Leading Athena SWAN department forges ahead with primarily female undergraduate science team.
The University of York already leads the way in encouraging women into science. The Department of Chemistry was one of the first departments in the country to achieve a gold Athena SWAN award for gender equality in 2007. As of July 2014, both the Biology and Chemistry Departments hold a gold award.
This achievement is manifest in the current work of undergraduates in the international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. 2014-15 is the second year the University of York has entered this international competition. Universities from around the world will send teams to the international jamboree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in October. Here, they will present the work they have carried out on a synthetic biology project of their choice. This is a challenging self-led project undertaken in the Department of Biology’s teaching labs over the summer and this year is being carried out by a primarily female team. Of the twenty members, thirteen are female students largely in their first year of study.
The competition is multidisciplinary and York’s team is made up of students from the disciplines of Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computer Science and Environmental Studies, among others. The team is looking into the way synthetic biology may be used to help reduce pollution from toxic mining waste. This involves the production of ‘biobricks’ - newly synthesised biological parts such as DNA plasmids, which can be inserted into bacteria to give them new and useful characteristics. Much of the science involved is new to the team members and will be learned during the progress of the project. Alongside this, the team must consider the application of their work, taking into account social and environmental impacts and sustainability, and carry out fundraising for their projects.
The giant jamboree in October is an opportunity for students to network and gain experience, while the project prepares young scientists for the challenges they may face in their careers, including competitive work environments, lack of funding and public scrutiny. In a competitive world for science graduates, such an opportunity could be invaluable. Support for this team is support for a new generation of scientists and researchers, and the young women on the team exemplify another step toward gender equality in the world of scientific research.
To support the project, you can donate to their crowd-funding campaign at: https://yustart.hubbub.net/p/igemyork/