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Team:UGA-Georgia/Team
From 2013.igem.org
Buenos AiresiGem
Objectives
The project will focus on the development of a specific water biosensor , but with a modular and scalable approach. Thereby you could easily afford multiple measurements with the very same device.
The device will be designed in a way that its collected data will be easily accessible via a web interface, and later it could be transferred to the relevant agencies upon request.
At the end of this project we expect to have a prototype of measuring device and a diagram of a system for the distribution, collection and centralization of data.
The project will aim on the measurement of a primary pollutant: arsenic . However, its modular and scalable design provides an easy way to incorporate various contaminants already identified, such as nitrate / nitrite, lead and hydrocarbons.
With the data collected is expected that any user with minimal training (using an image-based Instruction given) could easily and quickly determine the presence and level of the contaminant on his water. Also with the systematic use of this tool by the enforcement authorities, specific public policies could be implemented based on current and reliable information.
Motivation
Limited access to clean water is a deep problem and tends to worsen with time. The pollution that converts water in non-drinkable can vary from just a single toxic (eg arsenic) to a highly complex mixture of types of substances such as those found in various river basins (eg Sali-Dulce, Matanza-Riachuelo among others).
Depending on the type of contamination (complexity and abundance), making the water to be drinkable could be easy and inexpensive. Even if it weren't possible to make it drinkable, information on pollutant levels could be easily used to modify consumption patterns and seek alternative sources of water.
At present, the spatial and temporal quantification of contaminants is limited by the difficulty in processing the samples and associated costs. Moreover, the lack of centralization and systematization of data does the task of obtain them by decision makers, stakeholders and the general public, very difficult.
| File:Bsas2012-banderaArgentina.png | We are the first Argentinian team to participate in iGEM competition, so everything is new for us! Here we are, ready to work hard on our project!. Meet us, and also check where we come from | File:Bsas2012-banderaArgentina.png |
Students
| File:Basas2012-Vero.jpg | Veronica Parasco - Physics Student | |
| I guess I like to study too much, or the stress and making summaries. I'm about to finish my Licentiate in Physics, when I started to think about what was next, I realized that several of the decision I made took me closer to other career fields. So here I am, learning biology and opening new doors. |
| 160px | Mario J. Rugiero - Chemistry and Computer Sciece Student | |
| Initially, the iGEM grabbed my attention through its idea of free thought and colaboration, which I consider should be general rule if we want society to progress. Even though my career choice seems remotely related to synthetic biology, curiosity moves me to learn a little bit about everything, which is never a bad idea.
I'd like to see that this initiative will bring together all the synthetic biology investigation groups in Argentina because I see in this discipline an opportunity to develop and resolve many local, and very important, problems. |
| 160px | María Alejandra Parreño - Biology Student | |
| Within the vast field of Biology, i like ALL study subjects, but my specialty at the moment Biological Ecology of Populations (previously known as Population Genetics). Since 2009, I work in conserving the genetic variability of fruit flies which are a plague in Latin America, and I also do so with other insects with economical importance.
