetic biology!

Thanks for your time and checking out what iGEM is about!

If you’d like to learn more about our activities, check out the following links: