Aalto-Helsinki 2023

Recruitment for Aalto-Helsinki 2024

Are you looking for an interesting and meaningful project for next year? Exciting Opportunity for Aalto University and University of Helsinki Students!

Join our iGEM team and represent Finland at the world's largest synthetic biology competition in Paris next year. We're looking for passionate BSc and MSc students from Aalto University and the University of Helsinki to be part of this journey.

As a part of the team, you'll work together with your fellow students to create and present a research project at the Grand Jamboree event in Paris. The project's theme will be decided collaboratively with the steering team at the start. Plus, your work will be integrated into a research group at either Aalto or the University of Helsinki, maximizing its real-world impact. Don't miss out on this chance to be a part of something big in the field of synthetic biology!

What is iGEM?

iGEM, which stands for the International Genetically Engineered Machine, is a globally recognized competition in synthetic biology. It offers participants the chance to design and implement research projects from scratch. In the spring, you will get to know your team members, and collaboratively with the steering team, you will select a project topic that will be further developed throughout the summer. The team will also reach out to collaborators from academia and industry alike to gather funding. The summer mainly consists of practical work and the testing your design. In the autumn, you will present your project and compete with other iGEM teams for the Grand Prize, as well as other special prizes.

For more information about iGEM, you can visit their official website.

Additionally, see this years' results to get an idea about what iGEM project are like.

Who are we looking for?

We're looking for students interested in joining iGEM, which is more than just a science project. It's a year-long venture involving various activities such as science communication, education, web design, presentations, and entrepreneurship. We welcome MSc and BSc students from different fields, particularly those with knowledge and interest in:

Arts
Graphic design / Video-making and editing

Biosciences
Molecular biosciences / (Bio)chemistry / Microbiology / Biotechnology / (Bio)medicine

Business
Marketing / Product development / Startups

Computational methods
Bioinformatics / Information technology / Computer Science / Web-design / Statistics

Education and outreach
Pedagogics / Communication

Engineering
Chemical engineering / Bioprocesses / Biomaterials / Electrical engineering / Environmental Engineering

Science
Environmental science / Physics / Psychology / Mathematics

Even if your field is not on the list but you think you would be a valuable addition to the team do not hesitate to apply!

You can see the 2023 special prizes to get an idea about what kinds of contributions are celebrated in the iGEM competition.

Why should you join?

Unique summer job opportunity
Three month contracts negotiable for team members
Design your own workflow with your team
Learn to work independently and manage project activities
Get study credits for the work outside the summer period
From 10 to 15 ECTS
Bring your own ideas to life
Design and build a research project from scratch
Work in a team of 10 international students
Gain valuable experience in
Design and product development
Project planning
Designing laboratory experiments
Practical laboratory work
Documentation and scientific writing
Modeling biological systems
Fundraising
Presenting
Scientific communication
Become part of an international network
iGEM community: find new career opportunities
Connect and collaborate with other international teams
Participate in conferences and talks in Finland and abroad
Experience the Grand Jamboree in Paris
Bringing together over 350 teams to celebrate their work
Gain insights on work opportunities and advances in research

Applying

Applications are now open and the deadline for submitting your application is December 20th, 2023.

Apply for the Aalto-Helsinki 2024 team here.

For any questions, you can contact us at team@aaltohelsinki.com or reach out to us on Instagram
We wish the best of luck to all applicants!


WHAT IF STUDENTS RAN THEIR OWN RESEARCH PROJECT?

The Aalto-Helsinki 2023 is a multidisciplinary and international team consisting of 10 students from the University of Helsinki and Aalto University. We are excited to participate in the world's largest synthetic biology competition iGEM with our diverse team with background in various fields of biosciences and technology. Our aim is to develop an innovative and impactful synthetic biology project that advances scientific research and benefits society.

To help up in this, we have the support of our PIs Heli Viskari, Aalto University lecturer, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, and Markus Linder, Aalto University professor of Biomolecular materials. Additionally, we have been supported by staff scientist Sesilja Aranko, academy research fellow Rahul Mangayil, postdoctoral researcher Salla Koskela, and doctoral researcher Natalia Kakko from the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, and postdoctoral researcher Alesia Levanova from the Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, University of Helsinki.
A full list of people who have shared their time and knowledge with us will be available in the attributions page of our wiki.

Apart from this website, you can follow our journey on our Instagram and Facebook.


Our Project

Plastic pollution and food scarcity are major global challenges. Our project, called PET-2-Protein, aims to provide a sustainable solution to address these issues by developing a proof-of-concept approach to upcycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into single-cell proteins.

PET hydrolases are promising biocatalysts for the development of enzymatic PET degradation. One such PET hydrolase, IsPETase, was discovered back in 2016 from a novel bacterial strain isolated from a Japanese landfill (Yoshida et al., 2016). Since then, new variants such as FAST-PETase have been developed, and have been shown to exhibit improved enzymatic activity (Lu et al., 2022). Furthermore, the degradation products have potential to serve as carbon sources for natural and genetically engineered microbes alike (Tiso et al., 2022).

