Funding our local iGEM Team

We are a group of students at duPont Manual High School, Louisville Collegiate School, and the Gatton Academy in Kentucky who have formed a research team (by the name of iGEM Louisville) attempting to find efficient ways to combat the rising problem of PFAS toxicity in waterways around the US.

PFAS and their inability to break down has detrimental effects on both humans, animals, and the environment. Hence, our team is aiming to genetically engineer a bacterium, specifically E. coli, to help to detect PFAS in waterways utilizing a unique plasmid design.

Currently, we are engaging in a hybrid project (between lab work and computational biology) to simulate the mechanisms behind a design and use the engineering cycle to test our constructs in the lab. This strategy aims to enhance our understanding of anticipated detection under varying PFAS concentrations in a theoretical environment and experimental setting.

Right now, in order to fund the costs for all our resources, we request any money that you will be able to donate. Our goal until the end of the school year is $2,000. Any and all money is appreciated-- thank you for taking your time to fund us and read more about what we're doing!