Washington iGEM is one of the few UW RSOs to provide undergraduate-led laboratory research experience. It is a unique learning opportunity for students to take their project through every step of the design process. We are an accessible program that accepts students across all majors and backgrounds. We provide an interdisciplinary aspect to STEM research that brings art, finance, and outreach together with synthetic biology, so that everyone has a way to contribute.
International Genetically Engineering Machine (iGEM) is the premier international synthetic biology student research competition. Started at MIT in 2004, it now includes over 300 student teams from all over the world. UW's iGEM team has been attending the iGEM competition since 2008. In 2011, we won the grand prize.
Each annual season, starting in late winter and ending in late fall culminating in the international conference event, UW iGEM creates, plans, and executes a research project related to synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is a cutting-edge field of biotechnology that is extremely interdisciplinary, requiring not just biologists and chemists, but also electrical engineers, programmers, machinists, designers, business-oriented students, and many more.
We welcome all disciplines into the team and take pride in how its interdisciplinary nature. Besides the research project, a large aspect of each project is scientific outreach and involvement of the greater public.
Select a subteam to view its description here.