BioDesign

McGill Biodesign

Website:	http://mcgillbiodesign.com/
Email:	biodesign@mcgilleus.ca

McGill BioDesign is an official Engineering Undergraduate Society design team whose goal is to address real-world issues by finding solutions at the intersection of engineering, biology, and business. We work on biotechnology projects and present them at competitions, provide students with research experience, build a community for like-minded students from a range of backgrounds, and offer networking and professional development opportunities through workshops and tutorials.

Annual Competitions

BioDesign participates in the Biodesign Challenge (BDC) each year. This is an international, multidisciplinary competition focused on innovation in biotechnology and bioengineering. The competition hosts 30+ schools from 8 different countries at a 2-day summit in New York City.

Additionally, two of our projects, Algo and SOlar-A, were finalists in the McGill impact200 Bicentennial Student Sustainability Challenge, which was judged on the basis of sustainability, design, and entrepreneurship.

Current Projects

Working on the Micro-Na project in the lab

Micro-Na (2021- )

Our team seeks to design a microneedle patch that can fluorescently detect sodium levels in the body, allowing for simple and non-invasive monitoring. | Read more about Micro-Na here!

Past Projects

micROS (2021-2022)

Hello! Welcome to micROS—a collaboration between McGill Biodesign and the McGill Rocket Team! Together, we are investigating the changes in levels of reactive oxidative species in microgravity and hypergravity environments. Our McGill Biodesign team is focused on designing 1) the microfluidic chip composed of channels for the flow of reagents and a microwell holding the cells, in which the reaction will take place, 2) the perfusion system for timely and efficient delivery of reagents to the microwell containing the cells, and 3) the hydrogel that the cells will be embedded in to be kept alive throughout the experiment. | Read more about micROS here!

SOlar-A (2020- 2022)

Members of the SOlar-A project testing the prototype on site in Honduras

Our goal is to fight the water crisis, specifically in Honduras. The crisis disproportionately affects developing countries; hence we are creating a water filtration backpack that is low-cost, durable, and eco-friendly. Solar-A not only facilitates safe transportation and provides low-cost filtration, but also uses the mechanical walking movement from traveling to the water source to power a sensor capable of detecting when the water is potable. | Read more about SOlar-A here!

Algo (2020-2021)

Algal blooms are overgrowths of algae that often result from an imbalance of nutrients in bodies of water, aggravated by agricultural runoff and industrial waste. They can decrease the oxygen content in the water, block sunlight from aquatic life, and produce harmful toxins. Algo is a service that implements devices into bodies of water to control the levels of algae. The collected algae biomass can then be sold or processed further to create fertilizer, biodiesel, and other value-added products. Algo devices consume unwanted algal blooms to produce useful biomass and, in the process, restore the health of aquatic ecosystems. After winning prizes in entrepreneurship from both impact200 and the Dobson Cup, Algo became a startup company. | Read more about Algo here!

BluBand (2019-2020)

BluBand is a transmitter capable of transforming a short-wave radio frequency signal into a cellular signal. It can attach to the glucose sensors worn by diabetic children attending Camp Carowanis and continuously monitor their blood sugar levels both day and night. BluBand is waterproof and easy to wear, making it ideal for children at the camp.

Baculovirus Gene Therapy (2019-2020)

The Baculovirus team worked to develop a transient gene therapy delivery system using baculoviruses. Particular focus was given to growth factors critical to the healing process and lacking in many chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers. Unfortunately, this project was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ActivAid (2018-2020)

ActivAid is a novel interactive bacterial cellulose wound dressing targetting venous ulcers. It includes innovative components that help maintain an ideal wound environment in order to prevent infection and accelerate healing. Although COVID-19 prevented the creation of a prototype for ActivAid, the design was submitted to Venturewell's DEBUT competition in June 2020.

MAAscreen (2018-2019)

MAAscreen is an eco-friendly and biodegradable sunscreen. Conventional sunscreens utilize chemical UV filters that threaten the marine environment, while MAAscreen extracts mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) from algae as a more sustainable alternative.

Team

Executive Role	Name	Email
Co-President	Zoe Goldberger	biodesign@mcgilleus.ca
Co-President	Bernadette Ng	biodesign@mcgilleus.ca
VP External	Lan Anh Huynh	vpexternal.biodesign@mcgilleus.ca
VP Communications	Charlotte Volk	vpcommunications.biodesign@mcgilleus.ca
VP Outreach	Karim Mustafa	vpoutreach.biodesign@mcgilleus.ca
VP Design	Dorothy Ma	vpdesign.biodesign@mcgilleus.ca
VP Finance	Tuna Gedik	vpfinance.biodesign@mcgilleus.ca
VP Internal	Toufic Jrab	vpinternal.biodesign@mcgilleus.ca
VP Social	Charlotte Keller	vpsocial.biodesign@mcgilleus.ca

Recruitment

McGill BioDesign recruits new members every Fall semester. We are also currently recruiting External Coordinators to assist with planning and running our upcoming Technical Case Competition. | See our recruitment page for more details!