Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A team of Mississippi State students earned honorable mention recognition in an international competition aimed at using synthetic biology to solve problems related to energy, the environment, medicine, and more.
Eight biomedical and biological engineering majors, and one molecular biology doctoral candidate, were among 380 students on 37 university teams from around the world in the Genetically Engineered Machine competition. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., was host for the event.
The nine-member MSU team of undergraduate and graduate students was recognized for its project of "advancing hydrogen fuels to biodetection."
"The MSU team designed and implemented a hydrogen detector using Escherichia coli as the host," said Filip To, an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
"This is an historic achievement by our students because this is our first generation of engineers who know how to do synthetic biology--a brand new technology that makes them pioneers in my book," said To, one of the team's faculty advisers.
Members of the MSU team included Lauren E. Beatty of Newton; Joseph Chen, Samuel W. Pote and Teresa M. Vaughn, all of Starkville, Brendan P. Flynn of Folsom, La.; Meng-Hsuan Ho of Taiwan; Paul B. Kimbrough of Pinson, Ala.; Robert M. Morris of Olive Branch; and Scott C. Tran of Ridgeland.
The team was sponsored by the university's Bagley College of Engineering and its Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems.
In addition to To, faculty advisers included Din-Pow Ma, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Bob Reese, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Todd French, an assistant research professor of chemical engineering.
iGEM participants spent the summer immersed in the growing field of synthetic biology, creating simple systems from interchangeable parts that operate in living cells. Biology--once thought too complicated to be engineered like clocks, computers or microwave ovens--has proven to be open to manipulation at a genetic level.
An eight-member student team from the University of Lbjubljana in Slovenia won the grand prize for a project that targeted a way to use engineered cells to intercept the body's excessive response to infection, which can lead to a fatal condition called sepsis.
Groups from England, Scotland, Sweden, Spain, Latin America, Japan, and Canada also competed in the event.
In addition to MSU, the United States was represented by Boston, Brown, Duke, Harvard, Missouri Western State, Penn State, Prairie View A&M, Princeton, Purdue, and Rice universities. Others included the universities of Arizona, California-Berkeley, California at San Francisco, Michigan, and Oklahoma, along with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Davidson College.
"This is truly excellent," associate provost Jerry Gilbert, a former ABE department head, said of the MSU team's success. "I am proud of the faculty members who helped make it possible. Fabulous job!"
LOCAL EDITORS:
Lauren Beatty, a senior biological engineering major, is the daughter of Preston and Kimberly Beatty.
Joseph Chen, a junior biological engineering major, is the son of Chuen Lung and Naomi Chen.
Brendan Flynn, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, is the son of Kevin and Pamela Flynn.
Meng-Hsuan Ho is a doctoral student in molecular biology. [Parents not listed.]
Paul Kimbrough, a junior biological engineering major, is the son of Joel and Johanna Kimbrough.
Robert Morris, a graduate student in biological engineering, is the son of Bobby and Barbara Morris.
Samuel Pote, a freshman biological engineering major, is the son of Jonathan and Linda Pote.
Scott Tran, a junior biological engineering major, is the son of Chan and Phuong Tran.
Teresa Vaughn, a senior biological engineering major, is the daughter of Rayford and Glynda Vaughn.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Heather Rowe at 662-325-5935 or hrowe@bagley.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.