I am a Junior in Microbiology. I joined the 2017 iGEM Team because I had such a great experience at the Jamboree last year. It drove me to try to improve our team and improve the depth of our project. It is truly inspiring to see the work that iGEM teams can complete in a year.

- Sophia Vrba
(Co-Team Leader, Wet Lab Team Leader)

I am a Senior studying Microbiology. I joined the 2017 Minnesota iGEM team because I had an amazing time while on the 2016 Minnesota iGEM team! I was inspired to continue working with synthetic biology, and to find new ways that we could apply bioengineering to the problems we see in our world today. I also find it amazing to see the type of work that a group of undergraduate students, all studying in different fields, can produce just by setting their minds to it.

- Ajinkya Limkar
(Co-Team Leader, Human Practices Team Leader)

Junior, Biomedical Engineering, and I joined iGEM because it provides undergraduates with the opportunity to design and complete their own synthetic biology projects, an experience that is unique in the university setting. It has given me the opportunity to learn more about synthetic biology and grow my mathematical modeling skills, and has helped me to determine the types of work that I hope to do in the future.

-Kathryn Almquist
(Dry Lab Team Leader)

I am a Senior majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Philosophy. I joined the iGEM team because it involves community outreach events, and I enjoy explaining the principles underlying genetic engineering to others. I think it is important that the general public is informed about what genetic engineering is and what it can do.

-Carolyn Domroese

I am a third year Biomedical engineering and Mathematics students. My interest in research is cellular bioengineering and am currently working in Professor Johnathan J. Sachs research lab. The reason I joined the 2017 iGEM team is that I am interested in meeting more people in the field of bioengineering as well as working on projects with people with different background and skill sets.

-Edward Ding

I am a Junior majoring in Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Biology. I joined the Minnesota iGEM 2017 team because of my love for learning and knowledge. Participating in iGEM has broadened my horizons by giving me a chance to learn and explore more about synthetic biology, genetic engineering and microbiology. It has also allowed me to develop new skills and overall, it has been an absolutely wonderful experience!

- Eishani Kumar

I am a Senior majoring in Biochemistry and Genetics. I joined the Minnesota IGEM 2017 team because I love Synthetic Biology and building Biological Systems.

- Philip Leung

I'm a Senior Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development major with psych minor I joined iGEM in order to actually carry out a synthetic biology experiment and think about how it would impact the world. We talk about these projects a lot hypothetically in all of our classes and I wanted to take it off of paper and actually make something tangible with our ideas. I was also excited to work on a team of like-minded, scientifically inclined peers with our very diverse interests and backgrounds.

- Polina Prokhoda

I am a Junior/Senior majoring in Chemistry and Biochemistry. I joined the Minnesota IGEM team because I want to gain experience applying computational models to real-world problems.

- Merrick Pierson Smela

I am a Senior Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development major. I joined the iGEM team because it gives students the rare opportunity of exercising creativity and independence through innovation and research.

- Jennifer Kim

I am a Sophomore Psychology and Neuroscience major. One reason I joined the iGEM team was because I thought being apart of a student run lab would be a great opportunity to have a real hands on learning experience. I also thought it would be interesting to learn more about how synthetic biology will impact the future of the world.

- Nicholle Co Nacionales

ADVISORS

Dr. Jeffrey Gralnick PhD, Department of Microbiology

Dr. Casim Sarkar PhD, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Dr. Steven Bowden PhD, Department of Microbiology

Team:Minnesota/Team

Minnesota