International Genetically Engineered Machine 2015 (iGEM 2015)

"The iGEM Competition is an annual, world wide synthetic biology event that gives students the opportunity to push the boundaries of synthetic biology by tackling everyday issues facing the world. The iGEM Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of synthetic biology, education and competition, and the development of an open community and collaboration."

I was lucky to be part of the first team to compete at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. In the team, I worked in the wet lab but also spearheaded the software and visual parts of the project. I designed and coded the team's website, developed all of our branding including logos, designed our posters and all other promotional materials, and made all the graphics necessary for our presentations. I also took on the 3D visualization and modelling for our project - making illustrative videos and models of our protocols and resulting proteins.

iGEM opened up so many opportunities to our team before and after the project. We were able to attend an Alberta Innovates workshop with fellow Albertan teams prior to travelling to Boston. We also attended the ASTECH conference where we showcased an interactive display of our project. We were honoured to be able to teach a Biology 30 class about lab skills too! NAIT recognized our efforts in a formal celebration where we were all awarded NAIT's Award of Excellence in November, 2015.

If I had to pick one event that happened in my life that changed everything it would be iGEM. It sounds dramatic, but this conference was when I began to forgive myself for my performance in my first Undergraduate degree. It was the first time I was surrounded by people who not only recognized my talents but helped me foster and develop them. And it was also when I met my future mentors that would play a pivotal role in me starting graduate school 6 years after the conference ended. iGEM, although we didn't win the grand prize or gold, was an experience of a lifetime.