Synthetic biology is the engineering of organisms to create new abilities or redesign existing systems that will help solve problems in the fields of medicine, sustainability, manufacturing, agriculture and more! iGEM at Berkeley is a synthetic biology-focused club that provides students the opportunity to develop their knowledge of synthetic biology and participate in student-run, hands-on research projects, both in the wetlab and drylab.

Offered through Berkeley’s iGEM club, this course will guide students through experimental techniques of the cloning workflow and synthetic biology. Students will learn and conduct hands-on lab techniques such as PCR, primer design, gel electrophoresis, DNA extraction, plasmid assembly, transformation, sequencing, and basic computational biology analysis. Additionally, the course will conclude with a two-week project to teach students how to design novel follow-up experiments.

Over the course of the semester, students will complete our pP6 cloning workflow experiment, designed by Professor Anderson, to contribute to generating a library of novel uber-strength promoters.

To enroll, apply via our google form application. This course prioritizes students with limited wet-lab experience and familiarity with general biology.