Team:WLC-Milwaukee/Collaborations
Collaborations
Collaboration with NTHU-Taiwan
Collaboration Emphasis: Human Practices and Dry Lab work
This year, our team was able to collaborate with the NTHU-Taiwan iGEM team over the course of the fall semester, during which time we had several Skype sessions with members of the NTHU team. The NTHU team’s detection method for EDCs in water also addresses an important aspect of water contamination in our world and as such we were well equipped to aid each other in improving our respective projects. In the collaboration between our teams, we were able to help each other survey American opinions and knowledge on EDCs as well as Taiwanese knowledge of bacteriophages and their concerns with E. coli contamination. With their help, we were able to use one of the software programs that they suggested and design a 3-D model of our water test kit. We improved each other’s projects based on these collaboration experiences and it was a pleasure to work with them!Response: Combined Detection
Because both of our teams focus on water quality, we’ve planned to achieve a multiple detection integration system based on the NTHU teams prototype that has the ability to detect various pollutants and contaminants in water, like a Swiss Knife with many functions! However, it would be very difficult for our team to construct detection equipment and a 3-D model because of a lack of an engineering expert on our team. Fortunately, both of our teams focused on quantifiers, so it would be more convenient to transfer the NTHU teams techniques and continue working with them to create a functional integrated system. The NTHU team has also graciously offered to assist our team with learning how to assemble a working model that can be used with their informational systems and in the future, incorporated into their system as an add on design.
Asia Pacific Conference
Host team: NCTU_Formosa
Participating teams: NTHU_Taiwan, TCFSH_Taiwan, NCHU, CSMU_NCHU¬_Taiwan, NCKU_Tainan, CCU_Taiwan, CGU_Taiwan, NYMU_Taipei, TAS_Taipei, Mingdao, SJTU_Software, Shanghaitech, USTC, USTC_Software, BNU_China, SCUT_FSE_CHINA, NAU_CHINA, Fudan_China, HUST_China, XMU_China, Kyoto, WLC-Milwaukee.
This year,the WLC-Milwaukee iGEM team was able to send one of our team members who was in Taiwan over the summer to the Asia Pacific iGEM Conference!
Over the course of the Conference, our attending team member received valuable feedback from teams on the operation of our system and the specifics of a color change based system. Participating teams gave and exchanged ideas during the poster and presentation sessions where we gained valuable input on the availability of other cheap test kit options in Asia that allowed us to better consider the marketing of our test kit in Asian communities. We were also able to improve the physical design of our test kit based on suggestions from various teams and the questions other teams had for the practicality of our system.
Overall, this was an exciting way for our team to collaborate with and get to know iGEMers in different regions of the world building friendships and connections that will aid in future collaboration efforts.
