iGEM Stockholm brings in the gold

iGEM Stockholm 2017 has maintained the legacy of iGEM Stockholm by winning a gold medal for the third consecutive year. The 2017 team was additionally nominated for one of the best entrepreneurial projects.

The team consists of 15 students from 11 different nationalities and 7 different study fields, equally representing gender. Alongside students from KTH, Konstfack and Hyper Island, KI students represent bachelor and master studies in Biomedicine, Toxicology, Bioentrepreneurship and Medicine.

After 9 months of intense work, iGEM Stockholm showcased their project at the Giant Jamboree, which is the grand and final event of the “international genetically engineered machine” (iGEM) competition in Boston, hosting over 300 teams of students from over 42 countries across the world. The teams compete with their innovative project ideas which all aim to solve real-world problems by using synthetic biology.

This year, the team of iGEM Stockholm 2017 attracted many iGEMers, judges and company representatives, not only with their innovative and futuristic project, but also with their compelling presentation and well-designed poster. Additionally, iGEM Headquarters praised Stockholm’s gender balance and high diversity as that of an “exemplary iGEM team”.

With leaps and bounds in a yearlong journey, the team succeeded not only with great research results, but also with a strong public outreach called “Democratic Biology” and a well executed fundraising strategy.

“But more valuable than any affirmation or achievement, are the new friendships and life experiences we gained through the collective effort and hard work during the iGEM year. iGEM builds character – but more importantly, it brings people together,” says Hrista Micheva, Biomedicine student at KI.

Text: Shivashree Dhanaraj, Adele Kastensson and Larsen Vornholz

Team picture above from left to right:

Morgan Hjorth, Adele Kastensson, Rasmus Bengtsson, Achilleas Fardellas, Shanlin Tong, Jutta Roth, Guillermo Valenzuela Morales, Gilai Nachmann, Ute Römling (PI), Johan Rockberg (PI), Sonia Acosta Luis, Louise Larsson, Shivashree Dhanaraj, Larsen Vornholz, Amanda Pellnäs, Sina Amoor Pour, Hrista Micheva