Summer 2017 New England iGEM Meetup

June 21st, 2017--Eight iGEM teams from the New England area came together at a New England iGEM meetup also known as NEGEM hosted by the BostonU Wetlab team. Teams were able to present on their ideas, gain feedback from students and mentors, and even plan potential collaborations.

The teams in attendance were Boston University (Wetlab and Hardware), Harvard, MIT, Northeastern University, Tufts, University of Connecticut, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

After hearing an introduction from iGEM Headquarters, as well as an overview of the web application Benchling by Densmore Lab member Luis Ortiz, each team was given the opportunity to present on their proposed iGEM projects.

Over the span of twenty minutes, each team detailed the background, motivation, and goals for their projects; any results they had already obtained; and what they have planned for Policy and Practices. After each presentation, NEGEM attendees asked clarifying questions and provided suggestions about each team's direction and their Policy and Practices Options.

After all teams had presented, there was a breakout session during which members from each team came together in small groups to talk about the projects, their experience with iGEM, and to plan collaborations.

There will be one more NEGEM meetup, co-hosted with MIT, in October for teams to get feedback on their presentations right before the iGEM Giant Jamboree in November.