1. Collaboration with SHSU_China

a) What they did for us

DNA Kit Plate. The SHSU_China team provided our team with their DNA Kit Plate 1 after we used up all the plasmid in well 4L (part BBa_K325909 which contains the pSB1C3-Lux plasmid) for transformation that unexpectedly ended up in failure.

Ligation. They helped us ligate 2×20μL of our part BBa_K2836001 (pSB1C3-LuxG) using a Quick Ligation system from New England BioLabs (with the Quick Ligation Enzyme, Stock No. M2200), as this system can complete the entire ligation process in 10-15 minutes.

Competent cell. They provided us with three tubes of E. coli DH5-α competent cell after our lab ran out when we needed to transform our BBa_K2836001.

Troubleshooting. When one of the forms in our first submission for the InterLab was rejected, SHSU_China and our team worked together to find any errors in our submission. Eventually, we found out that it was only a misinterpretation of the requirements (there was a section where we multiplied our Abs600 values with the conversion factor which was unnecessary). With their help, our second submission of the InterLab was successful.

b) What we did for them

Laboratory and equipment. Thanks to their help, we gladly shared our lab and equipment with the SHSU_China team in order for them to complete their InterLab study. Their laboratory lacked a suitable equipment to measure absorbance and fluorescence in a 96-well plate. We also utilized this chance to aid each other through the entire process of InterLab, helping out during experiments and eventually comparing our results.

Transformation. We helped SHSU_China transform and amplify part BBa_K1321200 from well 16E on DNA Kit Plate 5 which contains their desired VHb protein.

2. High Schools in Shanghai Meetup 1

On July 20, 2018, our team met with SHPH_Shanghai and SUIS_Shanghai at a Maan Coffee located in Shanghai. Since the meetup occurred before the InterLab submission, we started our discussion of our InterLab results. Then, we specifically introduced our respective projects to each other. We checked our progress of experiments and human practices, while also discussing future plans on experiments and events.

3. High Schools in Shanghai Meetup 2

On October 14, 2018, our team met with SHSU_China and SHPH-Shanghai at Fudan University. We performed mock presentations to prepare for the actual presentation at the Giant Jamboree, and exchanged feedback on each others’ presentation. We also shared experiences with regards to human practices and modelling, seeking opportunities to help each other improve.