Our team, made up of 11 high school students, has gone through many tests, as we all started with a small foundation of freshman Pre-AP Biology. Through from the hot days of summer to the crunch times in October, each member has dedicated their time and energy towards the project in order to make it work. Due to the common goal and the amount of time we have spent together, this team is closer then we would have ever otherwise been.
Anna Tutuianu
Junior, LASA High School
Favorite Thing About iGEM: Putting together an entire project with so many different elements.
About: As one of the Co-Presidents of the LASA Synthetic Biology and iGEM Club, Anna is extremely dedicated to working on the project. Anna is also known for over-organizing anything she touches, in particular, the lab notebook and spreadsheets. Outside of iGEM and school, Anna spends most of her time reading, looking into public health policy, and obsessing over yoga.
Eli Cone
Junior, LASA High School
Favorite thing about iGEM: Getting real-life laboratory experience in a supportive environment. About: Aside from being an officer of the LASA Synthetic Biology Club, Eli is a part of LASA's FRC Robotics team, 418 Purple Haze. In his limited free time, he enjoys rock climbing, running, and building things in his garage.
Ashley (Somang) Kim
Junior, LASA High School
Favorite Thing About iGEM: Ashley's favorite thing about igem is that she gets to have a hands-on experience of researching with a team. This iGEM project has allowed Ashley to participate in the different aspects of this research opportunity. About: Outside of Synthetic Biology, she likes to read, make films, and play the violin, as well as the piano for her church praise team.
Anika Singh
Junior, LASA High School
Favorite Thing About iGEM: Anika's favorite thing about iGEM is working with her peers and with research teams to help contribute to solving real world problems.
About: Anika enjoys traveling, reading books, watching documentaries, playing violin, and coding in her free time.
Shreya Gupta
Junior, LASA High School
Favorite thing about iGEM: Performing various procedures in the lab About: Shreya enjoys synthetic biology because it appeals to her diverse interests and incorporates elements of different science and engineering fields. She is capable of spreadsheeting absolutely anything even if it is quite unnecessary. Shreya is on an FRC robotics team and enjoys the design aspect of the build process. In her limited free time, Shreya reads and obsesses over cute dogs.
Anusha Vavilikolanu
Freshman, Emory
Favorite Thing About iGEM: I love how iGEM connects people all over the world that are passionate about synthetic biology. The competition gives people the opportunity and motivation to learn to think like a researcher and even do their own synthetic biology research. About: Anusha Vavilikolanu is a devoted member of the LASA Synthetic Biology club who wants to pursue a career in medicine and the biological sciences. Experienced in Bharatanatyam (a style of classical Indian dancing) and Bollywood dancing, with training for last 13 years. She has earned various awards from swimming on a swim team, participated in gymnastics for a couple of years, and fulfilled the requirements for a junior black belt in Karate.
Sumin Choi
Junior, LASA High School
Favorite Thing About iGEM: My favorite thing about iGEM is working with a group of individuals that are not afraid to try to solve a real-world problem, which in our case is Parkinson's Disease. About: As a result of her involvement in LASA Synthetic Biology, Sumin has discovered an interest in lab work and biotechnology. Outside of the lab, Sumin is active in HOSA and Choreopop, a Korean pop dance team, in addition to competitive volleyball and piano. But more than anything, Sumin loves to make her family and friends laugh and smile whenever possible.
Pranathi Bingi
Senior, LASA High School
Favorite thing about iGEM: Pranathi loves the creative freedom and ownership that iGEM teams have in their projects About: Pranathi is a senior at LASA high school. She is passionate about synthetic biology, public health and policy, and medicine. Pranathi is also involved with UNICEF, Science Olympiad, Model UN, and LBJ cares (a volunteering organization at her high school).
Christian Stromberger
Junior, LASA High School
Favorite Thing About iGEM: Getting to work together as a team, whether it be in the lab or other things. About: Along with Synthetic Biology club, Christian is an officer of the chess club at LASA as well as a varsity pitcher for the LBJ Jaguars. Outside of school, he enjoys hanging out with friends and watching movies. Christian has always had a love for science and math, which is what inspired him to join SynBio club freshman year.
David Hamilton
Junior, LASA High School
Favorite Thing About iGEM: The chance to be apart of something bigger than myself - a developing scientific field, an international competition, a team - and to come away from the experience learning from all that that entails. About: David has a deep interest in biology and developing sciences. David got involved in synthetic biology to explore his interest beyond the high school level, and to expose himself to the collegiate and professional world of the science.
Shruti Prasad
Senior, LASA High School
Favorite Thing About iGEM: There are so many different aspects to the iGEM requirements and it's incredible to see the way that team members interact to get the tasks done. She enjoys exploring her interests and simply learning more about qualities that would be beneficial to us in a professional environment. About: Beginning in high school, Shruti has always had an interest for all things science because of its ever changing nature as new discoveries are made. She is a travel junkie; she always want to visit new places to make new experiences.
has gone through many tests, as we all started with a small foundation of freshman Pre-AP Biology. Through from the hot days of summer to the crunch times in October, each member has dedicated their time and energy towards the project in order to make it work. Due to the common goal and the amount of time we have spent together, this team is closer then we would have ever otherwise been.
