Reaching out to experts was the key factor in shaping the breaking bugs project. By interviewing them, we had critical evaluations and feedbacks around our work. Furthermore, they pointed out the challenges we might face. We reached out to experts from multiple fields: finance, entomology, entrepreneurship...

Jean-Michel BERENGER

Mr. Jean-Michel BERENGER is one of the leading entomologists in France working on bed bugs. He was a true mentor throughout our whole project. We met with him at the IHU-MI (University Hospital Institute-Mediterranean Infection) in Marseille. He was one of the first person we met for human practices and gave us pointers about bed bugs: the different species, the infestation rates evolution in France and around the world, how to run tests on them, and the current challenges. Here you can find the entire interview he gave us: here

Later on, we went to him to verify the relevance of our trap and get the proof of concept. Furthermore, he helped us with the trap design in order to find the safest application for future consumers. Mr. BERENGER gave us precious advices to develop our project.

Jean-Louis MONCLERC

Mr. Jean-Louis MONCLERC is an independent consultant and associate professor at Aix-Marseille University. We went to him to learn methods to captivate the sponsors and get them to support our project. Firstly, we presented the iGEM organization and its goals. Then, we talked about our project so he can help us engage the right sponsors. Furthermore, he gave pointers to the team members in charge of funding so they can enhance their productivity and get better results. His expertise and mentorship helped put the members on the right track towards getting the team's budget. here

The « breaking bugs » project needed much work on the financing and material resources side. Indeed we had to canvass company specialized in laboratory utensils so we could acquire what we needed to achieve our experiences. We also needed financial founds in order to buy our material ressources but also for financing our meetings and awareness actions about biology and GMO. With no clue about how to canvass companies for providing our project with what was needed and mandatory things for it success, We asked for Mr Monclerc help. Mr Monclerc is a Professional and Personnal project teacher at Aix-Marseille university. His experience in personnal follow-up in company creation and professional project seemed us very fortunate for our project. This is why we asked him to help us, we mainly participate actively on our team about the « research and financing side ». He adviced us and shared his experience with us in order to find all the funds needed for the Breaking bugs project. With him and his advices, « Breaking Bugs » have now everything needed to succeed

Olivier GREMAUD

Mr. Olivier GREMAUD is the founder of Cynoscan. The company trains dogs so they can quickly detect bed bugs. We reached out to them by email with a series of questions and concerns to help us shape the breaking bugs project. They were very encouraging and brought a collaboration opportunity to the light. The plan is as follows: prior to applying the trap in infested premises, they can intervene with their trained dogs to spot the areas where we can apply the trap. Along these lines, we are targetting the infestation, narrowing down the range of application, and increasing the trap's efficiency. You can find the entire interview here.