Biomod Blog

Dear BIOMOD Community,

We have been closely monitoring international, national, and local policies that are relevant to hosting in-person events like BIOMOD. Unfortunately, we have determined that it is not yet possible for our small team to organize a large in-person event at UCSF. In particular, the potential emergence of new Sars-CoV-2 variants remains a signficant risk for canceling our event.

For those of you who are eager to participate in a student design competition, you may consider iGEM, which is planning to host in-person Jamboree October 20–23 in Paris, France.

In the meantime, we are evaluating possible alternative structures and activities for BIOMOD that will enable us to resume our mission of promoting science and science education around the world.

Sincerely,
Shawn Douglas Ph.D.
Chairman, BIOMOD Foundation

Dear BIOMOD Community,

As you know, the BIOMOD 2021 competition was canceled due to COVID-19.

Some of you have begun to inquire about registering for BIOMOD 2022. Although we are looking forward to resuming the competition as soon as it is safe and logistically feasible, unfortunately we are not yet able to do so at this time.

We typically need to make reservations for event space and lodging a full year in advance of hosting the Jamboree. Due to continued uncertainty caused by the pandemic, it is not currently possible to make those necessary commitments.

Based on the current vaccination efforts that are underway in San Francisco and worldwide, it seems that the earliest that we might be able host the next competition is March 2023. If that is the case, then we will announce open registration in March 2022.

I hope to have a more positive update around this time next year. In the meantime, take care everyone.

Sincerely,
Shawn Douglas Ph.D.
Chairman, BIOMOD Foundation

Dear BIOMOD Community,

Unfortunately, the upcoming BIOMOD 2021 competition has been canceled.

We have all entered a new global reality due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the time since we opened registration back in February. The BIOMOD Jamboree had been scheduled for March 2021, and the dates were sufficiently far away that we’ve delayed making any decisions related to COVID-19 measures.

However, we recently learned that UCSF will prohibit “large” campus gatherings (>10 people) at least through June 2021. This policy makes it clear that we won’t be able to host the upcoming Jamboree in San Francisco as planned. While access to a venue is one factor, the safety concerns driving the UCSF policy apply to our teams for any in-person meeting and associated travel. Thus, it does not make sense to try to find another venue, or meet at all.

Some conferences have opted to “go virtual” and meet online. That has been a good compromise for certain meetings, for example where the work was already completed. However, I’m reluctant to go that route for BIOMOD. Even if we were able to host a Jamboree (virtual or in-person), it seems unlikely that BIOMOD teams can safely carry out their projects in the several months preceding the Jamboree. Social distancing measures will restrict access normal to research labs around the world for the foreseeable future. Many universities are scrambling to refactor nearly every aspects of campus life including closing on-campus housing, migrating coursework online, and dealing with deep and unprecedented budget cuts. We already know that certain funds that would normally support BIOMOD teams will not be available this year.

The Board of Directors agreed that, due to the numerous logistical and safety issues caused by COVID-19, the only reasonable option is to cancel our event this year. We will be refunding all paid registration fees in full.

On behalf of myself, Rebecca Wheeler, and the Board, we wish everyone in our community a safe and healthy time in the months ahead. We look forward to reconnecting under more favorable circumstances.

Sincerely,
Shawn Douglas Ph.D.
Chairman, BIOMOD Foundation

This year represents the 10th anniversary of our nano-sized design competition, and we are planning some changes to enhance the sustainability and global reach of the competition.

Schedule changes

We are shifting the current schedule back by ~5 months from the normal schedule. Thus, we will host the next Jamboree in San Francisco in March 2021.

The majority of participating teams come from outside the United States, and we are shifting the BIOMOD schedule to better align with the academic calendars of participants worldwide. This change is also necessary for upcoming venue location changes.

We expect that the teams’ research calendars will also shift to reflect the new schedule - teams could still kick off the year with intense summer activity in the lab, and then use the fall and early spring semesters to wrap up the projects.

Venue changes

We will host the next event in San Francisco, but we are planning to host the 2022 Jamboree in Australia, and the 2023 Jamboree in Japan. Subsequent events may rotate back to the US and/or Europe, depending on interest and volunteer support (contact us if interested!)

Your Feedback

We have some flexibility in the specific Jamboree dates in 2021 (March 12–14 vs 19–21), and would like to hear your preferences! We would also like to gauge interest for future years.

Please fill out our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/337TDVS

Additional comments can be submitted on our contact page.

Check out the 2019 BIOMOD Final Standings! Congratulations to all the teams who participated, as well as Team FilterPhytes for taking home the Grand Prize!

Photos from the event by JRUMANS PHOTOGRAPHY are hosted on this page.