Team:Penn/Achievements

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Penn iGEM

Achievements


Our goal was to enable epigenetic engineering. We believe synthetic biological systems should be as subtle and robust as their naturally occurring counterparts. Moreover, we wanted to begin development on much-needed second-generation epigenetic therapeutics.

  1. Designed a functional fusion protein to facilitate epigenetic engineering, with numerous advantages over existing technologies
  2. Validated a novel methylation assay, MaGellin, to accelerate development of epigenetic engineering tools
  3. Built a complementary MaGellin software package to automate experimental analysis
  4. Created a specification sheet for the MaGellin Assay workflow, to facilitate quick epigenetic assay studies.
  5. BioBrick'ed our MaGellin plasmid so other iGEM teams can build off our work
  6. BioBrick'ed the M.sssI methylase and the M.sssI methylase with the linker we used for other teams working with methylases
  7. Wrote an article on the ethical implications of epigenetic interventions, accepted for publication in the "nation's premier peer-reviewed undergraduate bioethics journal"
  8. Developed an open-source Laboratory Information Management System to help teams keep their labs organized
  9. Promoted iGEM, synthetic biology, and our research at numerous outreach events to inspire future scientists
  10. Featured in an interview
  11. North American regional Grand Prize winners and winners of Best BioBrick Measurement Approach award for our gel-electrophoresis assay.
  12. Invited to tour and speak at New England Biolabs about our assay and project
  13. Published on the Mack Institute for Innovation Management website for our regional success
  14. Constructed and screened another novel methylase fusion protein--this one based on Cas9
InVitro
Danny uses MaGellin to screen a freshly cloned site-specific methylase before the World Jamboree