Public engagement

University Clubs and Societies Festival

One of the first events that we participated in was the “University Clubs and Societies Festival“, which took place from 6th to 7th March.

There we introduced the new iGEM Bulgaria team to our fellow university colleagues. What we had in store for them were fun science demonstrations and engaging discussions regarding our project and what lies ahead of us. We met like-minded students from various academic fields who were eager to walk alongside us during the tough but rather fulfilling journey that is iGEM.

The event was made possible by our biggest sponsor yet – The Students’ Council of Sofia University, which was kind enough to invite us again, so we took the opportunity to forge an even stronger connection with its members.

Our activity was recognized by the newspaper “Monitor”, where our team’s goals and aspirations were mentioned in an article.

Sofia Science Fest 2019

We can already call it a tradition of iGEM Bulgaria to take part in the annual Sofia Science Festival, so we couldn’t be happier to participate again. The festival took place, as per usual, in Sofia Tech Park from 9th to 12th May.

This time we targeted the youngsters in order to inspire them to keep the scientific spark of their minds alive. We showed them the wonders of science through many fun experiments in which they could assist us as well. We took the opportunity to introduce them to lab safety measures as we view them to be a very important starting point for a possible science career. Our young participants didn’t cease to amaze us with their curiosity and rather intriguing questions.

More than 100 people of all ages participated in our experiment “What microorganisms do I have on my hands?” which helped us engage the public with what is invisible to the naked eye.

Business in Practice

There is an indisputable need for more people with a scientific background who know how to integrate business with science in order to get new innovations faster on the market.

We already wanted to get better acquainted with the business side of things, so we were incredibly excited when we got invited to AIESEC’s event “Business in Practice”, which was held on 13th April. There we had the chance to chat with specialists in the field who helped us familiarize ourselves with business through discussing solutions to a slew of real-life issues we may stumble upon. The relationship between science and business constantly evolves and we as a team want to be a part of it.

European Researchers’ Night 2019

This year marked our fourth consecutive appearance at the “European Researchers’ Night” on 27th September at Sofia Tech Park. We were extremely glad to have been invited once again to present what we are currently working on in front of such a broad audience. At our booth, we had our tried-and-true “What bacteria do I have on my hands?” and “Microscopy for Newbies”, among other staples, but what brought us to light was our “Tasty Science” stand.

Just at the sheer sound of marshmallow bags opening, children immediately flocked to our corner and demanded we gave them some... but we had something else in mind. We used this opportunity to introduce everyone to the basics of genetics, namely the structure of DNA.

Our team’s main objective has always been to serve as a mediator between real science and people without a scientific background. This idea is, simply put, the driving force behind most of the experiments and demonstrations we do.

Having so many people visit our booth, try to understand what we were talking about, ask questions, be curious in general, had us overflowing with gratitude, but also made us realize the responsibility we carry as members of the scientific society.

Freshers’ Days 2019

This year we were gracefully invited to be part of the organization committee for Freshers’ Day. Being one of the biggest annual events the Faculty of Biology holds, we had a few months to prepare. Along with our friends from the various student clubs our university has, we came up with an engaging programme for the newest additions to our big university family.

The perfect ratio of creativity and vivid imagination resulted in outstanding discussions about the future of synthetic biology and its possible applications in the real world. We held a discussion with prospective iGEM Bulgaria members, showed them our working space and introduced them to this year’s project.

Opening of the World Bank Group shared services center

We received the great honor to take part in one of the notable events for Bulgaria in 2019. Sofia was chosen following a competitive search for a location for the new World Bank Group shared services center, based on a broad number of criteria.

We gave statements as students and young scientists about our experience doing research in Bulgaria and why we chose our home country for our higher education. Always true to ourselves, we grasped the opportunity to present our project to the many inspiring and accomplished people who had gathered there to celebrate the occasion.

Integrated human practices

Meeting at “St. Ekaterina” Hospital

We were aware of the scale of the problem with antibiotic resistance and how important it is for doctors in Bulgaria. That is precisely the reason why one of our team members attended the cardio surgery ICU in St. Ekaterina University Hospital. We set our eyes on this particular department because they tend to use various antibiotics for long periods and have a good enough set of conditions for the development of drug-resistant strains. The chief of the department doctor Filip Abedinov answered our questions and took interest in our project.

Questions:

1. How often do you battle multiresistant bacteria?
2. What are the most common strains to gain resistance against antibiotics?
3. What are the measures you take in the fight against those multiresistant strains and them spreading around the globe?
4. Is there similarity you have noticed between the antibiotics different strains you have isolated have proven to be resistant against?
5. Comparing recent times to 5-10 years ago, have you noticed for infections with multiresistant bacteria to be becoming more frequent in patients?
6. Is saving such multiresistant strains for further inspection a common practice?
7. Have you heard of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and their ways of action as an alternative to modern-day antibiotics?
8. Would you use products containing AMPs made using methods of modern-day synthetic biology and gene engineering, in your everyday practice?
9. What are the most common ways of antibiotic application in your unit?
10. In what patients have you found infections with multiresistant pathogens?
11. How frequently do you have to treat patients with antibiotic allergies?
12. How does that affect the choice of antibiotic treatment in the treatment of infections with multiresistant strains?
13. Do you personally think people are in any way knowledgeable of antibiotic resistance?
14. Do you advise the sensible use of antibiotics to your patients and colleagues?