During Grade 10, after taking a biology class and discovering how fun and interesting the subject was, I decided to apply for iGEM to gain more experience and broaden my perspective on synthetic biology. When I first joined, I had no prior knowledge of synthetic biology, but with the guidance of Ms. Nicole and the professors at Chulalongkorn University, I gained a deeper understanding of the project’s goals and of iGEM as a whole.

In October 2024, I traveled with the RIS team to Paris to attend the iGEM Grand Jamboree, an international competition in synthetic biology for high school and university students. This project had been months in the making. I had been consistently managing the team's social media presence and working in the lab at Chulalongkorn over the summer. Through collaboration with my teammates, we were able to successfully connect and work with iGEM teams around the world—whether by helping each other with lab work or exchanging ideas.

However, our success came with many challenges. Our wet lab results faced major setbacks—some enzymes didn’t follow the expected pathways, which delayed our ability to achieve meaningful outcomes. As deadlines approached, the pressure increased, but with help from our partners at Chula, we were eventually able to obtain usable results.

Another significant challenge was wiki uploading. Just days before the deadline, we encountered technical issues that caused a major portion of our human practices work to be lost. This was especially disheartening as our entire team had worked hard to prepare the content. Despite this, we pushed forward. In the end, our presentation and the strength of our project's concept helped us meet all judging criteria. We earned both a gold medal and a Human Practices Award.

Through this experience, I learned not only technical skills, but also how to communicate effectively, collaborate under pressure, and manage my time more wisely.