Team:Penn

Accomplishments:

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. Wrote an article on the ethical implications of epigenetic interventions, accepted for publication in the "nation's premier peer-reviewed undergraduate bioethics journal"
7. Developed an open-source Laboratory Information Management System to help teams keep their labs organized
8. Promoted iGEM, synthetic biology, and our research at numerous outreach events to inspire future scientists
9. Featured in an interview
10. North American regional winners and winners of Best BioBrick Measurement Approach award for our gel-electrophoresis assay.