Team Description:
The ECHHS iGEM team is made up of eight high schoolers from East Chapel Hill High School. Our team is composed of eager and science-loving 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. Through iGEM, we have been able to apply our passions for the sciences in a professional lab setting. With the assistance and support of our advisors, we have conducted research at the genetic research lab of UNC-Chapel Hill over the past year.
Team Members:
Cecilia (Chae Hyun) Lee
Role in iGEM: Team leader of East Chapel Hill iGEM
Grade: Junior
Why iGEM?: Being able to participate in cutting-edge synthetic biology to approach global problems with a team was never something I could turn down
Favorite experience in the 2017 iGEM season: Late-night video calls with the team, selling concessions at football games to fundraise
Maddie Lorie
Ananth Murthy
Role in iGEM: Team Member of East Chapel Hill iGEM
Fun Fact: Only sophomore on the team
Grade: Sophomore
Why iGEM?: Learning about synthetic biology, new and upcoming scientific fields, and competing with friends is something I couldn’t resist.
Favorite experience in the 2017 iGEM season: Going to the lab and working in the summer, selling concessions at UNC football games to fundraise, and late-night video calls with the team.
Nickname: Spicy Curry
Lindsey Yan
Role in iGEM: Team Member of East Chapel Hill iGEM
Grade: Junior
Why iGEM?: iGEM expands students’ knowledge in the field synthetic biology and furthers the lab skills they learned in school.
Favorite experience in the 2017 iGEM season: The weekly meetings during the summer where we would perform lab experiments and learn about different lab techniques.
Karlie Tong
Role in iGEM: Team Member of East Chapel Hill iGEM
Grade: Senior
Why iGEM?: iGEM goes beyond the classroom setting of simply stating global problems. It challenges people to come up with solutions, to engage in synthetic biology, and to work as a team.
Favorite experience in the 2017 iGEM season: Doing bake sales door-to-door. Members were sweaty from walking and shifts were long, but we all grew closer because we shared the common goal to compete in iGEM.
Amy Westerhoff
Role in iGEM: Team Member of East Chapel Hill iGEM
Grade: Senior
Why iGEM?: I joined iGEM to be a part of a unique global community that focuses on improving widespread issues using innovation and scientific discovery.
Favorite experience in the 2017 iGEM season: Filming an educational “Tasty-inspired” video to teach viewers about serial dilutions.
