Having already won many prizes and medals, the iGEM Thessaloniki student team is ready for new distinctions. Τhe team will represent the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for the fourth consecutive year, in the Global Competition “iGEM Competition” which is an initiative of MIT University.

The name of this year’s iGEM team project is called “METIS” (MiRNA Expression Toehold Investigation System) inspired by the Greek mythology’s goddess Metis. As the team members explain  ‘‘the action of the goddess appears in the form of inspiration, in the form of an innovative idea, an idea that can make a difference and this is exactly what their project this year aims for.’’

It is a new non-invasive diagnostic method, with the advantage of the specificity and accuracy of this type of cancer and in addition, the fact that it can detect the presence of cancer in the first and second stage of its development, as the Selected RNA molecules are secreted in large quantities in these two steps.

Τhe iGem team has already started creating a diagnostic machine, which can be used by all diagnostic laboratories for easy, cheap and immediate processing of urine samples, in the context of urological examinations of elderly people or people belonging to vulnerable groups, so the presence of  cancer in the pancreas  can be detected on time.

About the competition

The iGEM Competition was launched in 2003 as an initiative of MIT University and has been held annually in Boston, USA, under the auspices of the non-profit iGEM Foundation. The Competition will take place this October 2021, for the first time in Paris. The Competition is now an institution and has highlighted many important developments, scientific publications and start-ups.