Our Team

The Team includes a mix of complementary expertise. In the end the work was naturally split between the members. Below each member of the efficient team is linked to their identifying tasks. Through everyone’s hard work, our team finished a fantastic project. Our team has characterized a gene circuit with three modules to fight with triple negative breast cancer(TNBC). Controlled by TNBC-specific promoter 1, module 1 includes a miRNA binding site(BS) and a transcription factor which drives Module3 --- expression of a fusion protein composed of HIF1-αoDDD and yeast cytosine deaminase (yCD) working under hypoxia conditions. Module 2 includes several sponge-like domains effectively down-regulating specific miRNA when promoter 2 is driven. Supposing the miRNA is highly expressed in the normal cells and low in most cancer cells, this circuit could trigger highly selective cytotoxicity of cancer cells. Once optimized, our design could be applied to current treatments, allowing for a more powerful therapeutic effect with a comparatively low risk.

General Support

Our university—Central South University and our school—School of Life Science is the strongest backing of us.

Project support and advice

The initial idea of doing a project on TNBC came from our leader Yufan Dong who mentioned to us the fact that Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women. Despite success in several clinical trials, treatments remain limited by the high heterogeneity and invasiveness especially in triple negative breast cancer(TNBC). Zhangjie Li and Zhuo Chen did further research and saw the possibility of using a transferrin system for transportation. Wenxin Duan and Danyang Wang checked literature to help improving the circuit and finding out which miRNA to choose Our advisor Weiqian Zeng searched for strategies to optimize the miRNA usages, our PI Dr. Jiada Li recommended the use of AND-gate.

Fundraising help and advice

Our primary PI Jufang Huang and secondary PI Shanni Li provided us with enough money for research and meetings so that we could finish our project successfully.

Lab support

Professor Li Jiada provides us the platform to perform our project. Yufan Dong was responsible for the whole experiment including experiment design and make overall arrangements. He performed cloning, BioBrick construction and validation of the constructed parts.

Zhangjie Li, Zhuo Chen, Danyang Wang and Wenxin Duan and other members played a supportive roles in different modules as needed.

Experimental record, meeting record and copywriting were completed by Yunqian Zhang, Miaomiao Zhuang and Wenxin Duan.

Difficult technique support

Weiqian Zeng was the main advisor of the team. She taught the students basics of synthetic biology and showed them how to use specialized equipment. She supervised the Biobrick construction by Golden Gate means.

We collaborated with SYSU-CHINA on the construction of miRNA sponge.

Project advisor support

Advisor Qingxin Shi kept our work on track and helped answer the tough questions. He is also in charge of handing all files submission online. The experience he shared with us is very valuable.

Wiki Construction

Pengcheng Shen

• Responsible for the webpage construction of the modeling part and the design of animation part in the wiki group.
• Constructed a mathematical model, and described the gene expression and regulation process of the whole system.
• Predicted the three results of the system from shallow to deep, displayed the results on the web page of modeling part.

Bin Zhang

• Designed and programed the ccic webpage, safety and lab wiki page, navigator bar

Wenqiang Shu

• Designed and programed webpage project，parts and team wiki page，navigator bar.

Qihang Wang

• Took part in experiment.
• Made the 3D animation.
• Programmed Home and introduction wiki page.

Youhai Tan

• Responsible for the wiki group and allocated tasks.
• Communicate with other groups and other teams.
• Translated and made the Wiki Guide.
• Participated design of the whole wiki.
• Programmed the HP wiki page.

Model Construction

Pengcheng Shen provided valuable knowledge and ideas in modeling. His experience with data processing also proved useful in modeling our project.

Art Design

• Xutong Guo is in charge of the design of team logo, team costume, pictures on the home page of wiki.
• Shijie Zeng takes part in the design of our team logo and costume as well as our posters. He also helped in drawing lab pictures and timeline.
• Yuqian Deng contributes to drawing the pictures putted on wiki and the special effects on our team logo. She also helped to design our team logo and banners.
• Yunqian Zhang is responsble of designing and drawing the team page of our wiki. She also helped make the poster used in CCiC and Chongqing meeting.

