Team:Westminster UK/Attributions
Attributions
We want to acknowledge those who helped throughout the project:
The University of Westminster, for helping organise and assemble the team, as well as paying for the teams expenses including the entry into iGEM.
Marko Obvran, one of the team leaders, contributed to the project by adjusting the goal of polystyrene biodegradation via his research on alternative chemical routes of styrene preparation, as well as working on integrating the project with the Human Practices aspect. This included leading production for “The Plastic Lab” video and critically analysing the current routes of natural polystyrene degradation. He also helped with page and logo design. Without him the iGEM project would have been based on an entirely different field and may not have had any application for society.
Kris, also one of the team leaders, led the laboratory portion of the iGEM project. He also spent time researching enzyme bioinformatics and organising laboratory procedures. Without him the assembling and characterising of the BioBricks parts would not have taken place.
Sara Mubeen, who was responsible for the bioinformatics section of the project. She also immensely helped with team organisation and led the team when it came to outreach events such as the school visit. The team owes her a great deal as the BioBricks would not have been characterised had she not have been present in the team and the outreach events may not have been successful.
Jen, who was also part of the lab team within the iGEM project. He supported and carried out laboratory work including the Plastic Lab aspect of the project. Without him laboratory work including the Plastic Lab would not have been completed in time meaning no results would have been produced.
Timofey, the creator of the wiki for the iGEM team, he also helped with the Plastic Lab experiments. Without him, the website and entire wiki would not have been displayed for iGEM to see as he spent the majority of time learning to code and creating the pages on the iGEM domain.
Suraj, who gave a helping hand in the lab and also contributed to the written aspect of Human Practices within the iGEM project.
Sanarya Aljaf, who was also a part of the laboratory team and played an integral role in designing and characterising the BioBrick. She also co-ran the teams Instagram and Twitter pages online. Without her maintaining a connection to iGEM worldwide many collaborations with other iGEM teams would not have been possible.
Tim Weber, the creator of the “Life Without Plastics” video, he also led the fundraising campaign and contributed to the academic research required for the iGEM project. Without him the iGEM team may not have had enough funding and would also have not been able to demonstrate the effects plastics are happening on society via the documentary he produced.
The University’s Sustainability team for their support as well as permission to place plastic bins around the university campus. The University’s Sustainability team also agreed with the Human Practices ideas and helped implement the idea at the cafeteria.
Dr Stuart Thompson who shared his knowledge for the Health and Safety aspect of laboratory practices within the university which the team worked within.
Dr Linda Percy who gave her expertise on plastic degradation through a biological/biochemical route, this gave birth to a number of ideas and ultimately influenced the final project.
Dr Godfrey Kyazze for sharing his ideas on the toluene pathway and fermentation, which helped greatly in the development of the project design.
Camila Gaspar for the unconditional support she has given throughout the summer, this includes having regular meetings and helping plan out general deadlines/steps needed to be completed before the final deadline. Camila also shared her advice and opinions which helped immensely.
Kyle Bowman for guidance on correct laboratory techniques which were used whenever the team was present in the laboratory
Juan Attard for his endless help in assisting with laboratory techniques as well as giving his previously acquired background knowledge on the topic of plastic waste.
Zain Hashmi, who was previously an member of the Westminster iGEM team last year, was able to share his experience and knowledge acquired last year in both the laboratory as well as all other aspects of the iGEM project showed the iGEM team the level of quality and dedication that was needed for the project.
Amy Maclatchy, who also gave her experience and ideas in iGEM as she was also a member for a previous iGEM team.
Astha Gurung gave aid by helping with particular tasks and protocols in the laboratory during the summer when she was needed, which was much appreciated.
Reza Sarwary also gave his input and knowledge in regards to the iGEM project as he was previously a part of a Westminster iGEM team. His familiarity and insight helped the team understand the standard that the iGEM project demands and what is needed to achieve said standard.
James Carlsberg assisted the iGEM team with the organisation process for outreach events, thus helping the iGEM team build a repertoire of activities and Human Practices.
Thank Tandell assisted us to find the right regents and the equipment, which was vital for our experiment and without his chemistry brain the experiments would have not gone ahead.
Vanita gave her input for the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS page) experiments.
Shamim Myah a spokesperson for Bywaters Recycling Company, helped expand the iGEM team’s knowledge on recycling as a process as well as answered all questions which the iGEM team had, giving the project context and real-life applications.
Dr Zhi Song for his background knowledge on the Fluorescence spectroscopy and how it could be applied/utilized in the iGEM project.
Surang, Freepik and Smashicons as the icon providing services for our description page.
Domir Crisler who added some of the video material seen in “The iGEM plastic lab”. This contributed greatly to the professionalism quality of the final video.
Dr Pooja Basnett for her background knowledge in plastics which helped contextualise the final project idea which is based on plastics.
Kim Storey, who was kind enough to allow the iGEM team access to the laboratory during certain time periods and days when the laboratory would otherwise not be accessible. This helped the iGEM team immeasurably and cannot be forgotten.
Imperial College who were kind enough to lend their voice for the “The iGEM plastic lab” video. Once again this added to the professionalism and overall quality of the video is much acknowledged.
New York University was also kind enough to send a recording of filming the pipettes which were ultimately used in the “The iGEM plastic lab” video.
Lucas Biotech also kindly helped with “The iGEM plastic lab” video via their recording of how to recycle plastics in a laboratory setting, which clearly demonstrated one of the goals the video and was immensely appreciated.
Washington University kindly filmed the correct way of disposing of gloves for the “The iGEM plastic lab” video, which again demonstrated one of the goals of the video.
Marburg University (Videos) also kindly filmed the correct way of disposing of lab materials in labs for the “The iGEM plastic lab” video, allowing an objective of the video to be fulfilled.
Rwanda university gave their opinions and criticisms of the documentary called “ Life after plastics”. This allowed improvements to be made to video, making the video more informative and enjoyable which was very kind of them.
Everyone and anyone who helped the team financially, whether that is via the Gofundme page or direct donations, without the financial aid the iGEM project would not have been possible.
All the families, friends and sponsors. The iGEM team would not have accomplished anything without their support, in terms of equipment provided, finances and sheer motivation. Thank you, everyone, for the support.
