May 2024: Edmond J. Safra Center supports TAU iGEM team

A TAU team, led by Prof. Tamir Tuller, Edmond J. Safra member (Engineering), will participate in the iGEM 2024 competition for the sixth time.

The International Genetically Engineered Machine (IGEM) competition is a worldwide synthetic biology competition. Hundreds of groups from around the world participate and present novel ideas and solutions for key challenges in synthetic biology.

This year's initiative, PROtech, aims to develop a novel, modular, and highly specific cancer treatment. Leveraging advanced statistical analysis, computational models, and algorithms, the team is focused on designing an mRNA molecule with a unique secondary structure named "Toehold Switch”.

The Toehold Switch is engineered to interact specifically with cancer cells by binding to their mRNA profiles, referred to as triggers. Upon binding, the Toehold Switch undergoes a structural transformation that enables the ribosome to translate a cytotoxic protein, which subsequently eliminates the cancer cell. By designing the Toehold Switch to interact exclusively with triggers found in cancer cells, the specificity of the treatment is significantly enhanced.

This innovative approach integrates tools and methodologies from diverse disciplines, including Synthetic Biology, Bioinformatics, and Engineering, among others.

The Edmond J. Safra Center is one of the iGEM TAU team's supporters.