iGEM 2022 - Colourectal - We are battling colorectal cancer

78% Reached

Closed
€31,600 Raised
€40,000 Our goal

Will you help us to develop a tool to detect colorectal cancer earlier and more effective?

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancers in the western world. To detect this type of cancer, there are several nationwide screening programs in the world, also in the Netherlands. However, these screenings have a high user threshold, as participants need to send their stool samples by mail. Furthermore, the test is only done every two years. This gives early stage tumors the time to develop into later stage cancer before it is detected.

The world needs a simpler early-warning detection mechanism for colorectal cancer. We, a team of eleven motivated students from Wageningen University, therefore came up with "Colourectal". We aim to develop a type of probiotic bacteria that can sense colorectal cancer at an early stage, after which it warns the user by coloring the stool. When coloration is present, the user will be locally and continuously checked on tumor formation in the colon.

With this project, we will attend the international student contest iGEM, in which hundreds of student teams try to solve a societal problem with the use of synthetic biology. In the upcoming months we will work hard to get to our end goal: the final "Grand Jamboree" in Paris. During this finale, all teams will come together to compete with each other and have a chance to win this contest. And we want to color the stage WUR-green in our victory!

To develop this detection mechanism, Wageningen University & Research kindly gave permission to use their laboratories. However, we need money to buy materials for our experiments, do collaborations and to attend the iGEM endgame. For this, we need €40.000 to finance our whole project. With your help we can make big steps in our battle against colorectal cancer! Will you support us?

 

*Presents will be sent to donors in the Netherlands. International donators will be contacted to discuss the shipping fee.

**Presents will be sent after the project is finished.

News updates

Colourectal wins gold!

02/11/2022 | 13:03

The students from team Colourectal participated in the iGEM finale last week and have won a gold medal! Additionally, they were nominated for best presentation.  Even after the final, the team will continue to work on the project. In January, they will hand over the baton to a new team of Wageningen students who will once again set up a project to make the world healthier, better or safer with synthetic biology. Read the full article here -> Wageningen team Colourectal wins gold medal in...

Wageningen iGEM 2022 team

Mail: iGEMWageningen@gmail.com

Mail: igem@wur.nl

Instagram: @igem.wageningen

Twitter: @igemwageningen

The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to education and competition, the advancement of synthetic biology, and the development of an open community and collaboration.

iGEM began in January 2003 as an independent study course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where students developed biological devices to make cells blink. This course became a summer competition with 5 teams in 2004 and continued to grow to 13 teams in 2005; it expanded to 300 teams in 2016, reaching 42 countries and over 5,000 participants.

The iGEM competition is an annual, worldwide, synthetic biology event aimed at undergraduate university students, as well as high school and graduate students. Multidisciplinary teams work all summer long to build genetically engineered systems using standard biological parts called BioBricks. iGEM teams work inside and outside the lab, creating sophisticated projects that strive to create a positive contribution to their communities and the world.

The competition builds up to the "Grand Jamboree" in Paris, where all the teams come together to present their projects, establish international contacts and have a good time!

Dear reader,

by this moment you know all about what our project entails. However, you still don’t know who these ten mysterious people on the group picture are! Hereby introducing: the Wageningen University & Research iGEM 2022 Team!

This years’ team consists of 11 students. Eight of us will be found mainly in the lab, whereas Josia, Ally and Lucia will work on their computers to model our project. Our team consists of a healthy mix of Dutchies, a Belgian, a Spaniard. All of us are master students, studying either Biotechnology, Molecular Life Sciences or Molecular Biology.

Last year December we first met up to discuss what iGEM entails and what we would be getting ourselves into. After some months of brainstorming and researching several projects, we decided on working towards the efficient diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

Over the last months we’ve all been working hard towards achieving our goal: Creating a probiotic bacteria that can colonize the colon. There it will recognize specifically and locally the presence of tumor formation, and as a reaction it will warn the user by coloring their stool. Many many pages of literature have been read, genetic constructs were designed and built, stakeholders and other experts have been visited and overloaded with questions and feedback. We already presented our progress at many occasions and all the feedback we gathered was used to further establish our project, to create an as strong as possible project!

In October, the "Grand Jamboree" will take place in Paris, where all teams will get together to present their ideas. This means that there will be over 300 teams that we all aim to beat! WUR teams historically perform very well and even won the second price at several occasions, we hope to match or even exceed this result!

Thank you for your interest!

Kind regards,

Bas, Sonia, Arthur, Menno, Sarah, Max, Lucia, Josia, Marte, Ally & Koen

 

€10

Thank you!

Due to you we can make futher steps to create a an effective and early stage tool to detect colorectal cancer!

3 donors

€15

3D-printed keychain

Thank you for your contribution! You will receive a 3D-printed keychain of a blue poop!

14 donors

€30

Cookbook

Thank you for your contribution! You will receive a copy of our selfmade cookbook. This cookbook is made in collaboration with the Balance Buddy foundation and exists of affordable and easy to cook meals that help to prevent colorectal cancer.

22 donors

€55

Goodybag small

Thank you for the contribution! You will receive our "small goodybag"! This wil contain the keychain, the cookbook and stickers with our logo! All packaged in a nice bag!

9 donors

€85 Recommended

Colourectal T-shirt

Thank you for your contribution! To promote our project we have created in our opinion a super nice T-shirt. with this nice contribution you will receive a piece of the "colourectal" T-shirt!

4 donors

€115

Colourectal Sweater

Thank you for your contribution! To promote our project we have created in our opinion a super nice sweater. with this nice contribution you will receive a piece of the "colourectal" sweater!

2 donors

€160

Merch total package

Thank you for your contribution! To promote our project we have created in our opinion a super nice sweater and T-shirt. with this nice contribution you will receive the total "colourectal" merch package!

1 donor

€200

Goodybag large

Thank you for the contribution! You will receive our " largt goodybag"! This wil contain the keychain, the cookbook, stickers with our logo and the "Colourectal" T-shirt and Sweater! All packaged in a nice bag!

1 donor

€300

The full goodybag and logo on crowdfunding site

Thank you for your contribution! You will receive the "colourectal" goodybag. This will contain: The keychain, the cookbook, the T-shirt and the sweater. Furthermore, your logo of choice will be displayed on the crowdfunding page!

€500

Bronze sponsor

Thank you for your contribution! For this, we will create exposure of your company within the iGEM and Wageningen community, by placing your logo at our projectpage.

€1,000

Silver sponsor

Thank you for your contribution! For this, we will create exposure of your company within the iGEM and Wageningen community, by placing your logo at our projectpage, presentations and posters. Furthermore you will receive our newsletter!

€2,500

Golden sponsor

Thank you for your contribution! For this, we will create exposure of your company within the iGEM and Wageningen community, by placing your logo at our projectpage, presentations and posters. Furthermore you will receive our newsletter and we will give a presentation at your company!

€3,500

Platinum sponsor

Thank you for your contribution! For this, we will create exposure of your company within the iGEM and Wageningen community, by placing your logo at our projectpage, presentations and posters. Furthermore you will receive our newsletter and we will give a presentation at your company! Lastly we will give you more exposure through our social media accounts and your company can give a presentation to the Wageningen iGEM community!