UBC’s team earned a gold medal for their research project and won a special award for best model this past weekend at the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) Americas Regionals synthetic biology research competition, held in Indianapolis, Maryland.
The team received a gold medal award for their research project on combating the pine beetle outbreak by producing terpenes in yeast. The special award for best model was presented for their modelling work creating both a MATLAB simulation of metabolic pathways to guide their work at the bench, and a model of the potential impacts on the pine beetle epidemic with data from the B.C. Ministry of Forestry.
UBC’s iGEM team comprises undergraduate students from the Faculties of Applied Science and Science who carry out a student-driven research project from May to November under the mentorship of UBC faculty members and graduate student supervisors. This year’s team includes: Laura Bain, Gurpal Bisra, Alina Chan, Joe Ho, Daisy Ji, Marianne Park, Vicki Ma, Rafael Saer, Jacob Toth, Samuel Wu, and Shing Hei Zhan.
For more, visit http://blogs.apsc.ubc.ca/apscnews/2011/10/12/ubc-igem-team-wins-gold-medal-and-special-award-for-best-model/
