Russia's Triumph at the iGEM 2020 contest
Exclusive interview
The team presented to the experts a draft device that determines various genetic variants of the hepatitis C virus. This is the first such system in Russia.
Lead.Ru took an exclusive interview with the participants of the team and the ambassador of the competition. Our questions were answered by members of the Moscow team: Marina Marchenko, a student of Lomonosov Moscow State University, and a student of MGMU. Sechenova Anastasia Kislova. We also talked with the iGEM contest ambassador Maxim Bokov, a participant of iGEM 2019.
Maxim Bokov spoke about the goals and features of the competition.
– What is the purpose of the iGEM contest?
Maxim Bokov: One of the goals of the competition is to unite schoolchildren, students and postgraduates from all over the world to create projects to solve the most pressing problems of humanity using genetic engineering methods. In addition, the organizers wanted to gather a community of people who publish their results for free and open use.
An important feature of the iGEM competition is the complexity of the projects performed. The uniqueness of the competition lies in the fact that people not only work in the laboratory and solve bionformatics problems, but also actively interact with potential users of the development, scientific experts and business representatives. The participants also hold educational events and popularize science in general.
– What are the results of the competition this year?
Maxim Bokov: This year 249 teams from more than 40 countries participated in the competition. Of these, 168 teams received gold medals, 45 teams received silver and 26 – bronze.
– What do the winners of the contest get?
Maxim Bokov: in addition to medals and a line in the resume, the contest participants receive invaluable experience and acquaintances. Students will learn how to organize a project, how to present it to the public and commercialize the idea. The guys learn to work in a team, set mini-goals, allocate resources and responsibilities, communicate with the media, research institutes, large companies, businessmen and other representatives of the business sector. Sometimes they even create a full-fledged startup.
– Are there any examples of successful implementation of the developments submitted for the competition?
Maxim Bokov:yes. Over the entire history of the competition, about 150 projects have become full-fledged startups that have grown into successful business projects.
Then the participants of the Moscow team answered our questions.
– Tell us about the development submitted by your team to the competition. What is its purpose, how does it work and what is your know-how?
Anastasia Kislova: This year we have been working on a HaploSense detector for different genetic variants of the hepatitis C virus, which must be determined in order to prescribe optimal therapy. Genetic variants are mutant varieties of the same virus that may have different properties and require different treatment approaches. The existence of a unique RF2k/1b genetic variant for the territory of Russia makes the problem particularly relevant. It is often mistakenly identified as genotype 1b, which leads to the choice of the wrong treatment strategy. We are working on a fairly new method of detection based on CRISPR/Cas systems in the world practice and has not yet gained momentum. Part of the project was focused on a completely new for the applied scientific field – the CasX protein.
In the end, we should get a small and easy-to-use device for ordinary medical personnel. It will be possible to place a blood sample in it and after a while to understand by the indicator on the screen whether the patient is infected with the desired genetic variant.
It is important that the detection system based on CRISPR/Cas can be reconfigured to another virus if necessary.
Marina Marchenko: our team presented the HaploSense device at the iGEM international competition. It is a universal detector for different genotypes of RNA-containing viruses, for example hepatitis C.
How does it work? Let me remind you that hepatitis C is transmitted through the blood, so first you need to donate blood in a medical institution. Then the virus from the patient's blood is inactivated at a high temperature.
The hepatitis C virus stores hereditary information in RNA, not DNA, but DNA is needed for analysis. Therefore, a special procedure is performed that rewrites genetic information from RNA into DNA.
Next, a protein from the Cas family comes into play, the one that is used for gene editing. This protein is configured to break down only DNA molecules with certain genes. These genes are a sign of the strain that the test is aimed at.
The sample with the mixture is transferred to a test strip containing two binding zones. The non–split DNA molecules attach to the first zone, and the split ones to the second.
If the virus in the patient's blood belongs to the target strain, then the Cas family protein will split part of his DNA. In this case, both binding zones will receive their "prey", and there will be two strips on the test. If there are no target genes in the samples, then the DNA will not split, and there will be only one strip. You can read more about the detector's operation on the official website of our team.
In the case of hepatitis C, it is very important to determine which genetic variant a person has become infected with. The optimal treatment strategy for a disease that can lead to cirrhosis or even liver cancer depends on this.
Unfortunately, there is no universal, fast and accurate detection system for virus strains today. That is why our team decided to develop HaploSense. After all, the device will be able to speed up the diagnosis and help you choose the optimal treatment many times faster than it is happening now.
