Duke iGEM: Synthetic Biology for Human Health and Society (2025-2026)

Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) remains a clinical challenge, often driven by polymicrobial biofilms that form on endotracheal tubes.  During the 2025 – 2026 academic year, the DUKE iGEM team designed and developed RESPIRA (Responsive Engineered Strain for Polymicrobial Infection Recovery in Airways), a synthetic biology platform that combines engineered bacterial systems with biofilm degrading enzymes to target polymicrobial airway infections. 

The interdisciplinary team brought together undergraduate and graduate students from engineering, biology and computing, working alongside faculty mentors. The project integrated wetlab experimentation, computational modeling, software development and stakeholder engagement to guide both technical design and real world applicability. 

Laboratory work tested bacterial chassis performance and alginate lyase – mediated biofilm degradation, while computational efforts focused on quorum sensing gene circuit design and the development of clear FOAM, an open source simulation tool for modeling engineered antibiofilm therapies.  In parallel, the team conducted extensive human practices research with clinicians, microbiologists and ethicists to ensure the system addressed clinical needs and safety considerations. The project advanced both technical tools and interdisciplinary engagement in synthetic biology and was recognized with a Gold Medal at the 2025 iGEM Grand Jamboree for RESPIRA, along with a nomination for Best Software Tool for clear FOAM, being one of only five teams selected from more than 400 participating teams worldwide. 

Timing 

Fall 2025 – Spring 2026 

Team Outputs 

Duke iGEM Wiki page 

Duke iGEM RESPIRA and clear FOAM software 

Pratt School of Engineering LinkedIn post  

Duke iGEM wins Gold Medal press release 

Manuscript in progress