Team Cornell 2024 aims to synthetically manufacture Ursolic Acid within yeast using a continuous bioreactor, which will provide a more sustainable and efficient pathway. Ursolic Acid is a natural product that has been discovered to have anti-cancer properties. It is currently obtained through extraction from fruits, such as loquats and apples, which is environmentally taxing [Yu et al., 2018]. Furthermore, apples represent a significant part of Ithaca, NY's local agriculture, where Cornell University is based. In 2022, Tompkins County reported nearly 200 acres of apple-bearing land use [2022 Census]. Current research shows that a biological pathway exists within yeast to produce this compound, but it has only been done at a lab scale.

Taking this as inspiration, the Cornell iGEM Project Team can engineer the genetic elements involved in the mevalonate (MVA) pathway of yeast to more efficiently produce Ursolic Acid. While this step is being completed, product development can work in parallel to design a continuous bioreactor for manufacturers to produce this compound in a more efficient manner by removing downtime between production batches. An integrated biosensor will also monitor UA production within the bioreactor and alter the system conditions to maintain a high output of Ursolic Acid. The bioreactor will also combat the high energy cost typically found within batch reactors which will overall allow pharmaceutical companies to save money, lower their Environmental Factor (E-Factor) and Process Mass Intensity (PMI). By combining synthetic biology methods with industrial scale-up we can impact oncology by maximizing the production of a natural product in order to get its positive effects into the hands of manufacturers and ultimately patients.