"From October 28 to 31, our team ExoSPY took part in the World Expo of Synthetic Biology at the Paris Convention Center, where we presented our project and shared the results of a year filled with science, collaboration, and creativity.
For four inspiring days, more than 4,500 participants and 446 teams from 40 countries came together to celebrate innovation and the power of synthetic biology.
We’re thrilled to announce that ExoSPY was awarded a Silver Medal!
Our project aimed to develop a novel strategy for the early diagnosis and therapy of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), one of the most lethal cancers, with a 5-year survival rate below 10%.
We engineered modified extracellular vesicles capable of specifically targeting tumor cells, paving the way for more precise and efficient cancer detection and treatment.
Beyond the competition, this adventure united our team around a shared vision: using science to serve the health. It taught us scientific rigor, project management, and the value of every form of investment, human, intellectual, and technical.
We discovered new skills within ourselves, explored both familiar and unfamiliar fields, and learned how creativity, perseverance, and teamwork can transform an idea into real-world impact.
A heartfelt thank you to all teams, judges, organizers, volunteers, and the entire iGEM Community for the collective energy that drives us all forward.
Congratulations to the entire ExoSPY team : Lina Verschuere, Selma Kocier, Chloé Chambard, Justine Pellier, Yussera Sebdaoui, Héloïse Ployon, Matthieu Viezzi, Thibaut Soula, and Guillaume Banon.
A heartfelt thank you to our supervisors : Claire Durmort, Pierre Cavailles and Thomas Hindré, and our advisors, Sébastien Rigollet and Yacine El Bichara, for their guidance and support.
We are also deeply grateful to our sponsors and partners : bioMérieux, CBH Graduate School, Fondation Grenoble INP, Crédit Mutuel, Secteur santé UGA, Crous Grenoble Alpes, Université Grenoble Alpes, and everyone who supported and believed in us throughout this year.
This Silver Medal represents more than an award, it’s the outcome of passion, perseverance, and collective effort."