In the first stage of our project, we focused on expressing the FAST-PETase enzyme which is required for depolymerizing PET into ethylene glycol and terephthalate. In the second step, we investigated the ability of wild-type strains such as Rhodococcus opacus and Comamonas testosteroni to utilize these monomers as a carbon source through adaptive laboratory evolution. Lastly, we also drafted plans to engineer Pseudomonas putida for the task.

The full description of our project can be found on our wiki.


Results

We are happy to announce that PET-2-Protein was awarded with a gold medal at the 2023 Grand Jamboree, with additional nominations in the overgrad category for:

Best Environment Project
Best Education
Best Wiki
Best Integrated Human Practices

See the full results of the 2023 iGEM competition here.

THE TEAM

Aino

Aino Kuusimäki

Team Co-Leader

Aino is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Microbiology and Microbial biotechnology. BSc degree in Molecular Biosciences at the University of Helsinki.

Sevda

Sevda Dilmaghani

Team Co-Leader

Sevda is a student at Aalto University pursuing an MSc degree in Chemical and Process Engineering. BSc in Chemical Engineering at the Amirkabir University of Tehran.

Aniqa

Aniqa Anwar

Team Member

Aniqa is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Translational Medicine.

Chau

Cao Minh Chau do

Team Member

Chau is a student at Aalto University pursuing a BSc degree in Data Science.

Cleo

Cleopatra Siders Silva

Team Member

Cleopatra is a student at Aalto University pursuing a BSc degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Bioinformatics.

Debby

Debby Agustin

Team Member

Debby is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology. BSc in Biology at Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia.

Emilia

Emilia Miettinen

Team Member

Emilia is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing a MSc degree in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences. BSc in Molecular Biosciences at the University of Helsinki.

Henri

Henri Sundquist

Team Member

Henri is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine. BSc in Computer Science at the University of Helsinki.

Paula

Paula Pastor Muñoz

Team Member

Paula is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Neuroscience. BSc in Genetics at Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.

Rafeul

Rafeul Hasan

Team Member

Rafeul is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences, specializing in Molecular and Health Analytical Biosciences.

Background:
Tuomo Saali, The Sense of Smallness 2015-16

Aino

Aino Kuusimäki

Team Co-Leader

Aino is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Microbiology and Microbial biotechnology. BSc degree in Molecular Biosciences at the University of Helsinki.

Sevda

Sevda Dilmaghani

Team Co-Leader

Sevda is a student at Aalto University pursuing an MSc degree in Chemical and Process Engineering. BSc in Chemical Engineering at the Amirkabir University of Tehran.

Aniqa

Aniqa Anwar

Team Member

Aniqa is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Translational Medicine.

Chau

Cao Minh Chau do

Team Member

Chau is a student at Aalto University pursuing a BSc degree in Data Science.

Cleo

Cleopatra Siders Silva

Team Member

Cleopatra is a student at Aalto University pursuing a BSc degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Bioinformatics.

Debby

Debby Agustin

Team Member

Debby is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology. BSc in Biology at Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia.

Emilia

Emilia Miettinen

Team Member

Emilia is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing a MSc degree in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences. BSc in Molecular Biosciences at the University of Helsinki.

Henri

Henri Sundquist

Team Member

Henri is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine. BSc in Computer Science at the University of Helsinki.

Paula

Paula Pastor Muñoz

Team Member

Paula is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Neuroscience. BSc in Genetics at Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.

Rafeul

Rafeul Hasan

Team Member

Rafeul is a student at the University of Helsinki pursuing an MSc degree in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences, specializing in Molecular and Health Analytical Biosciences.

iGEM

International Genetically Engineered Machine iGEM is an international synthetic biology competition originating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA. The iGEM competition challenges students to design and implement a project within a short time frame using innovation, design, experimental work and modelling applications.

The broader purpose of our project is to promote and increase the understanding of synthetic biology in Finland and around the world. Synthetic biology is a field of science and technology that combines biology with engineering principles. The basic principle is to design new genes, genetic devices, metabolic routes and entire organisms to create novel products and production pathways. Standardization is also a key component of this process, which is why one goal of the iGEM competition is to maintain the "BioBrick part registry" - a library of standardized genetic parts.

Synthetic biology has the potential to provide valuable solutions to many of today's problems. However, media and the general public still sometimes see genetically modified organisms rather as a threat than an opportunity. We work responsibly and take safety and ethics carefully into account in our project design and laboratory work. We conduct research that is safe for us and the environment.

SUPPORT US

We are an independent, student-driven team of passionate students, who have a strong will to create new synthetic biology solutions. However, this could not be possible without the support of our partners. If you or your organization would like to support us in any way, contact us at team@aaltohelsinki.com. All our supporters will be mentioned on this page, and in some cases also in our presentations and posters. Additionally we provide social media visibility.

CONTACT US

We are a student-driven team that will participate in a synthetic biology competition: International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM). We believe that science has great potential, if practiced responsibly and safely. We are happy to discuss our project, synthetic biology, the competition or science in general. You are welcome to reach us on Instagram or Facebook. We also intend to organize workshops and present at events.

If you would like to interview us or write about us in the media, feel free to contact us through our team email team@aaltohelsinki.com. We are more than happy to help.