Pakistan’s 12 top biotechnology students to compete in iGEM in Boston

Gather in Peshawar to work on bio-based sensor to detect poisonous gases in air

PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s first team of 12 top biotechnology undergraduate students would compete in the iGEM World Championship Jamboree in Boston, USA this fall.Students from all over the country gathered recently in Peshawar to use the cutting-edge discipline of synthetic biology to solve one of the most pressing environmental challenges in Pakistan.

The iGEM, or the international genetically engineered machines competition, is a flagship students’ contest that started in MIT 15 years ago. It noted that 285 teams from all over the world took part in the competition last year, though there was no participation from Pakistan.

Dr Faisal Khan, the principal investigator and team supervisor who is also the director of the Institute of Integrative Biosciences at CECOS University, Peshawar said they have been waiting for this moment to introduce synthetic biology in Pakistan. He felt there could be no better way than giving students the opportunity to do cutting-edge biotechnology research. “We cannot be playing with ‘Windows95’ in an age of ‘Android’ and ‘iOS’ and we desperately needed this upgrade in life sciences in the country,” he pointed out.

The 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 colours in response to the presence of carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide or both.

“This is a great proof of concept. If we can create a bio-sensor for these gases, we can in principle create bio-sensors for other uses like detecting adulterated milk, toxic metals in drinking water or even temperature-sensing devices,” argued Dr Faisal Khan.

The team consists of five girls and seven boys from across the country, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Kalat, Swat, Waziristan, Mardan and Peshawar. The fact that they belonged to different parts of the country made it representative of the biotech talent across Pakistan.

The research also had an element of ‘human practices’ 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 it.

The iGEM team also put in outreach and education efforts 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.

“We cannot 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,” commented Professor Dr. Riaz A. Khattak, Vice Chancellor, CECOS University in Peshawar.

The iGEM team members were excited about the project and their upcoming participation in the event in Boston. “I 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,” remarked 20-year old Sidra Usman from Peshawar.

“I 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,” opined 22-year old Muhammad Ali from Karachi.

“For me iGEM is an opportunity to practice what I have learned in theories so far. It’s like converting your imagination into reality. The best thing about it is that we are working to create something that is solving a real-life problem. This is awesome,” remarked Rabia Gul Dawar, also 22 and hailing from Peshawar. “iGEM has taught me a lot - from design and planning to execution and troubleshooting,”   is how Mansoor Saleem, a 20-year old from Swat, summed up his feelings.