At New York University Abu Dhabi we recognize the importance of diversity and equality of opportunity. Our team is consisted of members with different backgrounds, citizenship, religion, beliefs. We are grateful that all of us have same opportunities and that we can all contribute to this project. Therefore, we believe that inclusivity of our project is of critical importance.
Objective of our research is to develop a solution for diagnosing chytridiomycosis, without biasing a design towards the needs and preferences of the majority and excluding the others. It is important for us to adapt our product to the needs of intended users and not reverse. Therefore, our project is shaped to be delivered by any researcher or field worker focused on eradicating chytridiomycosis, regardless of their background and approach. Our fear was the availability of product in low income countries which are experiencing the consequences of fungal infection spread across amphibian habitat. Therefore, we designed the device with low cost materials which reduces the manufacturing cost and thereby increasing its accessibility to everyone.
iGEM NYUAD is looking towards using simple and cost effective techniques for the cutting edge research in order to solve worldwide problem that affects amphibian habitats regardless of the environment. This global environmental issue will pursue to affect amphibians in the future unless the synthetic biology teams don't implement approaches suited for all users. During the COVID-19 pandemic we witnessed the impact on disease transmission in countries which did not have access to diagnostic devices. Similarly, we witnessed the optimistic change once the portable detection devices have been accessible. Therefore, NYUAD iGEM recognizes the importance of diagnostic devices and their accessibility to users from range of backgrounds. This task requires responsibility and creativity, however our team is working harder than ever to optimize the product for it's global accessibility.
