Team:FSU/Team
THE TEAM
Justin
Bartell
Team Lead - Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Hello! My name is Justin Bartell and I am will be going into my third year at FSU studying Biomedical Engineering. I'm currently pre-med and plan to pursue an MD-PhD in Bioengineering. My goal is to be able to develop novel therapeutic technologies that can be implemented in a clinical setting. I first heard about iGEM from Cesar Rodriguez, our Primary PI, when he discussed the iGEM program in a Biomedical Engineering Society meeting. The idea of synthetic biology--manipulating DNA to develop biological systems--enraptured me. From there, I agreed to work over the summer for iGEM, and have taken on a leadership role since. One random fact about me: I've gone to the FSU home games since I was five with my dad and brother, and we used to dance on top of a van while tailgating. We still go to the games to this day (we have front row season tickets!), but we save our dancing for the stadium now.
William
Hochstedler
Associate Team Lead - Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Hello, my name is William Monroe Hochstedler. I'm a rising Senior in Chemical/Biomedical Engineering. The reason I wanted to join iGEM was because of the awe inspiring possibilities for Genetic Engineering. Biology and Genetics have always interested me, but this is something that is not only life changing, but world changing! How could I pass up such an amazing opportunity to not only learn about this engineered machine, but actually help build it! A random fact about myself might be that is that I want to get into prosthetic development with a focus on integrating robotics.
Savannah
Shewan
Head of Human Practices Team - Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
My name is Savannah Shewan, and I am a Junior Engineering student in Chemical-Biomedical Engineering at FSU. I came to iGEM because I have always really enjoyed Biology, Chemistry, and my Engineering degree so I thought that this would be a great opportunity to do something I love. Not to mension that Cesar really sold it for me by framing the summer as a start-up. One fun fact is that I've swam in a waterfall in Guatemala.
Ada
Del Cid
Human Practices Team Member - Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
I am currently a senior majoring in Chemical-Biomedical Engineering. I was born and raised in Honduras and moved to the US for college. I joined iGEM because my goal is to help make people’s lives better and iGEM is the perfect platform to do this. Random fact: I went from wanting to be a singer when I was little to becoming an engineer :)
Sterling
Strmel
Human Practices Team Member - International Affairs
Hello! I’m Sterling Strmel, a senior International Affairs major. I joined iGEM, because I was interested in the importance that iGEM places on human-centered design and in the potential for collaborations between synthetic biology and the social sciences. I was also excited about the chance to work with students from other disciplines and explore a new field that I didn’t know much about! Something random about me is that I know German, French and even a little bit of ASL (American Sign Language).
Harrison
Schwartz
Human Practices Team Member - Business
I’m a junior Information Systems major. I joined iGEM because I'm passionate about science and I wanted to challenge the status quo of what's expected from business students at FSU. I believe that disruptive technologies like synthetic biology are the future of new growth in global economies with the potential of a huge societal impact. Fun fact...my favorite food is Sushi and sport is football!
Erin
Smyth
Human Practices Team Member - Animation
My name is Erin Smyth, and I’m a Senior film student at FSU. For this project, I created the different graphics and videos to illustrate the group’s objectives and plans.
Andrew
Chacko
Head of Design Team - Biological Sciences
My name is Andrew Chacko. I’m a senior studying Biological Sciences. I joined iGEM because I am a part of Cesar(our primary PI)’s lab, who informed me about the team and I was interested from there on. A random fact is that I lived in Sydney, Manchester, and Paris during my childhood.
Nicholas
Cooper
Design Team Member - Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
My name is Nicholas Cooper. I am pursuing a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. I joined the FSU IGEM team because I wanted to learn more about cell engineering and biotechnology while working in a multi-disciplined group setting. I like indoor rock climbing.
Alexander
Mangas
Design Team Member - Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Hello, my name is Alexander Mangas and I am a senior studying Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at FSU. Before I discovered iGEM and the field of synthetic biology, I always dreamt of creating futuristic, disease-fighting nanoscale robots (huge sci-fi nerd). When it dawned on me that cells can be programmed to function as dedicated machines that perform tasks at a micro level, I was blown away! iGEM presented an incredible opportunity to create living robots that treat diseases as a cell therapy, thereby blurring the line separating science fiction and reality. Random fact about myself: I have a slight obsession with motorcycles, can’t get enough of them really.
Isabel
Lamb
Head of Create Team - Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
My name is Isabel Lamb and I’m a junior studying Biomedical Engineering. I joined the iGEM team because I thought the concept of genetically engineering bacteria sounded really interesting and I wanted to get experience in a lab setting. Something interesting about myself is that I love photography and collect film cameras.
Westin
Kosater
Create Team Member - Biochemistry
My name is Westin Kosater. I’m a senior Biochemistry major and I joined because I had been very interested in the emerging field of synthetic biology, so naturally when I received an email from my advisor telling me about a synthetic biology team forming at FSU, I decided to give it a go. A random fact is that I can name the capital of any country in the world.
Megan
Donnelly
Create Team Member - Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Hi! My name is Megan, or Megs for short. I am currently entering my senior year, pursuing a degree in Biomedical and Chemical Engineering. I joined FSU iGEM team because I wanted to learn more about molecular and synthetic biology, and as a way to experience working with people outside of my specific discipline. One random fact about me is that I am a proud cat mom to a beautiful bombay cat named Spooky Mulder.
Damilola
Ologunagba
Create Team Member - Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
I’m Damilola Ologunagba, a senior in the department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. I’m from Nigeria. I joined iGEM, because I was inspired by the projects done by teams that competed in the previous years. A random fact about myself is that I love music and movies.
