Multidisciplinary team wins University prize Congratulations to Dr Dave Clarke - a member of the iGEM staff team. The team has been awarded the Head of College Outreach Prize for their innovative multidisciplinary teamwork. This has inspired and enthused prize-winning Edinburgh undergraduate and postgraduate entries to the annual International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. iGEM is an annual undergraduate competition organised by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Multidisciplinary teams of students from subjects such as biology, chemistry and engineering from top universities work together over the summer vacation to design and construct novel biological systems using the techniques of synthetic biology. Projects are usually, but not always, genetically modified microorganisms. At the end of the project, the teams travel to the final event (Jamboree) to present their project to their peers and to the judges, which will be in Boston this year. The iGEM project is overseen by several staff members from across the Schools of Biological Sciences, Engineering and Chemistry. Previous Edinburgh entries have included a biosensor for arsenic in groundwater, a method for detecting landmines, systems for converting renewable cellulosic materials to useful products, self-flavouring yoghurt, and a new method for using DNA for data storage. In 2015, the Edinburgh iGEM team were awarded the Integrated Human Practices Prize and were nominated for the Best Health and Medicine Project. Publication date 06 Jun, 2017