I have another two very strong interests: on one hand, the spread of science, and on the other, the sustainable development of societies and handling of natural and biological resources. So I try to match my academic ocupations with relevant participations in congress and with activities in these two areas. I love competition, innovation, and challenges, which is what attracted me to participate in iGEM and test my abilities. I see an unexplored synthetic biology field in Argentina, with a great potential to solve scientific and social problems, using wits and creativity as the main tools. As a first iGEM group, we want to impulse these ideas into reality and start off with the right foot! |
| 160px | Luciano G. Morosi- Biology Student | |
| I am currently going through my last year, and i've been an intern in an investigation laboratory. From a very young age, I was passionate and interested in natural sciences, and I decided to study biology because you must have knowledge in all sciences to be able to understand it. In this way, my interest in synthetic biology comes from the fact that it is multidisciplinary, and I'm immensely attracted to the idea of being able to create biological systems – or based in biological parts- that are innovative, which carry out specifically designed actions, using and creating standarized and combined parts. I'm not only attracted to science, but also literature, theater, music and sports: for a very long time I participated in gymnastics and swimming, and I still do the latter. I love to write, I feel comfortable writing social, political and cultural papers, and also stories. |
| 160px | Manuel Giménez - Computer Science Student | |
| I'm writing my licentiate thesis on building a tool to automatically reason about regulations. Yes yes, nothing relates to biology. Weird, right? Nevertheless, I've always had an interest for this discipline, mainly molecular biology. When I found out about the existance of iGEM – a couple of months ago- I said we have to assemble a team in Argentina. Coincidence or not, a week later I got an email inviting me to be a part of the first Argentinian iGEM team, and now I find myself taking my first steps in synthetic biology as a member of iGEM BsAs. I'm mainly interested in the engineering vision that synthetic biology has, and I believe from the computer science standpoint, I have several ideas I can bring to this new subject. I love scientific dissemination and teaching; I consider myself a straightforward communicator, and my natural way of working is in groups. I'm part of a political movements in my university, and I try to make my passing through this world the most transforming and engaging possible. |
Advisors
| 160px | Alan Bush - M.Sc. in Biology | |
| I'm M. Sc. in Biology and I'm currently doing my Ph. D. in Biology. My studies are in the field of "systems biology", an area which attempts to give a more quantitative and integrative approach to molecular biology, through the use of mathematic modeling tools. It is related to synthetic biology since it uses the same kind of tools and model organisms. However, the focus is radically different; while systems biology aims to understand how the cells work, the main objective of synthetic biology is to design and produce "biological devices" with a given behavior. My main motivation for participating as advisor for UBA's iGEM team is precisely this approach switch. I'm fascinated with the idea of using our knowledge to develop useful devices which can help to solve concrete problems. |
| 160px | German Sabio - M.Sc. in Biology | |
| I'm an extremely curious person, and I've always had a passion for all kind of "bugs" (a highly academic and very complex concept, which includes everything from cell and virus to mammal and aliens) and how "life" works. A M. Sc. in Biology didn't gave me the answer just yet, but kept my curiosity appeased for some years and gave me a big ammount of tools to keep asking new questions.
Currently, I work on a branch of biology dedicated to living being's development: how, from a single cell, or from a group of similar cells, a differentiated organism gets developed. My Ph. D. discipline is systems biology, which basically studies several biology areas looking for math patterns and predicting (or, actually, modelling) different living systems. Synthetic biology would be the other face of the same coin: while systems biology tries to find and define mechanisms in nature to understand how they work, synthetic biology tries to reproduce or generate new systems with a predetermined function. I'm very interested in this chance to take part on an iGEM team, not just for the ammount of tools it represents, but because it's a good and interesting experience to start a group and discuss and work together. |
Instructors
| 160px | Ignacio E. Sánchez - M.Sc. in Chemistry and Ph.D. in Biophysics | |
| I'm a spanish bioinformatics specialist, currently living in Argentina. Before, I was an in training biophysicist on northern Europe, and before, a chemist, fascinated by biological molecules. Day by day, I study oncogenic virus in the Department of Biological Chemistry's Protein's Physiology Laboratory.
I think synthetic biology is an excellent chance for developing countries to acquire new capabilities in the subject of biotechnology. Because of that reason, I joined Dr. Nadra in 2011 to promote the formation of synthetic biologists in Argentina. By now, the experience is being highly fun and rewarding. |
| 160px | Alejandro D. Nadra - M.Sc. in Biology and Ph.D. in Chemistry | |
| I'm M. Sc. in Biology (2001) and Ph. D. in Chemistry (2005). My subjects of interest are protein's structure/function/folding and their interaction with nucleic acids. Also hemoproteins, evolution and synthetic biology, and others. I did a post-doc with the molecular modelling group in the FCEyN and another one in the systems biology program of the Genomic Regulation Center from Barcelona.
I started to work as teacher in the FCEyN in 2000 and I'm currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry and researcher at CONICET. I'm also a member of the Structural Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Biological Chemistry. Given the lack of Synthetic Biology in Argentina, we are promoting the area with Ignacio Sánchez since 2011. For this effort, we organized the first post-graduate course in the subject in 2011, and conducted a course with featured international referents in April 2012. I'm convinced that from my place and given my formation, I can boost Synthetic Biology and begin formation of pure strain Synthetic Biologists. I believe the iGEM competitions are an excellente tool for the education and motivation of students. I'm convinced that from Argentina we can contribute to the subject and be on pair with teams from everywhere in the world. Even though we count on less resources and funds, this lack is compensated with a huge motivation and creativity. |
