A team of Utah Valley University (UVU) student biotechnologists presented their research to reduce Utah Lake’s harmful algal blooms at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Grand Jamboree competition from Nov. 2-5 in Paris, France and walked away with a silver medal for their progress in solving the problem.
A team of Utah Valley University (UVU) student biotechnologists presented their research to reduce Utah Lake’s harmful algal blooms at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Grand Jamboree competition from Nov. 2-5 in Paris, France and walked away with a silver medal for their progress in solving the problem.
Their research involves engineering a harmless algae to reduce the nitrogen and phosphorous entering Utah Lake. The long-term goal is to turn the phosphorous into a marketable product. Excess nitrogen, phosphorous, and other naturally occurring inorganic matter enter Utah Lake and other lakes around the world primarily from wastewater treatment plants and runoff fertilizer.
Eric Domyan, a faculty member and co-mentor of the UVU team, along with Dr. Colleen Hough, said, “This marks a watershed moment for UVU and our biotechnology program. We are eager to confront the challenges posed by the iGEM competition and apply our collective knowledge to address a critical environmental issue. The fact that this is our first time competing makes this journey even more momentous.”
UVU’s team consisted of 13 students who competed against 400 teams from over 50 countries. The team’s presentation was titled “Bloom-B-Gone: Preventing Utah Lake Cyanobacterial Blooms by Phosphorous and Nitrogen Sequestration.” The students chose to focus on cleaning up Utah Lake because algal blooms are both local and international problems.
The iGEM competition is the world’s largest synthetic biology community and a premier event for university and high school-level students that encourages learning and innovation in the field of synthetic biology. iGEM was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2012. The group’s participants take on the challenge of designing biological systems that address real-world problems using genetic engineering principles.
The UVU team’s participation in the iGEM Competition is not only an opportunity for students to showcase their innovative research but also an avenue for contributing to the global effort to combat the harmful effects of cyanobacterial blooms.
For more information about the 2023 iGEM Competition in Paris, please visit iGEM's official website.
