Thursday, 21 November 2019
A group of students from the University of Nottingham has won an international prize for creating an innovative method for preventing a deadly type of food poisoning.
The team of 10 undergraduate students from the Schools of Life Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science has won Gold at the internationally renowned iGEM competition (International Genetically Engineered Machine).
The Nottingham team’s winning project “Notox” aims to provide a cheaper and faster alternative to current food testing methods for preventing botulism, a deadly type of food poisoning, caused by Clostridium botulinum. Outbreaks of botulism are rare but can result in high morbidity and mortality rates.
Team Nottingham designed a ‘proof of concept’ project by engineering a safe strain of bacteria which could be injected into the packaged food to be tested. This safe strain produces volatile acetone rather than toxin if the food packaging methods fail. The acetone gas can then be simply and quickly detected using an electronic nose also designed and made by the team.
iGEM has given our team the opportunity to contribute to the rapidly developing synthetic biology field at such a young age, by developing a project which is able to tackle real-world issues. It has given me a realistic insight into the 'life of a scientist' and has inspired me to pursue a career in the lab. However, the real benefits to my career are all of the skills I gained along the way such as lab work, problem-solving, presentation, and many other skills which will benefit any career I choose, whether it is inside or out of the lab.”
iGEM logo
The iGEM foundation which began at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Boston, USA, is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of synthetic biology, education and competition, and the development of an open community and collaboration.
The annual competition, held in Boston, began in 2004 with just five teams but this year brought together nearly 6,000 students in over 400 interdisciplinary teams from 45 different countries. Teams use the principles of synthetic biology, the “Engineering of Biology” to design parts, devices or systems to solve real-world problems, such as antibiotic resistance and climate change
Team Nottingham 2019 travelled to Boston, USA to present their work at the iGEM jamboree and can now proudly boast a Gold Medal along with nominations for ‘Best Food and Nutrition project’ and ‘Best Human Practices’. Team Nottingham 2019 can now add its gold success to the medals of previous teams Team 2017 (Bronze) and Team 2018 (Gold).
The iGEM team
Nottingham’s iGEM team was supported by the University of Nottingham’s Research Priority Area in Industrial Biotechnology; through grant funding from the Wellcome Trust, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) via the Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre. It was also given generous cash donations from Porton Bipharma Ltd and Don Whitley Scientific Ltd and through in-kind support from Qiagen, Promega, The Twinkle Factory, New England Biolabs, Labfolder and Snapgene.
Professor Nigel Minton, Director of the Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC) at the University, said: “Massive congratulations to you all. What a wonderful achievement - gold and two nominations! You have all done the SBRC proud.”
Story credits
The winning team
Nottingham’s team of 10 undergraduate students was drawn from the Schools of Life Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science. Team leader Saniya Crouch was aided by James Abbott, Jacob Gausden, Alice Hodson, Millie Johnson, Fiona Kemm, Marta Marcheluk, Mohamed Rahman, Yaseen Tengur and Daniel Vaughan. For the duration of their project they were embedded within BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC) at Nottingham, under the overall guidance of Prof Nigel P Minton (PI) and Dr Ruth Griffin (CoI) and under the close supervision of a dedicated multidisciplinary team comprising of Louise Dynes, Jacque Minton, Dr Carmen McLeod, Dr Maria Zygouropolous, Francois Seys, Dr Andrew Dempster, Dr Thomas Millat, Dr Nicole Pearcy, Dr Rupert Norman, Dr Jon Humphreys and Dr Terry Bilverstone.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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