Team:Amazonas-Brazil/Human Practices
Over this season we amplified the way we promote science. Thinking of the limitation that scientists face in spreading information obtained in the laboratory to society, we made our human practices focused on disseminating information about new therapies developed by synthetic biology, social impacts caused by that and rethinking about our comprehension of the reality of patients that go through the existing treatments. We have consulted and integrated the suggestions, advices, and statements of researchers from academia and industry. Our final data was essential for the design of BeliEVE’s proposal. We have talked to kids, teenagers, adults and scientists, using different approaches for each specific public. For children, we proposed a painting and handcraft workshop about DNA and microorganisms. For teenagers, interactive lectures were presented addressing synthetic biology and cervical cancer and its relationship with HPV, explaining the transmission and prevention of the disease by the demystification of some concepts. In the 5th Pan Amazonian Oncology Congress and in the Brazil Conference at Harvard & MIT - Manaus Edition our team discussed our project design and how synthetic biology can solve important problems of our society.
Noticing the alarming incidence of cervical cancer in the state of Amazonas and the high rates of mortality by that, our team have also begun a journey to understand better our local reality. We had support from an experient group of research of public health and cancer from our host institute (NAI-UFAM) that guided us through an inspiring and transforming experience allying science and art in an iniciative to touch people and promote good reflections and awareness. Not only in arts, our team has also engaged in public policies. Funding crisis at Brazilian science agencies and universities have forced IGEM-AMAZONAS to reorganize its budget strategy and to search for new sources of financial support. In this search, the team got the support of the Amazonas government and was very participative in the implementation of a new program destined to regulate the process of obtaining public funding for science in our state, which will have a positive impact for the amazonian scientific community.
HUMAN PRACTICES - SILVER MEDAL CRITERIA
\(\boldsymbol{\cdot} \) Our work made the audience aware of HPV and its relationship to cervical cancer by creative and effective ways;
\(\boldsymbol{\cdot} \) We were able to connect with people of different ages and successfully exchange knowledge;
\(\boldsymbol{\cdot} \) We engaged with the public in a way they could share the emotional impact provided by knowing the situation of oncologic patients;
\(\boldsymbol{\cdot} \) Our art exhibition gave visibility to several women who suffer from cancer in our state;
\(\boldsymbol{\cdot} \) We evolved professionally and personally due to our experiences in the projects;
\(\boldsymbol{\cdot} \) Our team helped create the first institutionalized program in a research funding foundation that brings parliamentary amendments as a new resource. See more here!
HUMAN PRACTICES - GOLD MEDAL CRITERIA
\(\boldsymbol{\cdot} \) It was possible to consult and integrate into our project the view of a range of diverse stakeholders: psychology, oncology, immunology, synthetic biology and development of probiotics;
\(\boldsymbol{\cdot} \) Our design was drastically influenced by stakeholders feedback since the choice of the chassi E. coli Nissle 1917 to the synthetic genetic circuit: we chose promoters induced by general characteristic of tumors;
\(\boldsymbol{\cdot} \) BeliEVE was responsibly conducted. Our experiments were planned and executed with biosafety recommendations of the specialists, (e.g. we changed our approach to using the protein Invasin that requires laboratory safety level 2 to use the secretion system alpha-hemolysin for drug delivery);
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Our data is documented and accessible to inspire and help others that might want to build upon this. See more here!
