Meet the TeamThe Lubbock_TTU Team is part of a student organization at Texas Tech University known as iGEM Raiders. This year, the Lubbock_TTU team is composed of 10 undergraduate and graduate students.
Brandon PalomoPresident & Student Leader
Brandon Palomo is a master’s student studying physics and he is the team leader of the TTU iGEM team. He founded the TTU iGEM team because he wanted to learn more about synthetic biology after watching several YouTube videos. His interests currently include synthetic biology, statistical mechanics, and theoretical biological physics. During his free time he watches YouTube videos of other people enjoying their hobbies.
Gregory KnoxVice President
Gregory is a senior biochemistry major with minors in math and biology. He joined iGEM after realizing that synthetic biology has an amazing potential. His academic interests span computer science, biology, chemistry, and math. He is interested in pursuing a graduate degree with research focused in synthetic biology. Outside of iGEM, Greg works in a molecular biology lab and studies the intestinal morphology of Tadarida brasiliensis. In his free time he enjoys playing his guitar or playing strategy games.
Angela AhrensWet Lab Member
Angela is a senior cell and molecular biology major and computer science minor. She joined iGEM to gain experience in a cool new field of biology and engineering. Her career interests include working on creating a computer program or drug to eliminate the need for chemotherapy, and work in personalized medicine for cancer patients. Her hobbies include playing video games, re-watching The Office, and listening to music.
Brittany GaitherPublic Relations Director
Brittany is a senior cell and molecular biology major, she is generally almost always the professor’s favorite student. In her free time, she enjoys teaching children and training for marathons. She joined iGEM to further her scientific interests and share her scientific knowledge with others. She is one of the most valued members of iGEM because of her well-roundedness; she is smart, caring, attractive, and humble. In the future, she plans on starting and running a multi-million dollar company and starting a foundation to fund children’s education worldwide.
Brittney HoangSecretary & Wet Lab Manager
Brittney is a senior majoring in biochemistry and minoring in biology. She joined iGEM in hopes of gaining more wet lab experience while also challenging herself with the variety of disciplines involved in synthetic biology. Her career interests include research in translational neuroscience and medicine. Brittney is an avid coffee drinker and enjoys watching Disney movies.
Darron TharpWet Lab Member
Darron is a junior cell and molecular biology student minoring in spanish and chemistry. He joined iGEM because of his interest in biology and his desire to experience research firsthand. His future goals include learning Spanish and figuring out what to do with his life. He is currently considering a career in research or medicine. His hobbies are looking at dank memes, playing video games, and riding his longboard.
Kaitlyn MoseleyPublic Outreach Director
Kaitlyn is a senior biology major with a chemistry minor. Kaitlyn joined iGEM to gain valuable first hand experience working in an interdisciplinary laboratory. She hopes to continue on to complete an MD-PhD with a focus on infectious disease. She is a ballroom dancer that has worked with the Make a Wish Foundation as a professional dancer in Waltzing for Wishes.
Kenia AscencioTreasurer & SORC Representative
Kenia is a senior microbiology major with minors in chemistry and business. Kenia joined iGEM to further her experience in the wet lab and and to explore the field of synthetic biology hands on. Kenia will be continuing her education by getting a Masters in Biotechnology before heading off to law school in order to pursue patent law. In addition to iGEM, Kenia also works in a molecular and Microbiology lab studying salmonella and yeasts used in wine-making. In her free time she rides road bikes with her boyfriend and volunteers her time to helping the community.
Brandon PalomoPresident & Student Leader
Brandon Palomo is a master’s student studying physics and he is the team leader of the TTU iGEM team. He founded the TTU iGEM team because he wanted to learn more about synthetic biology after watching several YouTube videos. His interests currently include synthetic biology, statistical mechanics, and theoretical biological physics. During his free time he watches YouTube videos of other people enjoying their hobbies.
Diane HaWiki Developer & Dry Lab Manager
Diane is a senior physics student minoring in mathematics. She joined iGEM to experience hands on research and explore the field of synthetic biology. Her career interests include conducting research, computational physics, and space exploration. Her hobbies include watching cartoons, cooking, and painting.
Tan PhamDry Lab Member
Tan is a sophomore Chemical Engineering major at Texas Tech. Tan likes physics, mathematics, and chemistry. For the project, Tan does the math describing how calcium behaves in yeast under controlled environments while his teammates focus on providing the model. Tan dreams of immortality in the foreseeable future.
Cody FellAdvisor
Cody graduated in 2016 with a degree in microbiology and currently works as a medical lab technician for the TTUHSC department of Surgery. He became involved with iGEM as an undergraduate and the vice president of the 2016 TTU iGEM team. He now volunteers as this year’s TTU iGEM team instructor. His future plans are to obtain a graduate degree in a synthetic biology related field and later attend medical school.
Kennady AbbottAdvisor
Kennady is currently an MD/PhD student at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She graduated from Texas Tech university with a degree in biochemistry in 2017. She participated in iGEM as a wet lab member of the 2016 Lubbock_TTU iGEM team and now serves as a wet lab advisor. Her research interests include cancer biology and immunology. Kennady enjoys baking, reading, and spending time with her family.
ULabs Makerspace is a facility with rent-able rooms for innovators to pursue their independent interests. It serves as the main location in which our outreach events are hosted. It is also the location of our established community wet lab.
TTUHSC
TTUHSC is home to the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and contains the team's research labs.
TTU Innovation HUB
The TTU Innovation HUB at Research Park is Texas Tech's center for entrepreneurialism and innovation. This is the main location for our team meetings.
