7 months biological design project, during which the students are required to give presentations on advanced topics in synthetic biology (specifically genetic circuit design) and then select their own biological system to design. The system is subsequently modeled, analyzed, and experimentally implemented. Results are presented at an international student competition at the MIT (Cambridge).
Learning objective
The students are supposed to acquire a deep understanding of the process of biological design including model representation of a biological system, its thorough analysis, and the subsequent experimental implementation of the system and the related problems.
Content
Presentations on advanced synthetic biology topics (eg genetic circuit design, adaptation of systems dynamics, analytical concepts, large scale de novo DNA synthesis), project selection, modeling of selected biological system, design space exploration, sensitivity analysis, conversion into DNA sequence, (DNA synthesis external,) implementation and analysis of design, summary of results in form of scientific presentation and poster, presentation of results at the iGEM international student competition (www.igem.org).
Lecture notes
Handouts during course
Prerequisites / Notice
The final presentation of the project is typically at the MIT (Cambridge, US). Other competing schools include regularly Imperial College, Cambridge University, Harvard University, UC Berkeley, Princeton Universtiy, CalTech, etc.
This project takes place between end of Spring Semester and beginning of Autumn Semester. Registration in April.
Please note that the number of ECTS credits and the actual work load are disconnected.
Performance assessment
Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again)
Repetition only possible after re-enrolling for the course unit.
Additional information on mode of examination
The grade is a combination of the performance of the student during the literature work, the system design and analysis, the implementation, the contributions to final scientific presentation and poster, and the overall performance of the team in the iGEM competition.
Learning materials
No public learning materials available.
Only public learning materials are listed.
Groups
No information on groups available.
Restrictions
General
Permission from lecturers required for all students
Performance assessment as a semester course