Attributions

Our expectations for this iGEM cycle were very different; due to the pandemic, we had to alter our plans, adapt to virtual meetings, and accept we were not going to have access to the laboratory, a very important part of the development of an iGEM project. Although there were many difficulties, the team pulled through to create this amazing project. We look forward to the further development of Mer-Nite to the Rescue so it can have a positive impact in Vieques and could have further applications.

The Biology Team, composed of Patricia, Luis G., Elimar, Rigo, Melissa, Elmer, Miguel, Amanda and Elan were responsible for the design and cloning model of the genetic circuits. Patricia, the team leader, also wrote the safety plan for the precautions in the lab due to COVID-19.

The Engineering and Programming Team is composed of Mariela, Natalia, Claudia, and Carlos. Mariela, Natalia, and Claudia were responsible for the design of mathematical models applied to the genetic circuits; they used Matlab to create the models. They also helped in the determination of the parameters for the Bioreactor Design for Synthetic Biology Applications. Carlos, having programming knowledge, was in charge of the design of the wiki.

The Human Practices Team, composed of Gabriela, Ana Sofía, and Emily, were involved in contacting stakeholders and setting up virtual meetings with them. They also organized the 2nd edition of the Synthetic Biology Week of the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez, held virtually this year due to the pandemic. With the additional help of Claudia, the Human Practices Team also organized the SynBio 101: Summer Camp for High School Students. Other members of the team served as mentors to the high school students and helped deliver the materials to the students to different parts of the Island.

Some of us were in charge of the administrative work. Andrea was responsible for the finances and fundraising; Elan redacted and answered emails and wrote many letters; Marieli was in charge of the maintenance of our social media accounts, the design of promotional material, and created the COVID-19 precautions brochure; Natalia communicated with the many offices of our University; and Claudia did a little bit of everything and was the leader in the team meetings. Natalia and Marieli also were in charge of the collaborations with other teams. Luis M. organized the Bioreactor Design for Synthetic Biology Applications and was in charge of the logistics and Paula was in charge of communicating with the three teams and organizing the project.

Our artistic team members designed the various creative outlets that are part of our project. Elmer, with the help of Claudia, assembled and designed the promo video. Elmer also drew the project logo and created the presentation video with the help of Claudia and Elan. Elimar drew the postcard for a collaboration and designed various biological diagrams. Emily designed the team spirit poster for the World Meetup, the Vieques information brochure, a figure for the promo video, and the logo for the SynBio101: Summer Camp.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our Principal Investigators Dr. Patricia Ortiz Bermúdez and Dr. Carlos Ríos Velázquez, for their constant support and feedback throughout our project. They were also judges in the Bioreactor Design for Synthetic Biology Applications Competition. Thank you for always being available and participating in our various activities.

Thanks to our graduate student advisors and instructors Alejandro Mercado Capote and Victor López Ramirez for their feedback on our project. Their feedback helped us improve our genetic circuits and they offered team building and lab workshops for our team. Victor also served as a judge in the Bioreactor Design for Synthetic Biology Applications Competition.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Agronomist Sol Rosado for always saying yes to offering a conference, giving us the space to expose our project, and for helping us spread science and Synthetic Biology in Puerto Rico.

We would like to thank Dr. Arturo Massol Deyá for his feedback on our project and the suggestion to add RDX as a contaminant we should approach, the information about the Anones Lagoon, and for sharing information about the history and situation of Vieques.

We appreciate Ing. Vanessa Suárez, Ing. Raúl Burgos, and Mike Barandiaran for providing us with information about writing a proposal for the opportunity to go to Vieques and take samples for our project.

Special recognition to the University’s Student Associations SEDS UPRM and AULS RUM for providing workshops in the virtual SynBio week organized.

We would like to thank one of our stakeholders, Dr. Raquel Delgado Valentín for conversing with us about the history of Vieques and for sharing her experiences of the protests.

Thanks to Dr. Rubén Diaz from the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez for feedback and suggestions in the planning of the Design Competition Bioreactor Design for Synthetic Biology Applications.

We would like to recognize the Biology Department of the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez under the direction of Ana Vélez Díaz and Bárbara Sánchez Santos, the Lab Technician in Scientific Investigations, for their support in providing us with a lab space where we will be working for Phase 2.

We would like to thank the constant support and encouragement of different authorities of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. These include Patricia Torres of the Department of Social and Cultural Activities, PRENSA RUM, COHEMIS, the Dean of Students Dr. Jonathan Muñoz Barreto, and the Chancellor of the University Dr. Agustín Rullán Toro.

We would like to give special thanks to the iGEM Ambassadors for Latin America Daniel Domínguez Gómez and Herber Torres for giving us a safety workshop and answering our iGEM competition-related questions.

Lastly, we would like to thank all of our sponsors. Donations from Amgen and Goya were used for the SynBio 101 Summer Camp. The sponsorships of Revive and Restore and Molecular Cloud made it possible for the registration of the team in the Giant Jamboree 2020. Genscript, IDT, and Twist Bioscience provided us with lab materials that will be used in Phase 2 of our project. Finally, Mathworks’ Matlab made it possible for the team to make the mathematical models and Snapgene for the cloning models correspondent to our project.