Image

Congratulations to the Virginia iGEM team for receiving a Gold Medal in the 2023 iGEM Competition, held November 2-5, 2023 at the Paris Porte de Versailles Expo.

The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition is an annual collegiate research contest in synthetic biology, an area of research at the interface of biology and engineering, in which cells are designed and engineered to solve global problems.  Almost 9000 students from 400 institutions, across 50 countries, competed this season.  The Virginia iGEM team presented “NiSkin,"  a novel topical treatment for cellulitis.  Support from the National Science Foundation, MITRE Corp., and alumni was essential for enabling the team’s participation in the 2023 competition.  Team Virginia (shown above) included 1st row - Bhavya Guduru (CAS), Vaneeza Pasha (CAS), Menglin Shi (Physics), Devon Alexander (Systems Engineering), Joshua Alexander (Biomedical Engineering) and 2nd row - Akash Pamal (Computer Science and Mathematics), Eliza Mills (captain; Chemical Engineering), Connor Sandall (Biomedical Engineering), Ryan Kenyon (Chemistry), Kendall Sano (Biomedical Engineering).  The team’s faculty advisor is Prof. Keith Kozminski (Biology).  

Click here to learn more about iGEM at UVA, as it enters its 18th year.