Project gains acclaim from UK Cystic Fibrosis community

Students at Dundee University who are developing a device to help combat some of the effects of cystic fibrosis were invited to speak at the recent Cystic Fibrosis Trust national conference in Manchester and share their idea with patients and clinicians.

The project was undertaken for entry into the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) which asks students to tackle a real world problem by designing and building a new device or system from a kit of biological parts.  

The students  came up with the idea of the `Lung Ranger’, made up of the harmless laboratory bacterium E. coli that has been engineered to glow green when either of the most aggressive lung pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Burkholderia cenocepacia are detected in the sputum (mucus coughed up from the respiratory tract).

Members of the iGEM team are building a hand-held electronic device that can be used by the patient or their GP that will rapidly detect and quantify the green fluorescence, allowing a quick and sensitive diagnosis of the presence of these pathogens.

“This is a great project the students have put together and it has been a real boost to them to be invited to present it at a major conference like this,” said Professor Tracy Palmer, advisor to the student team.

The iGEM students have been working closely with members of the CF team at Ninewells Hospital, and have had the opportunity to meet with patients and discuss their particular issues and needs so that their project is a collaborative endeavor between researchers, healthcare practitioners and patient groups.

The team is interdisciplinary and is comprised of ten University of Dundee undergraduate students – Dave Burrell (Computing Science), Gillian Forsyth (Mathematical Biology), Scott McCrimmon (Plant Sciences),  Roddy McNeill (Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery), Jessica Martyn (Microbiology), Dimitrios Michailidis (Molecular Microbiology), Aleksandra Plochocka (Mathematics), Robyn Shuttleworth (Mathematics), Fatima Ulhuq (Pharmacology) and Jenny Wood (Molecular Microbiology).