Alex is a Biology major from the northern suburbs of Chicago, and is passionate about the superiority of deep dish pizza. In addition to being a part of iGEM, he is a volunteer coordinator for the student organization Partners in East St. Louis and is involved with the student theater group Cast n' Crew. Alex loves most aspects of biology and could see himself as a neuroscientist or a biostatistician or anything else in between, but he is totally content to spend the rest of his life doing crosswords.

Collin Kilgore

Sophomore | Experimental Design Specialist / Wet Lab | Major: Chemical Engineering and Mathematics

Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, Collin is interested in the systems biology end of Chemical Engineering and plans to pursue graduate work in the field. In addition to iGEM, Collin is a Calculus Peer Led Team Learning leader, Washington University Student Advocate, and member of WashU's After Dark a Capella. When he is not humming along to random songs in lab, Collin can often be found binge-watching shows on Netflix and dreaming about genetically-engineered corn.

Maddie Lee

Junior | Finances Expert and Treasurer / Wet Lab | Major: Biology

Maddie is a Minnesotan girl in a St. Louis world. She is studying biology and plans to pursue a PhD in pathology after graduating from WashU. In addition to iGEM, Maddie is a member of the executive board for the student theater group Cast n' Crew, a volunteer with Studio: TESLA, and a member of Alpha Omicron Pi. Maddie would like to note that over the course of this project she sent more emails than anyone should ever have to in their lifetime.

Mark Wang

Sophomore | Wiki Master / Wet Lab | Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Minor: Sociology

Bred from the suburbs of Los Angeles, Mark is passionate about using molecular and cell biology as a force for the greater good and plans to go to medical school after his undergraduate studies. When he's not studying or working on iGEM, Mark is a shift captain for WashU's Campus Kitchen chapter, an editor for the Washington University Academic Starter Guide, a volunteer at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and a coach for Campus Y's Science Olympiad program. On his free time, Mark likes to catch up on TV shows, watch sports, and swim.

Micah Rickles-Young

Senior | Modeling Pro / Wet Lab | Major: Genomics and Computational Biology | Minor: Bioinformatics

Three years after attending the 2014 High School Jamboree with his team from Weston, Massachusetts, Micah makes his triumphant return to iGEM. Micah is studying Genomics and Computational Biology and will be applying to Ph.D programs in genomics. Outside of iGEM, Micah has been an intern at Enbiotix, Inc. in Cambridge, MA, has participated in research through the Phage Hunters and Genomics Education Partnership programs, and is the president of Wash U's Rube Goldberg team.

Zoe Orenstein

Junior | General Manager aka THE BOSS / Wet Lab | Major: Biomedical Engineering

In addition to biology, Zoe's interests include long walks on the beach, eating cinnamon rolls, being on time to meetings, and watching professional dart tournaments. She is also the Vice President of Cast n' Crew, a student theater group, and a tour guide for WashU engineering. Zoe's ultimate goal is to use her degree in BME to engineer mini elephants so that they can be house pets.

Mentors and Advisors

Dr. Janie Brennan

Lecturer of Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering Dept. at WashU

Dr. Janie Brennan has been involved in iGEM for over 10 years, first as an undergraduate team member, then as a graduate mentor, and now as a faculty advisor! Outside of iGEM, she is a Lecturer of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, where she teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses related to chemical engineering. Professionally, her primary interests are related to engineering education and iGEM, and her hobbies include reading, playing the piano/trombone, and collecting/writing with fountain pens.

Eugene Kim

Ph.D Candidate in Zhang Lab | Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering Dept.

Sarah Rommelfanger