Gold medal for Unizar in the iGEM international genetic engineering competition

The Reconby project, of 11 students from the University of Zaragoza, produces in vitro the antibodies that are normally obtained by experimenting with animals

Equipment 11 students from Biotechnology y Physics from the University of Zaragoza has obtained the gold medal in one of the categories of the largest synthetic biology competition on an international level -iGEM- (International Genetically Engineered Machine), with more than 300 participating teams.

Specifically, The Aragonese team has achieved this weekend gold medal, For his job Reconby, to produce in the laboratory antibodies that occur naturally in living beings for the treatment of diseases but without the need to resort to experimental animals.

In this edition, and due to the covid-19 pandemic, the final, which is usually held in Boston, has been distributed among several venues, one of them la Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zaragoza that, throughout of the weekend, has welcomed the presentations of the representatives of the rest of Spanish cities, as well as teams from Greece, Denmark and Taiwan.

Gold medal

After an intense weekend full of talks and activities, on Sunday it was time to find out the results in the grand final. “Fortunately, ours was one of the teams awarded a gold medal, which It shows that the effort of these last 9 months has not been in vain”, comments the winning team. “We want to thank all the support provided to our sponsors, especially the University of Zaragoza, Certest and Operon, since without their collaboration all this would have been unviable,” they point out.

The first team of the University of Zaragoza

In this contest, which arose in Technological Institute of in Massachusetts, students form multidisciplinary teams in which they must design, build, test and measure their own genetic circuits. Every year more than 6.000 students and 300 universities from around the world participate in the iGEM competition. This year, for the first time, the University of Zaragoza decided to participate in this competition, selecting eleven students from numerous applications.

Numerous potential applications

After nine months, the team developed the Reconby project, which focuses on creating invitro of antibodies, going through a process called recombination, without resorting to animal experimentation (something practically unfeasible until now). These antibodies have numerous potential applications, such as the treatment of neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases, its use as antitumor therapy, the creation of diagnostic kits or the detection of contaminants, among the most notable.

This project, apart from being a great opportunity for the students involved, is a great boost for biotechnology companies in Aragon, introducing them to the international scene. In addition, it contributes to improving the scientific culture of the city and the autonomous community, as well as raising awareness of the importance of research and innovation to solve the current challenges facing our society.