Bilkent-UNAMBG iGEM Research Topic

As the Bilkent-UNAMBG iGEM team, we try to choose project topics related to global problems each year. This year, our project is to design a practical device capable of carrying important protein residues using the M13 phage. There are many possible applications of this method, but our specific aim is to use it as a drug delivery vehicle. Our goal is to see whether we can utilize this idea to develop an antiviral prophylactic vehicle. While we started our project focused specifically on the most common strains of the influenza virus, now we also think that our project could be a tool against other viruses causing upper respiratory tract diseases.

Currently, we are not able to conduct any experiments, but our excitement for the project is still the same. We keep meeting via Zoom regularly, to talk about the progress that we make on other aspects of the project, such as modeling. We focus on literature research to fortify our ideas. This process helps us improve our thesis. 

We strongly believe that our project will not only make an impact in the competition but will also contribute to scientific knowledge. The phage carrier we are designing will be able to be used with different polypeptides and antibodies. We hope that the design of the phage carrier will inspire the next generation of iGEMers on their subjects as it is open for many modifications. Moreover, we might able to propose a prophylactic solution to upper respiratory diseases caused by viruses.