PESHAWAR: Twelve of the best undergraduate students from across the country have gathered in Peshawar this summer to use the cutting-edge discipline of synthetic biology to solve one of the most pressing environmental challenges we face in Pakistan.
\nThe students make Pakistan\u2019s first team that will compete in the iGEM World Championship Jamboree in Boston, USA this Fall. iGEM or the international genetically engineered machines competition is a flagship student competition that started in MIT and has been happening for 15 years with 285 teams from across the globe in last year\u2019s competition but with no participation from Pakistan.
\n\u2018Not any more!\u2019 says Dr Faisal Khan, the Principal Investigator and Team Supervisor who is also the Director of the Institute of Integrative Biosciences at CECOS University, Peshawar.
\n\u2018We have been waiting for this moment to introduce synthetic biology in Pakistan and what better way then giving students the opportunity to do cutting edge biotechnology research. We cannot be playing with \u2018Windows95\u2019 in an age of \u2018Android\u2019 and \u2018iOS\u2019 and we desperately needed this upgrade in life sciences in the country.\u2019 he added.
\nThe iGEM Peshawar team is working on a bio-based sensor that will detect poisonous gases in the air. It is based on a bacterial cell with genetic circuits made of synthetic DNA that the students designed and fabricated to produce different colors in response to the presence of carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide or both.
\n\u2018This is a great proof of concept. If we can create a bio-sensor for these gases, we can in principle create biosensors for other uses like detecting adulterated milk, toxic metals in drinking water or even temperature-sensing devices\u2019, said Dr Khan.
\nThe team consists of 5 girls and 7 boys from across the country, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Kalat, Swat, Waziristan, Mardan and Peshawar which makes it a great representative of biotech talent across the country.
\nThe summer research also had a \u2018human practices\u2019 where the students looked into the ethical and social implications of their project by talking to different stakeholders and gathering insights that could be integrated into their project. Another fascinating side was the outreach and education efforts the iGEM team put in by visiting schools and colleges in and around their cities and leading mini-workshops on synthetic biology to share the latest with the students and inspire them to pick up science as a career.
\n\u2018We can\u2019t be more grateful to the Directorate of Science and Technology, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for their faith and support in propagating the emerging field of synthetic biology in the country.\u2019 said Prof. Dr. Riaz A. Khattak, Vice Chancellor, CECOS University, Peshawar.
\nWhat iGEMers Say!
\n\u2018I feel very proud and lucky to be an iGEMer. It really makes you believe in yourself. And that the world is beyond grades and numbers\u2019, Sidra Usman, 20, Peshawar. \u2018I am proud to be pioneering synthetic biology in Pakistan though iGEM and at the same time feel the responsibility to impact the world with the power it grants\u2019, Muhammad Ali, 22, Karachi.
\n\u2018For me iGEM is an opportunity to practice what I have learned in theories so far. Its like converting your imagination into reality. The best thing about it is that we are working to create something the is solving a real-life problem which is awesome\u2019, Rabia Gul Dawar, 22, Peshawar.
\n\u2018iGEM has taught me a lot \u2013 from design and planning to execution and troubleshooting\u2019, Mansoor Saleem, 20, Swat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR: Twelve of the best undergraduate students from across the country have gathered in Peshawar this summer to use the cutting-edge discipline of synthetic biology to solve one of the most pressing environmental challenges we face in Pakistan. The students make Pakistan\u2019s first team that will compete in the iGEM World Championship Jamboree in Boston, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-peshawar"},"yoast_head":"\n