Also, if necessary, the detector can be configured to detect other RNA-containing viruses, such as SARS-CoV 2 or HIV.
– How do you see the future fate of the development? Are there any plans for its implementation, concrete steps in this direction?
Marina Marchenko: we hope that our development will benefit society, and it will be used to help fight hepatitis C and possibly other viral diseases.
This year we have fully worked out the theoretical part of the project: work in the field of bioinformatics, project design and layout of the device. There was no access to the laboratory due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to get back to the lab. We plan to test and validate a prototype of our system. If the prototype works according to calculations and is no less efficient than existing analogues, then we will need to take care of patenting in advance and register our test system.
Since we have never had to deal with the implementation of such a large project before, we turned to the experts of the Biocad company on patenting and marketing issues.
If everything works out, HaploSense will become Russia's first detector of genetic varieties of viruses based on CRISPR/Cas technology.
Anastasia Kislova: during the development of the project, we worked closely with the experts of the large biotech company "Biocad". They held a series of seminars for us on marketing and product introduction to the market. But you need to understand that the project started very recently, and before you think about opening a startup, you need to do a lot more work.
– Tell us about your team. How many people are there in it, in which universities and faculties do they study? Are there any plans for further cooperation among themselves?
Anastasia Kislova: the final composition consists of 15 people. Since it was formed on the basis of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University, it was its students who made up the core. But still, the team turned out to be more of a national team. There are also guys from Skoltech and Tianjin University in China in its composition. I myself am from MGMU im. Sechenov. Moreover, not all of us are students: one of the participants is an eleventh grader, the other, on the contrary, is already a graduate student.
Once gathered on a project, the team members are already quite firmly connected with each other by mutual acquaintances and social networks. At the very least, we need to continue working on our project together. We also plan to develop the iGEM community in Russia. This will help to create a convenient launching pad for new, just gathering teams, as well as contribute to the further popularization of bioengineering. By the way, the lion's share of the team's work this year fell on educational and awareness-raising events.
Only time will tell whether the experience of joint project management will lead to new scientific collaborations or joint startups in the future.
Marina Marchenko: Officially, there are 15 participants in the iGEM Moscow team. They are mostly senior students of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University, but there are also students of Sechenov and Tianjin Universities, and in addition a student of school No. 1517.
The team also has instructors participating in the iGEM 2019 competition. The team leaders are Alexey Konstantinovich Shaitan, a leading researcher at the Department of Bioengineering of Moscow State University, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and Dmitry Sergeevich Karpov, senior researcher at the V. A. Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Biological Sciences.
The iGEM contest is over, but we still have a lot of tasks ahead of us. We need to go back to the laboratory and perform the planned experiments with the detector. In addition, we need to assemble a team for next year, tell the guys about the iGEM structure and help new teams from Russia with participation in the iGEM competition.
– What are your personal impressions of participating in the competition?
Marina Marchenko: The iGEM contest has become a unique experience for me, because it allowed me to go beyond the scientific laboratory. It was necessary to communicate with experts, companies, sponsors, write texts for media resources, talk about our project and iGEM at lectures, master classes, festivals. In particular, we participated in such significant events as Biologist's Day, Geek Picnic and Nauka 0+. We also interacted with schoolchildren at the Pilgrim bio-school and through the Perspektiva and BioBoot Camp lecture halls. As a kind of outcome of all the events, our team members have developed a bioengineering game BioLego Go. It allows you to assemble your experimental designs online.
I can say with confidence that iGEM is the best event in 2020. At the contest I met wonderful guys, both with my compatriots and with participants from abroad. Together we have become a big team and part of a community of people interested in bioengineering and biotechnology.
Anastasia Kislova: iGEM has become the best event in my 2020. It all started with a randomly opened lecture at the Biologist's Day and a mouse click confirming the submission of the application for participation, and ended... You know, it's hard to find the words. But it feels like I've been through an adventure. And it is impossible to return home from a good adventure by the same person who once went to it.
Simply put, iGEM changes people. It changes for the better. It's hard to say exactly what it is. Perhaps it's the uniqueness of the criteria for evaluating projects. I do not know of any other competition that would motivate students to create something so practice-oriented. Maybe it's all about the people I got on the same team with. Or in the iGEM community, united by a sincere impulse to create not just something interesting, but to make the world a little better with their developments.
iGEM has given us experience, a lot of experience, and not only in solving scientific problems. And most importantly: iGEM left behind a feeling that everything was not in vain.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru