The IISER Berhampur iGEM team is a group of undergraduate students hailing from diverse disciplines. This year marks our maiden attempt in participating in this competition. We aim to formulate an intervention strategy for Dengue Virus by combining mathematical modelling, in silico analysis and chemical biology. The essence is to design an efficacious reporter system to implement our strategy as possible therapeutics that may spark further research to combat this dreaded disease. 

UTI is the third most common infection in India. About 150 million UTIs occur yearly on a global basis, resulting in more than 6 billion dollars in direct health care expenditures. India’s population comprises a startling majority of people living in rural areas, standing at a whopping 65.07%, as of 2021. The lack of proper sanitation and hygiene, combined with the lack of awareness exemplifies the need for a quicker diagnosis of a UTI. 

Our target population does spread wider than that. People with undiagnosed and uncontrolled diabetes have an extremely compromised immune system, which furthers their risk to face a UTI. In addition, the increase in the number of diabetic patients in India, especially the uncontrolled diabetics in rural areas, has prompted our team to search for a precise, sensitive, and quick solution. The slow procedure of antibiotic-based testing and the risk of increased prevalence of UTIs has allowed our team to look for an aptamer-based approach, using a microfluidic/capillary-based kit.