Team:SCUT-China/Collaborations
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Holding Five Schools Exchange Meeting- iGEM Guangzhou-Shenzhen District Symposium
At the beginning of a project, it is important to be stimulated by different inspirations. Considering that the focus of such a symposium at the beginning of the project will not be on project presentations, but more on communication between participants, we did not offer an online mode of participation. Therefore, we chose to contact schools in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, where transportation between is more convenient.
Therefore, after the initial determination of our project direction, we held the Guangzhou-Shenzhen District Symposium on April 4 and invited SCAU-China, SZU-China, SYSU-China, SYSU-Software and SUSTech-China to attend. We invited SCAU-China, SZU-China, SYSU-China, SYSU-Software and SUSTech-China to participate. Before the start of the symposium, we set up the venue in a pentagonal shape, representing each of the five schools. This arrangement made it easier for the teams to have face-to-face discussions, and the pentagon also represented the union of the five schools.
Fig.1 Venue set-up
This was a brainstorming session at the beginning of the project, where the teams were just finalizing their projects and still had a lot of gaps in their ideas. We exchanged ideas on project design, modeling, and human practices, and through this session, teams exchanged and inspired each other with new ideas. During the session, teams took turns presenting their projects, and after the presentation, there was a time for each team to ask questions. During this questioning session, we found each other's problems and offered our own insights to improve each other's project design. Throughout the process, each team gained a lot. In particular, after the SYSU-China presentation, a lively hour-long exchange and discussion about the content and vision of their projects was sparked among the schools participating in.
After the meeting, we took a photo to commemorate the success of the meeting, and each team left their contact information to facilitate further collaboration in the future.
Fig.2 Group photo
Cooperate with Jilin_China
Throughout our process, we found similarities and maintained communication with Jilin-China, mainly in the human practice, where we used the resources we had to help each other when we encountered difficulties. Of course, we also exchange ideas with each other in other areas, such as education. Click here to see their collaboration page
Prophase
In the China online meetup, we found that Jilin_China's project was also mosquito related. Therefore, we contacted Jilin_China and expressed the willingness to cooperation, and Jilin_China expressed their welcome. Jilin_China wanted to design a mosquito trapping device, while We mainly wanted to avoid and kill mosquitoes. Since our ultimate goal is to solve the problems caused by mosquito bites, we thought that we could then cooperate in depth mainly in the Human Practice section by sharing interview resources to make up for the differences in interview resources caused by regional distance.
Fig.3 Discuss with Jilin-China
Mid-term
Since both of teams are mosquito repellent and mosquito control related, mosquito-borne diseases are the first thing that comes to our mind.
Soon after the project started, we learned that Jilin-China was troubled by the difficulty of obtaining information on policies and other aspects. In order to understand the current major measures of the Chinese government on mosquito prevention and control, and to consult with the government on the level of support for new mosquito control products, we contacted the Guangdong CDC and conducted an interview with Jilin_China. Through this interview, the two teams enriched the background of the project and learned that the government supports the development of effective insecticide products that are not harmful to the environment and human body.
We also wanted to learn more about the current state of treatment and testing of mosquito-borne diseases in China. Thus, Jilin_China contacted Dr. Kan of the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Second Hospital of Jilin University, and he told us about the medical background of treatment and testing mosquito-borne disease. This interview enabled us to improve our understanding of the technical tools related to mosquito-borne infectious diseases and to receive medical support.
In the course of our project, we encountered the problem of having a small category of end-users for the product, as fewer people would be working outdoors for long periods of time and suffering mosquito problems. Accordingly, Jilin_China contacted and interviewed forestry workers in Jiangxi province who work in dense vegetation for a long time. During the interviews, the forestry workers helped We understand the end-users' needs of the product and helped Jilin_China establish the improvement direction of the outdoor device.
Fig.4 Jilin-China is interviewing with forestry workers
Post-production
In the end, we chose the chemical mosquito killing method based on Nootkatone to solve the problem, while Jilin_China chose to imitate gases emitted from human body to lure mosquitoes and use electrified wire net to kill them. The former is safe, effective and easy to use. The latter has good durability, wider use of the environment, and will not cause drug resistance. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. In the future, the two teams will further strengthen cooperation to figure out a better solution to the problems caused by mosquitoes by combining the advantages of both.
Fig.5 Discuss with Jilin-China
Other areas of cooperation
We also cooperated with Jilin_China on Education, and we exchanged ideas on how to innovate the form of Education and forwarded each other's WeChat passages on mosquito repellent related rumor dispelling and science popularization of mosquito repellent active ingredients, etc.
Fig.6 Forward each other's WeChat passages