Our Crowdfunding Groups
We are OSU’s international genetically engineered machine team or iGEM for short. Each year, our goal is to research and develop a project related to synthetic biology. At the end of the year, we present our project to a panel of judges at an international Grand Jamboree. The club was founded in 2023 and has developed two projects. Our 2023 project, CH4NGERS, added a gene to bacteria to help convert methane, a greenhouse gas, into methanol for use elsewhere. In 2024 we developed Healios, a treatment to combat Staph infections using a bacteriophage carrying a UV-sensitive dye that produces chemicals that are lethal to bacteria in the presence of UV light. We had the amazing opportunity to bring 3 members to the Grand Jamboree in 2023 where we earned a bronze medal for our work, and 12 members to the 2024 Grand Jamboree where we earned a silver medal. We hope to continue our efforts in the lab and to continue presenting our work in future iGEM competitions.
The Competition
The grand jamboree is an excellent opportunity for our club’s members to gain experience in a scientific community, network, and travel the world. The jamboree is hosted by MIT in Paris, France, where hundreds of teams convene from around the world to show off their latest projects. A team’s project can range from sustainably manufacturing housing material, to treating prevalent human illnesses. During the jamboree our team has the chance to talk to and learn from like minded scientists from around the world, like the time our team went out to dinner with an iGEM team from Japan. The jamboree being hosted in Paris has its benefits too, and our team takes full advantage of the many sightseeing options that Paris has to offer. But, unfortunately, amazing trips like these cost money. Our club cannot afford to pay for everyone, so every member is expected to pay for their own attendance if they want to come. These costs include a plane ticket to Paris, public transportation, buying a ticket for the jamboree, housing, and the cost of any sightseeing activities such as a ticket to the louvre.
Why We Need Your Help
Our goal with this PhilanthroPete project is to raise money to help a few of our members go to the jamboree. Our club recognizes that this trip is very expensive, and that not everyone will get to go, but we try to help as many people as possible. The guaranteed cost of attending the jamboree is nearly $2000, and that doesn’t include the more variable cost of food and transportation. Your donation would also contribute to our club’s project development, allowing us to buy the materials and equipment vital to our success at the jamboree.
If you have any questions about who we are, or what we do, we are always happy to tell people about iGEM! Please reach out to us if you want to know more about our projects, activities outside the jamboree, or anything else!
In order to compete at the Jamboree we need to have a project. This is enough to cover the cost of a lot of our frequently used supplies like pipette tips that we use ALL the time when developing our projects.
Once we make it to Paris, we need a way to get around. This is what each of us can expect to pay for a weeklong pass to use the public transportation in Paris.
We need a place to stay while on our trip! The best option for us is to rent an Airbnb for the week and split the cost between everyone. Last year this was the housing cost for everyone.
Every team member must purchase a jamboree ticket for this amount to get into the venue. These tickets are one of the largest expenses for our members, and are a major barrier to attendance.
Realistically, the price of a plane ticket to Paris changes all the time; but many of our members paid close to this amount for their plane tickets last year. This is the most impactful thing that we can help pay for, as it makes up around HALF of the total cost of going to the jamboree.
This would be an incredible gift to one of our members, as this would fully fund their trip to the jamboree!