Igem 2017
Rose-Hulman Institute Of Technology
Terre Haute, Indiana Area
This project focused on developing riboswitches to quantitate levels of vitamins B9 and B12 in human urine. Early detection and treatment of B vitamin deficiencies in pregnant women is important for preventing birth defects such as spina bifida. I was directly involved with our team efforts to test and identify several promising candidate riboswitches for this project. I also assisted with team public relations as we worked with the local community and non-profit organizations to increase scientific literacy in Terre Haute, Indiana. During the early stages of project development and design, we researched regional health challenges and focused on addressing the nutritional needs of pregnant women as a goal. Key concerns included the development of tools for vitamin detection, which can be used in a variety of settings and locations.I oversaw the organization of the laboratory space used by the iGEM team as well as transcribing the protocols, notes, and results from all experiments. In addition, I was responsible for conducting a variety of experiments including DNA amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), plasmid engineering using Gibbson assembly, DNA analysis using agarose gel electrophoresis, DNA purification using mini-preps, and bacterial gene transformations. I played an important role in our team effort to connect with the surrounding community including visits to a local hospital to consult with professionals working with pregnant women and new mothers and assisting in our team presentations on synthetic biology to local youth and families at museums. At the end of this paid internship, I traveled to an international research competition in Boston iGEM Giant Jamboree 2017 and presented our experimental findings along with Rose-Hulman teammates.