The CJUH-JLU-China team from the Norman Bethune Third School of Clinical Medicine at Jilin University (JLU) won a gold medal at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) 2023 Competition in Paris, France on Nov 5, 2023.

The team stood out among 75,000 participants from 66 countries, competing with 4,358 projects. This marked the team's first participation in the iGEM Competition and made them the only JLU team that won such a gold medal in 2023.

The CJUH-JLU-China team was led by HU Xin, deputy director of the laboratory of cardiovascular medicine, and WAN Youzhong, director of the laboratory of cancer biology.

It comprised 14 students from various departments, including the Norman Bethune Second School of Clinical Medicine, Norman Bethune Third School of Clinical Medicine, School of Mathematics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Public Health, and College of Physics.

By combining the CRISPR/Cas13a system with lateral flow strips, this team developed BreFast, a quick and convenient breast cancer screening kit that enables early detection. The initiative seeks to raise public awareness of breast health and enhance public understanding of breast cancer.

A global synthetic biology competition for university students, the iGEM Competition fosters interdisciplinary collaboration across biology, medicine, mathematics, computer science, statistics, and engineering.