About
Engineering biology to solve global challenges
The Cornell iGEM Project Team is an award-winning synthetic biology group of 50 undergraduate students working to solve real-world challenges in health, environment, and biotechnology.
What is synthetic biology?
Synthetic biology is the field in which scientists redesign and repurpose machinery naturally found in the biological world to achieve a human-driven goal. Cornell iGEM uses these same tools to create impactful solutions for our communities. Some famous examples of synthetic biology that have changed the world as we know it:
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Bacteria were engineered to mass-produce human insulin for Type I diabetics, which eliminated the need for costly harvest from livestock and allergic reactions to non-human insulin.
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With Vitamin A deficiencies in mind in the developing world, golden rice is a variety of rice genetically engineered to contain fortified carotene, a precursor of the essential vitamin A.
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BioBricks introduced standardized, interchangeable biological parts, letting teams assemble genetic circuits the way engineers assemble components.
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Gibson assembly made it possible to join many DNA fragments in a single reaction, dramatically speeding up the construction of synthetic DNA.
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The CRISPR-Cas9 system was adapted for precise genome editing, opening a new era of programmable biology.
iGEM Grand Jamboree
The iGEM Grand Jamboree is an annual international competition where hundreds of teams gather to present projects, exchange ideas, and explore advances in synthetic biology. Teams from around the world come together to showcase their work and engage with researchers, companies, and peers.
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Project Presentations
Each team presents its project to a panel of judges, walking through the science, the engineering, and the impact of a year's work.
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Poster Sessions
Teams stand beside their posters and talk through their results with judges, other teams, and visitors from across the field.
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Workshops
Talks, panels, and hands-on sessions from researchers and industry on where synthetic biology is heading next.
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Career Fair & Connecting
Teams connect with sponsor companies, researchers, and peers from around the world, building collaborations that extend beyond the competition.
The Grand Jamboree is not only a place to showcase research - it is an opportunity for growth, reflection, and community. Each year, teams leave not just with feedback on their work, but with stronger connections and a deeper sense of collaboration.
Meet the subteams
The Wet Lab subteam is primarily responsible for the design, construction, and validation of the varying biological and genetic components of our project. Our work centers around using synthetic biology techniques, such as PCR, Gibson assembly, bacterial transformation, and ELISA, to assemble our genetic circuits. Beyond construct design and benchwork, the team plays a pivotal role in employing computational methods to model biological pathways to accurately predict system behavior, providing further validation and insight for experimental design. Our team also works closely with our other subteams to ensure biological feasibility that aligns with real-world applicability, ethical consideration, and potential for scalability to maximize the impact of our engineered solutions.
The Product Development subteam is an engineering-driven, user-centered team focused on translating iGEM's biological innovations into real-world solutions. Using product design methodologies and multidisciplinary engineering principles, we identify user needs, develop and prototype solutions, and create detailed product specifications that bridge the gap between concept and implementation.
The Policy and Practices Team serves as the bridge between Cornell iGEM's science and the communities it aims to impact. We believe that scientific innovation is only meaningful when it is designed for the people it is meant to serve. Through stakeholder interviews and community engagement, we ensure that our project remains grounded in real-world needs.
From hosting educational workshops and community outreach events throughout Ithaca to producing podcast episodes and collaborating with students around the world, we strive to make synthetic biology accessible, engaging, and relevant to audiences of all backgrounds. By meeting people where they are, we foster meaningful dialogue, increase public understanding of novel scientific ideas, and build trust between scientists and the greater community. Through these efforts, we aim to ensure that a diverse range of voices, perspectives, and experiences are represented in shaping the future of synthetic biology.
Serving as the financial and commercial backbone of Cornell iGEM, the Business Team focuses on developing an in-depth business model to address regulatory, manufacturing, and commercialization challenges. From conducting thorough market research, competitor analysis, and industrial scale-up, to interviewing professionals to understand insurance, regulations, and intellectual property, we prepare Cornell iGEM’s project for real-world management. Working not just in a future-forward manner, the Business Team also manages all active finances for our team. From communicating with the university for financial support to writing and securing grants, and reaching out for sponsorships worldwide, we ensure that whatever our team needs to succeed is accessible.
The Wiki subteam is mainly in charge of designing and implementing the competition website each year that showcases our project. During the spring semesters, we hold design and web development training that spans visual design and best practices, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React.js. During this training there are weekly/bi-weekly lessons and projects that go along with them. Over the summer, we create the design for our competition website (called wireframes) over several iterations and begin to implement them in the fall!
Additionally, we collaborate with other subteams on any software-related tasks. Last year, we worked with PnP to create a children's book and with PD to create an Arduino user interface for our bioreactor. Wiki is like the painter of the team - we bring everything together for presentation and documentation, including video editing, web design, photography, and more!
Our faculty advisors and alumni guide the team throughout the season, from brainstorming and experimental design to competition preparation.
Alumni stay involved by mentoring current members, connecting us with industry and research opportunities, and sharing what they learned during their own seasons.
