Team:UFlorida/Collaborations
Collaborations
FSU 2020
Despite the UF/FSU rivalry, both teams sought to collaborate to unify our universities through our passion for synthetic biology. We knew our Human Practices could use improvement, so we reached out to FSU who graciously helped. We discovered that both teams could benefit from more contacts, as many local experts and agencies were flustered with issues surrounding the pandemic, which in turn made receiving responses difficult. We were also limited by the inability to personally meet with many potential experts to gain insight to our project. We worked together to find points of contact, like emails, phone numbers, etc, of multiple organizations that would benefit our Human Practices. We started to get responses and accomplished our goal of obtaining new contacts. Thank you Florida State Human Practices!
The dry lab also collaborated with Florida State University via a series of Zoom meetings between dry lab members of both teams. Through this collaboration, we learned a lot about how to read literature to obtain information for our project models. Available literature on intricate scientific systems is difficult to follow, so it was extremely beneficial to discuss literature that both teams found in order to ensure accuracy in our models.
We first introduced the purpose and significance of our respective projects. Both of our projects relate to environmental health and the water quality in our state of Florida. Both teams sought to engineer an E. coli biosensor that detects toxins in water. Similar to our project, which involves phosphate sensing, Team FSU designed a sensor that would detect methane, with a larger application to use this system to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance in the waterways. Discussing and understanding both projects was vital so that both teams knew exactly how to help where needed. Because of the similar designs in these experiments, the inability to safely access a wet lab, and the shared purpose to protect Florida’s environment and water quality, we were happy to work together to prepare for the iGEM virtual jamboree in November.
After thoroughly understanding each other’s projects, the goal of the second meeting was to help each other find literature that contained parameter values for our models and that supported the experimental procedural setup of our projects. The FSU team members aided us in finding articles for our model that detailed parameters for mRNA and protein degradation rates, maximal transcription and translational rates, and concentration values for Tetr repressor protein. This was extremely helpful to us as it provided our parameters with more accuracy through having two teams look for values and compare what was found. In turn, Team Florida’s dry lab members found literature supporting the transport mechanism of erythromycin and rate values for the EreA/EreB system, the last parameter that FSU needed for their model.
Finally, both teams worked on a Science Communication collaboration to promote iGEM to schools in the state of Florida. We first discussed what we wanted to highlight in the video, such as all of the collaborative team efforts in iGEM and its logistics. UF edited the video after FSU gathered footage. Of course we met many times after to discuss possible changes. We also reached out to highschools to see if we could showcase our video and experiences in iGEM. Team representatives from UF and FSU met with College Academy at Broward College’s students and faculty to showcase our videos and host a Q&A after.