We are a group of scientists from Makerere University, Uganda, and we are engaged with development of a biosensor for detecting toxic poly-aromatic hydrocarbons within the environment.

This project was conceived to be a part of the iGEM competition, a prestigious international synthetic biology event born in Massachusetts. We are a team from East Africa, a significant opportunity to make science more accessible to developing countries. The choice of solving poly aromatic hydrocarbons comes from the effects they impose on the environment and the general global climate. This has increased the need of a better and more effective synthetic-enzyme based biosensor to detect the presence of poly aromatic hydrocarbons in the environment.

We have spent the previous months collecting data on the presence of poly aromatic hydrocarbons in the environment, Global poly aromatic hydrocarbon emissions are estimated to be around 17 million tons per year, and much of it remain unidentified more especially in the developing countries.

This highlights the potential impact of our project, which we aim to present during the iGEM Grand Jamboree in Paris this year. This would allow us to promote the importance of science and research development in Africa and enhance future scientists' curiosity considering all the marvelous opportunities at reach.

This is why we need your support to raise 6,500 euros to register for this year's competition.

team email: [email redacted]

linkedIn: https://www.linkedin.co/in/makerere-igem-team-190354273

twitter: IGEM MAKERERE 2023 @2023igem