08. Dezember 2025 iGEM Hamburg Team Awarded Gold Medal

The Hamburg team of ten students was received a gold medal and another nomination at this year's iGEM Grand Jamboree, the synthetic biology industry’s largest innovation event hosted by the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Foundation. This placed the team among the top three project groups in their category. A total of 420 teams from more than 50 countries participated in the competition.

"Getting to present our work in Paris, despite all our project's difficulties, was truly the highlight. That time in Paris and the people we met are incredibly valuable. Seeing all those impressive and creative projects tackling real-world biological problems at the Jamboree confirmed it: the exchange with other teams is the heart of iGEM," explains team member Evangelos Masis.

The DeathCapTrap project set itself the goal of developing an antidote to the fungal toxin α-amanitin, a substance found in the poisonous death cap mushroom. The team aimed to develop a modular therapeutic platform that combines nanobody engineering with advanced drug delivery systems. The multidisciplinary team held their group meetings and conducted their wet lab research at the CSSB under the supervision of CSSB group leader Prof. Michael Kolbe (HZI, UHH) and University of Hamburg professor Mirko Himmel.

The practical research process—from the initial idea to implementation and the presentation of results—was marked by a high level of initiative and independence, with team members from previous years serving in an advisory capacity. The team not only conducted their own research but also took responsibility for tasks such as financing, public relations, and project management. The iGEM Hamburg team members were actively involved in sharing their project at events such as the annual CSSB Retreat and BFH European Meet-Up in Frankfurt. iGEM team members also participated in various outreach events such as CSSB’s Girls’ and Boys’ Day and one-on-one mentoring through UHH’s Schüler Forschungszentrum. The team even wrote and illustrated a book explaining nanobodies to childeren.

"iGEM wasn't just about science; it was a crash course in teamwork, friendship, and how to bounce back from failure. We quickly learned that even when you give your absolute best, things rarely go exactly as planned," notes Masis.

More Information:
Further information on the Hamburg project “DeathCapTrap” can be found on the project page