We hosted the first iGEM workshop for high schools students in the UAE, where students from Brighton College in Abu Dhabi were given the opportunity to experience the integration of synthetic biology and engineering. Furthermore, the team published a magazine Synthetic Biology 101, which was distributed online and among NYU and Brighton College students. iGEM NYU Abu Dhabi also helped and advised a student from the NYU New York campus on how to start their own iGEM team. We have also developed a program that allows users to facilitate information sharing regarding their detection results. Read more
Team:NYU Abu Dhabi/HP
Due to the geographical location of NYUAD, which is in close proximity to countries where food safety is a daily, life-threatening concern, we were inspired to design and deliver an efficient solution to reduce the severity of this issue. The feedback from our target audiences was taken into consideration, which was later reflected in the evolution of our design. We surveyed potential consumers of different backgrounds: (1) food vendors from Pakistan and Indonesia, and (2) individuals from our international student body. We modified our eco-friendly device such that it is portable, affordable, and allows for rapid STEC detection in 20 minutes. Based on the significant local interest and usability of our device for other point-of-care diagnostic applications, our idea was introduced to startAD, an innovation and entrepreneurship platform for start-ups in the UAE. With their guidance and expertise, we aim to further develop our device to meet our target’s demands. Read more
We believe change should start with increasing awareness and educating individuals, particularly those in vulnerable environments. To extend our project beyond developing a device, we conducted several education and public engagement efforts. We taught primary school students in Indonesia about food and personal hygiene in order to instill this knowledge early-on. We held the first iGEM workshop for high school students in the UAE. In the interdisciplinary spirit of iGEM, we taught students how to perform bacterial transformation, code using the Arduino platform, and the positive outcomes from integrating these disciplines. We also advised students from NYU New York on how to begin their own iGEM Team. We presented our project to students in the Foundations of Science courses, which was developed to integrate the natural and physical sciences. Feedback from these students indicated that we had inspired them to pursue knowledge outside of their specific disciplines. Read more
