SynBIOsis Interest Form
Welcome to Year 0 of SynBIOsis, the American SynBio Competition!  SynBIOsis is an organization focused on developing the American SynBio Educator Ecosystem.  Our goal is to support educators and students as they engage in SynBio and related biotech activities.

We'll be learning with you this year, as we begin a new chapter in Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology education in the United States.  Our mission is to nurture the curiosity, skill, and drive it takes to excel in Synthetic Biology. By empowering the next generation and equipping educators with the tools to lead, we build an ecosystem of scientists and engineers who are ready to contribute, compete, and make their mark.

The SynBIOsis organizing committee is composed of a like-minded group of educators and scientists who want to make sure that any SynBio program puts students first.  Another core tenet is to keep costs low, so that we are providing access to as many different educators, schools, and students as possible.

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Email *
SynBIOsis Overview:  The annual program is intended to reach a broad audience of students and educators, ranging from individuals who have never done any biological wet lab work to experienced researchers who are ready to engage in their own novel projects. Below is an image capturing the program, its tiers, and those contributing to the development of SynBIOsis. For each of the three tiers, we will provide tailored support. For participants in the Interlab (Novice) tier, a complete instructional curriculum as well as implementation support will be provided.

For year 0 (2026-2027), we anticipate focusing on the Interlab and Challenge tiers starting in September 2026 and going until the culminating event at the end of the academic year (specific date will depend on the state).  We are currently focusing on 5 states, but if you are outside those 5 states, that's okay!  We are actively finalizing the curriculum related to the Interlab for 2026-2027.

Educators and students may engage in any tier of the program, allowing you to advance from Interlab to Challenge to Project over time, depending on your own progress and comfort level.  We envision most participants starting at the Interlab or Challenge tier during their first year with us, but we leave it to you to decide what the right fit is for you and your team.

We will have information sessions later this summer and fall, where we will go into specifics and answer any questions you may have.  Thank you for your interest!
SynBIOsis Overview:  The annual program is intended to reach a broad audience of students and educators, ranging from individuals who have never done any biological wet lab work to experienced researchers who are ready to engage in their own novel projects. Below is an image capturing the program, its tiers, and those contributing to the development of SynBIOsis. For each of the three tiers, we will provide tailored support. For participants in the Interlab (Novice) tier, a complete instructional curriculum as well as implementation support will be provided.

For year 0 (2026-2027), we anticipate focusing on the Interlab and Challenge tiers starting in September 2026 and going until the culminating event at the end of the academic year (specific date will depend on the state).  We are currently focusing on 5 states, but if you are outside those 5 states, that's okay!  We are actively finalizing the curriculum related to the Interlab for 2026-2027.

Educators and students may engage in any tier of the program, allowing you to advance from Interlab to Challenge to Project over time, depending on your own progress and comfort level.  We envision most participants starting at the Interlab or Challenge tier during their first year with us, but we leave it to you to decide what the right fit is for you and your team.

We will have information sessions later this summer and fall, where we will go into specifics and answer any questions you may have.  Thank you for your interest!
First name *
Last (family) name *
Tell us about yourself.  Are you a student, educator, admin, staff, etc...?  You can expand in the next question. *
Required
If you are not a student, tell us a bit more about yourself here. For example, maybe you are part of a company or local community lab.  Or, maybe what courses do you teach or how are you involved in education.
Please provide your school, company, or organization name. *
In what state is your school or organization located?  For year 0, we are planning to focus on GA, TX, CO, CA, and MA.  However, educator and student interest will dictate what we do. *
Required
Where is your school or organization located? Briefly, please include any additional information that you believe is relevant, such as city or school district.
For 2026, which of the three program tiers (shown in image at the top) interests you?  Each one is briefly described below.  You can be interested in more than one!

Interlab Tier:
This tier is perfect for educators and students who are new to either SynBio, molecular biology, or microbiology experiments, and who want to learn the basics.  For this tier, we are providing curriculum, including lesson plans, lecture slides and activities, as well as lab protocols.  Additionally, educators and students will receive support throughout the academic year.  This is the IDEAL tier to begin to build a foundation from which to further explore SynBio in future years.

Are you interested in the Interlab Tier? *
For 2026, which of the three program tiers (shown in image at the top) interests you?  Each one is briefly described below.  You can be interested in more than one!

Challenge Tier:
This tier is designed for educators and students who have some familiarity with either SynBio, molecular biology, or microbiology, but are ready for a more independent experience.  For this tier, we will provide a SynBio area of focus based on community input, along with some basic readings and starting materials.  It is up to the students and educators to determine their project goals and objective, contributing to the broader SynBio community.  Educators and students will receive support throughout the academic year in the form of office hours, but there will not be the same level of curriculum support as there is in the Interlab Tier.  This is the IDEAL tier for educators or students who want to do more than standardized classroom experiments.  Students will have to think outside the box to create their own research objectives in our Challenge area.

Are you interested in the Challenge Tier? *
For 2026, which of the three program tiers (shown in image at the top) interests you?  Each one is briefly described below.  You can be interested in more than one!

Project Tier*:
This tier is designed for educators and students who want to choose their own adventure and desire to create a completely new project in the realm of SynBio.  It is up to the students and educators to ideate their project area and research question.  Educators and students will receive support throughout the academic year in the form of office hours, but we will not be able to give you project-specific input, as we may not be familiar with your research question!  This is the IDEAL tier for experienced educators or students who want to do original research and are ready for a truly independent research experience.

*This tier will not fully launch until Fall 2027, but if you are interested in the tier for 2026, we can discuss what that would mean for you.

Are you interested in the Project Tier? *
For our pilot year (Year 0), we are expecting to enforce a minimum team size of three students and one educator.  The recommended team size is no more than 10 students per group, but this is negotiable. Questions regarding team size can be saved for an info session.

Multiple teams are allowed per school or course/class.

We have not yet finalized team registration fees, but we anticipate fees of:
~$250 per high school team
~$500 per college team

Fees are meant to cover all annual costs, including preparing and sending any materials to you (bacteria or DNA sequences!) and providing office hours during the academic year.  Any extra funds will be used to cover costs for the annual regional events, expected in May or June of 2027.

If you have an interest in participating in SynBIOsis, how many teams do you anticipate for your school/class in 2026-2027? This is just a best guess to help us gauge interest and to assist in our planning.  Thank you!


 *
Are you interested in attending an information session to learn more? If you indicate yes, a meeting link will be shared with the email address you provided above once the preliminary info session dates are confirmed.

We will announce at the information sessions how to officially sign up for 2026-2027.  But if you have any questions before then, we will do our best to answer them!

Tentative info session times:

1) August 6th, 5pm Eastern
2) August 12th, 4pm Eastern
3) August 18th, 6pm Eastern

If these times are bad for you, please let us know.

Are you interested in attending an information session to learn more?
 *
If you have any other questions or comments right now, please let us know.  We're happy to answer any questions you have, but it may take a bit of time as we develop this ecosystem from the ground up. We are still finalizing our pilot year and your input will influence the decision-making process.  You are also welcome to save all your questions for the information sessions later this summer.

Thank you so much for joining us on this journey!

Any immediate questions (regardless of state) can be sent to: 
janet.standeven@colorado.edu 
A copy of your responses will be emailed to the address you provided.
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