From climate change to malnutrition to public health and more, there’s no doubt that humanity has plenty of problems to solve. Synthetic biology — or the practice of engineering living systems and organisms — can offer solutions from across disciplines.
iGEM is a synthetic biology competition in which undergraduate and graduate teams from around the world compete to find novel solutions to these kinds of challenges. Some of these teams go on to become startups, turning their projects into reality. In 2023, the McGill iGEM team took home the Grand Prize at the iGEM Grand Jamboree, the top competition in the world. Their development of novel cancer therapies wowed judges and marked the first such win for the team.
iGEM offers students a chance to experience the entire research life cycle from idea to market launch. That’s a wide scope that’s quite rare in any university, but it’s commonplace within iGEM. That means opening doors for students as early as undergrad to explore high-level research into major global challenges in ways that will prepare them for life after graduation, all while contributing to practical and impactful research projects.
This work relies on donor support at every level. Sending the team to compete and represent McGill on a global stage means financing travel and logistics. Donors also enable iGEM to offer free workshops in various Cégeps to expose students to synthetic biology, fund vital equipment and supplies for their research, and more.