The 69th International Congress of the Brazilian Society of Genetics hosted top players in scientific research in Brazil, including representatives from the country's most important universities, major regional biotech companies, and federal officials.

  • Event Date: August 20th-23rd, 2024
  • iGEM Representative: Xavier Alexandro Rios Salinas, iGEM Ambassador to Latin America

The current role of the congress in the development of related disciplines like biotechnology and synthetic biology has established the Brazilian Genetics Society as a key platform for the expanding presence of iGEM in the region.

The event was primarily academic, attracting undergraduate and graduate students from almost all public Brazilian universities, corresponding faculty staff, regional biotech and genetic diagnostics enterprises, and representatives from government health and science agencies.

Interest in iGEM Team Formation: Xavier connected with several graduate students and PIs developing projects related to synthetic biology. Notably, he met with representatives from Campinas State University (UNICAMP) and the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), who expressed interest in the iGEM Competition, Community projects, and Startups.

Contacts for Potential Partners: Xavier met with the CRO, Luiza Martins, and the CEO of BioCell, Gilton Martins, a Brazilian company specializing in producing reagents for molecular biology. They have a special interest in expanding their services to LATAM. Their contact information was recorded, and they will send their product catalog to discuss a potential partnership for Latin American teams.

Contacts for Potential Partners: Xavier met with the board director of the Brazilian Genetics Society (SBG), who showed great interest in the Foundation and the Competition. They are willing to share more about our activities with their members. Since the board directory was recently appointed, Xavier will meet with them again virtually to establish a future conference, either in-person or remotely. The representative coordinating this effort is Dr. Ana Maria Benko Iseppon, the current Vice President of SBG.

To find more information about the iGEM Ambassadors & Promoters for Latin America and regional synbio activities visit our Latin America webpage. Learn more about the Ambassador Program here.

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