Presentation Coach

Our PI Dr. Long Ma has rich experience on paper writing and presentation speeches, he helped us a lot.

Human Practices

Meet ups

• Yufan Dong, Pengcheng Shen and other students[1] went to the iGEM Chongqing Meeting hosted by team

• Yufan Dong, Pengcheng Shen and other students[2] took part in the 6th Conference of China iGEMer Community

Integrated Human Practice

• We organized a debate competition about the pros&cons of traditional therapy and gene therapy.
• Yang Xiao, Wu Qiwen, Xu Yunhan, Shi Mengting, Zhang Zhuangyu, four students from school debating club, actively participated in the debate competition.
• Haotian Chen is responsible for the activity planning and overall design, and participates in the specific implementation of the activity such as contacting professors and doctors for interviews. Shiyan Qu and Jiali You are jointly responsible for the implementation of the activity like having conversations with advisors.

Public Engagement

• Changteng Zhang Jiali You, Shiyan Qu and Haotian Chen both participated in writing a plan about the business possibility of our loop.
• Jiali You, Shiyan Qu and Haotian Chen wrote an article about ethical thoughts about the safety of gene therapy
• Shiyan Qu and Jiali You are jointly responsible for the implementation of the activity like picking up and analysis questionnaires, and at the same time, the copywriting and video editing were done by them

Collaborations

• Haotian Chen is responsible for the activity planning and overall design, and participates in the specific implementation of the activity such as contacting professors and doctors for interviews, running a debate, designing questionairs. Shiyan Qu and Jiali You are jointly responsible for the implementation of the activity like having conversations with advisors, picking up and analysis questionnaires, and at the same time, the copywriting and video editing were done by them; Changteng Zhang is responsible for assisting web designers to build the HP part in our wiki.

Acknowledgement

General support

• Dr. Jiada Li, Dr. Jieqiong Tan, Dr. Zhiyong Luo, Dr. Shuming Sun , Weiqian Zeng and others helped us during our brainstorming. Dr. Jiada Li provided us with his lab for some experiments. Dr. Jufang Huang and Dr. Shanni Li are our sponsors. Central South University offered us their support unconditionally. Long Ma gave us a presentation coaching.

Biological Support

• Thanks to the author of ‘Synthetic RNA-Based Immunomodulatory Gene Circuits for Cancer Immunotherapy’, Pos Doc Ming_Ru Wu for providing us the sequences of plasmids, such as pLN431; and instructed us the methods designing the promoter.

• Thanks to the Prof. Luo Zhiyong for providing us the TNBC cell line HCC-1806.

Human practices support

• Xiangya Hospital gave us some useful advices on the development of our project.Thanks to professor Yanfang Wen and professor Bonin Ding for their help in improving our project.
• Thanks to teachers Chenxi Tan and Xiafeng Liu for their assistance in the research and popularization of science in primary and secondary schools.
• Thanks Yang Xiao, Wu Qiwen, Xu Yunhan, Shi Mengting, Zhang Zhuangyu for actively participating in the debate competition.
• Thank you, lawyer Ting Wu for your valuable advice when sorting out the government proposals.
• Thanks to professor Shuming Sun for his support to the development of synthetic biology extension course.
• We are grateful to professor Jianping Ouyang for his enthusiastic discussion on the safety and ethical aspects of synthetic biology.
• I am grateful to Mr. Dehui Liu for his great help in the investigation of grassroots communities.
• Grateful to Huilan Xu for sharing the current situation and future Suggestions on community health .
• Thank you for the commercial technical guidance of Changsha Jinruide biotechnology co., LTD.
• Thanks for the understanding and support of all participants during the survey, as well as the breast cancer patients and their families.