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Diep P, Boucinha A, Kell BJ, Yeung BRA, Chen XA, Tsyplenkov D, Serra D, Escobar A, Gnanapragasam A, Emond CA, Sajtovich VA, Mahadevan R, Kilkenny DM, Gini-Newman G, Kaern M, Ingalls B. Advancing Undergraduate Synthetic Biology Education: Insights from a Canadian iGEM Student Perspective. Can J Microbiol 2021; 67:749-770. [PMID: 34237221 DOI: 10.1139/cjm-2020-0549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The last two decades have seen vigorous activity in synthetic biology research and ever-increasing applications of its technologies. However, pedagogical research pertaining to teaching synthetic biology is scarce, especially when compared to other science and engineering disciplines. Within Canada there are only three universities that offer synthetic biology programs; two of which are at the undergraduate level. Rather than take place in formal academic settings, many Canadian undergraduate students are introduced to synthetic biology through participation in the annual International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. Although the iGEM competition has had a transformative impact on synthetic biology training in other nations, the impact in Canada has been relatively modest. Consequently, the iGEM competition is still a major setting for synthetic biology education in Canada. To promote further development of synthetic biology education, we surveyed undergraduate students from the Canadian iGEM design teams of 2019. We extracted insights from these data using qualitative analysis to provide recommendations for best teaching practices in synthetic biology undergraduate education, which we describe through our proposed Framework for Transdisciplinary Synthetic Biology Education (FTSBE).
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Diep
- University of Toronto, 7938, BioZone - Centre for Applied Bioscience and Bioengineering, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Austin Boucinha
- University of Toronto, 7938, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education , Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Brayden James Kell
- University of Toronto, 7938, Department of Physics, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,University of Toronto - Mississauga, 71637, Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Bi-Ru Amy Yeung
- University of Toronto, 7938, Department of Physiology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Xingyu Amy Chen
- Queen's University, 4257, School of Medicine, Kingston, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Daniel Tsyplenkov
- Concordia University, 5618, Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada;
| | - Danielle Serra
- University of Toronto, 7938, Department of Human Biology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,University of Toronto, 7938, Department of Cell & Systems Biology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Andres Escobar
- University of Waterloo, 8430, Department of Chemistry , Waterloo, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Ansley Gnanapragasam
- McGill University, 5620, Department of Human Genetics, Montreal, Quebec, Canada;
| | - Christian A Emond
- University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, 70401, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,University of Calgary, 2129, Department of Biological Sciences, Calgary, Alberta, Canada;
| | - Victoria A Sajtovich
- University of Toronto, 7938, Department of Molecular Genetics, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 28310, Marburg, Hessen, Germany;
| | - Radhakrishnan Mahadevan
- University of Toronto, 7938, BioZone - Centre for Applied Bioscience and Bioengineering, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,University of Toronto, 7938, Institute for Biomedical Engineering , Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Dawn M Kilkenny
- University of Toronto, 7938, Institute of Biomedical Engineering , Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,University of Toronto, 7938, Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education & Practice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Garfield Gini-Newman
- University of Toronto, 7938, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Mads Kaern
- University of Ottawa, 6363, Ottawa Institute of System Biology, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,University of Ottawa, 6363, Department of Physics, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada;
| | - Brian Ingalls
- University of Waterloo, 8430, Department of Applied Mathematics, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.,University of Waterloo, 8430, Department of Biology, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.,University of Waterloo, 8430, Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada;
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