Yu Siyang had been occupied with her lab research since the second day of the New Year and immersed in the lab for over 17 hours every day, which made her joked that “I am totally a lab rat”. Looking back on the experiences including seeking inspirations in the dormitory downstairs at midnight, having disturbed sleep on the lab longue or other tough experiences during her preparation for International Genetically Engineered Machine competition(iGEM), Yu exclaimed that “What doesn't kill me makes me stronger” when she addressed for winning the title of “Excellent Students of SZU”. It’s the unyielding belief that encourage Yu to step forward and stand in the stage of “Nomination Prize for Excellent Students of SZU”.
Digging into biology
In 2021, Yu and her teammates came across Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) on the Internet. IBD, a type of difficult-to-cure chronic intestinal inflammatory disease with unidentifiable etiology and a long period of onset, “has a great influence on the quality of daily life including the limitations at schools or workplaces.” As the lab is cooperating with a biotech company involved with research on intestinal flora, an idea struck Yu. “We want to discover a new direction for curing IBD with intestinal flora as a starting point and work out individually tailored and specific therapy with synthetic biology combined”.
However, the last one tenth of the journey demands half the effort. Yu began to prepare the project by paying attention to both study and exploration after confirming the topic “IBD cocktail adjuvant therapy based on genetical engineered probiotics” with her teammates. Paper reading and experiment operation were a must for the promotion of the project, thus, papers reading was such a challenging task for Yu as a freshman at that time that a large amount of technical knowledge often confused her. “I forced myself to search for countless papers and finish reading them.” She calmly described her painstaking efforts. But it was papers reading that laid a sound foundation for the solution of latter difficulties. For instance, once the biological security problem of engineered bacteria puzzled the team due to the fact that the treatment was underway in the body. To find a solution, Yu and her teammates looked through many papers repeatedly and ultimately, they managed to prohibit the escape of engineered bacteria with two “suicide switch” which respond to the changes of glucose and phosphate concentration.
Besides sophisticated and individually-tailored treatment, Yu also hoped that the project could offer health management for patients’ daily life, “We tried to form integrated closed-loop of ‘treatment-management-popularization’ from the angle of patients”, Yu said. Therefore, the team integrated the process of stool sampling, data analysis, personalized drug administration assisted treatment anddaily education and health management. As a team leader, Yu was busy with other tasks including social investigation, education and game popularization, the construction of health management app and the design of the handbook covering knowledge about intestinal tract. “I should do a little more as a leader,” she said.
“All the efforts have been paid off”, Yu said when her team won a gold medal ranking top ten and won the nomination of Best Manufacturing Project and Best New Basic Part of iGEM in November,2021. What’s more, the project redesigned and improved by Yu and her teammates after they discovered that lactic acid bacteria could be used as a chassis won the third prize in the Undergraduate Life Science Contest (CULSC). To make the project sprout on the ground, Yu and teammates drew up a business plan to promote commercial transformation, expecting that one day “the health management platform can come true to better serve the patients”.
Walking towards the desired destination
Yu’s remarkable achievement in the scientific competition were rooted in her long-term perseverance instead of overnight daydream. Three years ago, Yu failed to get her expected marks in college entrance exam as she felt unwell during the exam, which made her realized the importance of the four years at college. Therefore, she set a clear target for herself, “I should work hard instead of wasting my time”. College students are encouraged to arrange their schedules in their own way, hence, Yu usually stayed in the lab or library. She preferred “doing something” to push herself moving forward such as researching topics, attending various competitions and joining the popularization of synthetic biology.
During the summer holiday as a sophomore, Yu joint the one-month program held byShenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology，Chinese Academy of Sciences(SIAT), which was said to be a “tough training” for her. The serious atmosphere of SIAT, which differed from that of SZU, often frustrate her, but she was enlightened by a word of her senior schoolmates, “You have to experience and suffer if you want to break a cocoon into a butterfly.” She changed her attitude and strived to finish the latter task. Finally, she won the title of the “Best Participant” at the end of the program. “I realized that I should improve my basic knowledge and simultaneously I had a deeper understanding of scientific research,” she said.
Besides study and research, volunteer service is also an essential part of Yu’s college life. With 300-hour volunteer experiences, Yu thinks that the return doesn’t just lie in the number of the time, but what’s more important is her harvest in each activity. She learnt how to care for others in a better way in elderly community and she had a diverse understanding of the view of life and death after providing psychological aid.
Yu once evaluates her own attitude as, “Either do nothing or do the best”. She fulfilled the principle and therefore reaped the harvest. In the future, Yu hoped that she could continue further study and explore her favourite subject, biology.
Yu’s Message to SZUers
During the forty years since its inception, SZU cultivates a great number of young talents. Alumni show their talents in all walks of life while teachers and students at college are united to contribute to the growth of SZU. As a student of SZU, I feel so proud and honored! I wish SZU a greater chapter and a brighter future!
I hope that SZU students could cherish the moment to enhance their ability, set targets to make up their minds and walk step by step to broaden their horizons.
