Why join MSBT?
When
Our next application period will start in January 2024
Who
Any undergraduate student with an interest in synthetic biology and biological engineering is welcome to join! Absolutely no previous experience is required.
In addition, we always have places for students interested in mathematical modeling, business, programming, web design, and animation. Learn more about these roles at the end of the page. We also have graduate students and faculty advisors from multiple colleges and departments on campus.
MSBT holds weekly content and working meetings from February to the end of the winter semester. Continuing through spring, summer, and the following fall semester, we transition to working on the year’s project. The iGEM competition takes place in late October!
Our team is composed of undergraduate students from a variety of majors, including (but not limited to):
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Biology
- Mathematics
- Biochemistry
- Biophysics
- Neuroscience
- Microbiology
- Materials Science & Engineering
- Computer Science
Joining MSBT
There are boundless opportunities for our team members to learn both hard and soft skills through experience with:
- working in the lab
- fundraising and managing finances
- community outreach
- helping with organization and leadership
- studying and communicating synthetic biology research
Our team is a platform for budding scientists, communicators, and fascinated biologists to be introduced into the field and to the academic research process!
Check out the various roles that the members of our club can participate in below.
The main component of our research project takes place in the lab! Our team of undergraduates participate in wet lab research throughout the summer in MSBT's on-campus lab. We do not require new members to have prior experience in the lab as we will provide training to those who need it!
We use computational modeling, both mathematical and molecular, to inform different aspects of our research project. In the past, we have used softwares such as GROMACS, PyMol, MATLAB, HADDOCK, and AlphaFold. Consider this subteam if you know how to use the Linux command line or have an interest in biophysics, bioinformatics, or even molecular biology!
Some of our human practices efforts include connecting with stakeholders, partnering with other iGEM teams to give and receive advice on our respective projects, and participating in educational programs to introduce younger students to the field of synthetic biology. Most recently, we visited a local Ann Arbor middle school to talk about synthetic biology, present our current research project, and lead an interactive activity with the students!
Since MSBT is entirely student-run, we rely on independent funding, through fundraising and donations, to purchase supplies for our research project and to send some of our members to Paris for the iGEM competition! Our finance team raises money by working with various University of Michigan departments, such as Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, and Molecular, Ceullar, and Developmental Biology, reaching out to companies and community partners, and applying for grants.
As a part of our project submission to iGEM, our team creates a Wiki Page detailing our computational modeling work, human practices efforts, lab experiments, and project results. While the entire team develops content for the page, the Wiki specific subteam codes the actual website over the summer. If you are interested in web design or web development, we encourage you to apply (even if you know nothing about biology)!