Back in April, a group of our Year 10 and 11 high school students embarked on an incredible scientific adventure by entering the world’s premier synthetic biology competition, iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine).

Hosted by the iGEM Foundation, this global contest challenges students to design innovative biological systems that address real-world problems. It’s one of the most prestigious STEM competitions worldwide, bringing together over 400 teams and 5,000 participants from top universities and research institutions throughout the world.

Fast forward to November, and our now Year 11 and 12 team returned from the Grand Jamboree competition in Paris with a Silver Medal for their project aimed at delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. We’re very happy for their achievement, which represents a premiere among high school students in Romania!

The Team Behind Promnesis

Each iGEM team selects a focus area, known as a Village, such as Environment, Food and Nutrition, Manufacturing, Energy, or Software. The ViS–Romania team chose the Therapeutics Village, aiming to take on Alzheimer’s disease. This led to Promnesis (Greek for “pro-memory”), an innovative therapeutic concept targeting the condition at its roots.

The winning team is made up of 15 students from Verita International School: Amos Cremene Albu, Ana-Maria Dumitrescu, Anastasia Chira Constantin, Andrei Sisu, Arnaud Eremia Burlacu, Dinu Petre, Ileana Pricopi, Lulu Patnaik Oprişan, Mihai Luca, Sarah Savu, Stephanie Bloom, Teodora Ion, Thea Lazăr-Oancea, Victor Covrig, Zoran Stănescu, and Daria Nuţa from Cambridge School.

They were guided throughout the project by Mr. Ahmet Salgur, Principal Investigator and Chemistry Teacher, and Ms. Rona Luz Duran, Project Advisor and Mathematics Teacher, whose mentorship and dedication contributed to the team’s success.

“Ms. Duran and Mr. Salgur offered invaluable help with organizing workflows and providing feedback on various aspects of the project, which involved long hours in the lab and even longer hours analysing data, developing models, preparing reports, and coding.” —Bogdan Luca, Project Lead

Within the team, members covered various roles like Dry Lab, Wet Lab, Mathematical Modelling, Human Practices, Marketing, Fundraising, Finance, and Wiki Documentation. As part of their Human Practices work, they interviewed over 20 doctors, as well as families affected by Alzheimer’s, to ensure their project has social validity.

The experimental heart of the project (the Wet Lab) was made possible thanks to the valuable support of Dr. Robi Tacutu and the Institute of Biochemistry of the Romanian Academy. The Institute played a crucial role by offering laboratory access, equipment, and expert guidance, helping students bring their assumptions to life.

Throughout the summer and into September, the team worked intensively in the lab using specialised iGEM kits provided by international sponsors. Their goal was to build a modular synthetic biology therapeutic system against Alzheimer’s, combining three key mechanisms: extracellular clearance of toxic tau protein seeds, intracellular repair to reverse tau hyperphosphorylation inside neurons, and conditional activation as a built-in safety mechanism.

“We felt prepared to tackle this challenge because our school favors a hands-on learning environment, which has offered us multiple opportunities to do project-based work since middle school. We are grateful for the support we received and feel fortunate to be part of a school that encourages us to be practitioners, not just students.” — Bogdan Luca, Project Lead

A big thank you to the sponsors that helped with funds, kits, and regents: MathWorks, KPMG, Cultivarium, BioMentor Hub, New England Biolabs, Twist, Fresenius Kabi, TPS, ANSA Biotechnologies, IDT, Dr Reddis.

The Grand Jamboree in Paris

From 27–31 October, the team was to Paris for the iGEM Grand Jamboree, which brought together more than 5,000 attendees: scientists, educators, policy experts, industry leaders, and fellow young innovators.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, both symbolically and literally.” — Rona Duran

Teams presented their work before a panel of 6 present judges and others joining on Zoom. They assessed the project’s experiments and results but also looked at ethics, sustainability, collaboration, and communication, including the clarity of their wiki and presentations.

The judges were taken by surprise by the team’s creativity, particularly when Zoran Stănescu opened their presentation with a song he composed just the day before to introduce the project.

On the last day, the team volunteered to also give back to the iGEM community, and took to the live stage to share the key learnings and takeaways with other participants.

“It was a unique experience for me and for the students. They worked more than six months, including their summer holiday, spending hours in the lab, trying to solve many technical problems.  I’m very proud of them for achieving such a great result through teamwork, inspiration, and harmony.” — Ahmet Salgur

We couldn’t be prouder of our students, their teachers and parents, and their partners for showing that success means courage and determination.

Congratulations to everyone involved on this wonderful achievement! Well done!