How to come up with an idea for your research?

iDEC has designed different tracks to accept various types of research.

You may get some inspiration here!

Your research project can participate in the following Tracks:

1. Molecular Directed Evolution
2. Pathway Directed Evolution
3. Genomes Directed Evolution
4. Challenge (This track is not available for 2021)

Note:

• Our challenge track will only be open if there are scientists or companies set a challenge. Since the executive committee approves no feasible challenge topic at the moment, we will keep this track vacant this year and open it in the future.
• Each team can participate in multiple tracks.
• The teams need to decide the ownership of tracks before June 15.

The first class usually refers to the directed evolution in a narrow and more conventional sense where the targets are typically individual biomacromolecules: protein- and nucleic acid-binders, or their enzyme variants. Any directed evolution project with molecules as an object meets the definition of this track.

Including projects dedicated to developing new technologies related to molecular directed evolution, such as screening assays or variant generation.

There are no requirements for novel evolutionary output, but iDEC requires the original design of molecular directed evolution technology or optimization of existing technology.

Inlcuding projects dedicated to applying directed evolution technology to valuable target molecules. The goal of the project should be obtaining directed evolutionary output with scientific or industrial value.

There are no technological innovation requirements, but iDEC requires complete directed evolution circles and a superior directed evolution output.

The second class is for the directed evolutionary strategies aimed at optimization of metabolic pathways and/or regulatory synthetic circuits.

Simply put, this type of project would involve construction, genetic diversification and screening, of the most robust, orthogonal to the host physiology and efficient in the production of desired trait molecules. This type of a project may not necessarily involve genetic changes of any component of genetic circuit but it should be directed to improve their relative ratios, order and kinetics of their expression, feedback control mechanisms and other types of their co-regulation.

Including projects dedicated to developing new technologies related to pathway directed evolution.

There are no requirements for novel evolutionary output, but iDEC requires the original design of pathway directed evolution technology or optimization of existing technology.

Including projects dedicated to applying directed evolution technology to valuable target pathways. The goal of the project should be obtaining directed evolutionary output with scientific or industrial value.

There are no technological innovation requirements, but iDEC requires complete directed evolution circles and a superior directed evolution output.

The last is kind of projects would relate to the umbrella term of ‘directed evolution of the genome’. The works in this section may include development of novel strategies in the field of adaptive laboratory evolution, new means in the introduction of programmed targeted or random changes on a genomic scale, construction of effective selection screens for genomes and organisms with a desired trait. As opposed to the ‘pathway directed evolution’, a defined set of specific genes would not be typically targeted unless it would favor further planned changes in the genome of a given organism (e.g. SCRaMbLE tool for changes in the yeast genome).

Including projects dedicated to developing new technologies related to genome directed evolution.

There are no requirements for novel evolutionary output, but iDEC requires the original design of directed evolution technology or existing technology optimization.

Including projects dedicated to applying directed evolution technology to valuable target chassis. The goal of the project should be obtaining directed evolutionary output with scientific or industrial value.

There are no technological innovation requirements, but iDEC requires complete directed evolution circles and a superior directed evolution output.

For this track, the Scientific Advisory Group and the Industry Advisory Group will propose a challenge. Participating teams can employ different platforms to conduct directed evolution research on designated scientific or industrial goals. The challenging advisory groups will evaluate the results according to the corresponding standards set by them.

Teams can compete for the following awards:

1. General Awards
2. Track Awards
3. Single Awards
4. Special Awards

The general awards are mainly to encourage the participating teams to participate in all aspects of iDEC fully. Actively completing all aspects of iDEC will result in higher scores.

Gold Award (For Track I to III)

The team that ranks in the top 10% of the total score will receive a Gold award.

Silver Award (For Track I to III)

The team that ranks in the top 20%-10% of the total score will receive a Silver award.

Bronze Award (For Track I to III)

The team that ranks in the top 40%-20% of the total score will receive a Bronze award.

Scientific Contribution Award (For Track I to III)

For all the other qualified teams. The essential qualification condition is that the four display items are complete and conform to academic standards.

The professional judges will nominate the candidates for this award and select the final winners after discussion and voting. The definition of this award is to reward innovative, proven, and feasible directed evolution technology.

The nomination criteria are:

1. The technology proposed by the project must be an original technology or an optimized design based on existing technology.
2. The technology must be proved feasible and superior to the current technology by experimental data in a real directed evolution case.
3. If more than half of the judges believe that a project cannot meet the above standards, the project cannot be nominated.

The professional judges will nominate the candidates for this award and select the final winners after discussion and voting.

The definition of this award is to reward the best-directed evolution achievement.

The nomination conditions are:

1. The goal of directed evolution must reflect novelty, but the target molecule can be the product of previous directed evolution works.
2. The result of evolution provides unprecedented mutants, and their performance is better than any known version.
3. The output has broad scientific significance or has high application value in industry.

The judges will consider the above conditions together to vote on the nominated project, and the team with the most votes wins.

(1) Best Hardware

To reward the most original hardware design. The hardware should improve the convenience of directed evolution through innovative design, including improving efficiency, simplifying operations, reducing costs, etc.

(2) Best Software

To reward the most original software design. The software should improve the convenience of directed evolution through innovative design, including improving efficiency, simplifying operations, reducing costs, etc.

(3) Best Algorithm

To reward the most original algorithm, which has universal significance for improving the predictability of directed evolution.

(4) Best target molecule

To reward the most exciting target molecule selection.

(5) The most potential tool

To reward the most novel directed evolution tool, which is currently proved to have no advantages but has the potential to be further optimized.

(6) Best community building (Executive Committee Award)

To reward the team that has made the most significant contributions to the iDEC community building.

(7) Best Presentation

To reward for presentation with precise logic, attractive and impressive content.

(8) Best Wiki

The iDEC wiki will focus on introducing science to the public. This award rewards the most creative scientific promotion content.

(9) Funniest Evolution

To reward the funniest research topic.

(10) Industry advisory group award

To reward the project with the most industrial application value.

Besides the above awards,iDEC also offers special awards. Special awards will be given to teams that make outstanding accomplishments in a particular field.

Each special award can be given to more than one team in iDEC.

Mysterious Award 1

A reporter system is commonly used in biology research to quantify biological activity, especially in genetic engineering. Designing and choosing an appropriate reporter system can facilitate the screening and identification process in directed evolution. Inspired by the 2008 Nobel prize in chemistry, iDEC presents an award to teams who develop or optimize a reporter system and use it in their iDEC projects.

Mysterious Award 2

The discovery of Taq polymerase from Thermus aquaticus brought a revolutionary method to the field of molecular biology. In directed evolution, error-prone PCR is typical to create mutations in target genes for constructing the library, which shows the importance of diversification tools. Thus, iDEC presents an award to teams that optimize or establish novel methods for genetic diversification in their research.

Mysterious Award 3

Screening and selecting the mutants with desired phenotypes from the mutated library is crucial in directed evolution. Thus, iDEC presents an award to teams who establish or optimize screening assays in their projects.