Team:UNOTT/Team
OUR TEAM
Team Leader
Ellie Boardman
Ellie is a 4th year MSci Hons Biochemistry and Genetics student. Although her passion in science lies a way away from synthetic biology, in microbial pathogenesis and infection, she thought iGEM would be a fantastic way to broaden her skills and knowledge as she wants to follow a career in scientific research.
“iGEM has been an incredible experience which has taught me a huge variety of things, including the patience needed for molecular biology lab work! Outside of the lab, I am teaching myself piano and how to use Python. I have great fun trying (and failing miserably) to “talk computer” with Vik, our computer scientist, however it is definitely a weak area of mine and iGEM has given me opportunities to learn new things from people who I would never normally come across in my day to day life. iGEM has really advanced me as a scientist, more than I ever thought it could! I really look forward to meeting everyone and presenting the research our wonderful team has done at the jamboree in Boston in November. See you all there!”
Chris Graham
Chris is a biochemist and geneticist who leads and works for lab efforts when needed, but also works in experiment design, plasmid construction, website creation, games development and collaboration with other teams. He loves working with a bit of everything and therefore a large amount of his experience is in Molecular Dynamics Simulation and bioinformatics as well as main stream biology, but for the majority of the project he has been in the lab team. He enjoys doing new things, is easily obsessed with the latest craze and has an overactive imagination. His hobbies include being a know it all, drawing, photography and making music playlists.
“It is I, Sir Edwin Jaketh Yeboah better known as Jake”
Jake is currently a 3rd year Bsc Biotechnology student currently planning and preparing to write a dissertation on research of a genus of bacteria called Clostridia. “Taking part in iGEM was a goal of mine ever since I read about it in a science article in my sixth form library”. He was drawn to how almost magical it seemed to be using bacteria in this way and could not believe he had not heard about Synthetic biology sooner. iGEM is also the reason he is studying Biotechnology since it very closely relates to synthetic biology.
“iGEM has been even more intense than I imagined it to be and an experience I will not forget. I cannot stress enough the large amount of skills I’ve gained such as HTML coding, lab skills such as carryout of gel electrophoresis and general team work and optimism. I am looking forward to the infamous Boston Jamboree and hearing some cool accents. See you in November.”
Vikram Chhapwale
Vikram is the modeller and programmer for the iGEM Nottingham Team. He also handles external relations such as talking to the public and to industry contacts as well as handle the legal stuff in the project. His hobbies are playing music live, doing art and playing videogames.
“IGEM has helped me develop stronger team based skills as well as see new applications for computers as helped me gain an insight into the world of research.”
Natalia Kotyńska
Natalia is currently a MSc student in Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology and she graduated with a BSc Hons in Biotechnology this summer. Her research interests are microbial biotechnology and genetics, in particular various applications of microorganisms to obtain valuable products. She is also interested in how synthetic biology can be used to engineer organisms, which could be used as novel cell factories. Natalia’s non-scientific hobbies are yoga and film-making.
“Being a part of iGEM helped me to learn more about my interests and develop necessary skills as a scientist. Long hours spent in the laboratory taught me many techniques which are very valuable in my further study and future job. As a member of iGEM team I’ve also had an opportunity to develop outside of the lab skills such as teamwork and effective communication. The DNA extraction outreach session was one of my favourite activities as it involved getting teenagers (potential future scientists) more interested in science and genetics in a fun way.”
Luca Rossoni
Luca is a Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham, where he works at developing new/improving existing processes for the bioproduction of commodity chemicals. His research focuses mostly in understanding and overcoming toxicity issues given by products and substrates, and in using synthetic biology and engineering tools to maximise production yields and titres. He has experience in metabolic engineering, microbial fermentation, process design, applied biocatalysis using whole cells and isolated enzymes, enzymology and evolution of enzymes with random and rational approaches. In his spare time, he is mostly a motorbiker, but he also does some hiking, sports and take care of his little princess Giulia! “iGEM is great...it is like doing a PhD project in three months instead of three years!”
In his spare time, he is mostly a motorbiker, but he also does some hiking, sports and take care of his little princess Giulia!
“iGEM is great...it is like doing a PhD project in three months instead of three years!”
Ines Canadas
Ines is a PhD student in synthetic biology who joined the Synthetic Biology Research Centre in Nottingham (UK) in 2014. Her research has mainly focused on the development of genetic tools for the genus Clostridium, a known chassis for the production of valuable industrial chemicals.
Apart from cloning, Ines likes reading, traveling, swimming and most importantly, talking. In her spare time, she bakes extremely yummy cheesecakes. With enthusiasm, she advises the iGEM team enjoying every moment – good or bad – this competition offers.
Maria Zygouropoulou
Maria defected from pharmacy to molecular microbiology and is now in the final year of her PhD. She is trying to engineer bacteria into tiny, cancer-fighting superheroes by arming them with various anticancer properties. In her free, she likes to read books, bake and make travel plans. She is an avid online shopper, serial procrastinator and true Jaffa cake addict.
"iGEM has been a great learning journey for all of us – it’s amazing to see how much the team has accomplished in and out of the lab and how much we, as advisors, have learnt alongside them. It’s been a pleasure to work on such a cool idea."
James Gilbert
James is a postdoctoral researcher in computational synthetic biology at the SBRC in Nottingham. He is currently researching and developing software related to the metabolic modelling of microbes for the expression of heterologous pathways. A computer scientist by training, he has worked for around 5 years in fields related to complex biological systems with a particular interest in complex networks. His core interest has always been to find ways of applying maths and computing to help build a more sustainable world with systems and synthetic biology.
When he is not sat behind a desk or attending meetings for the iGEM team he like to play the guitar, run, cycle and ski.
"The iGEM competition is a fantastic opportunity to train the next generation of scientists to spread and develop a global message for the potential of synthetic biology to transform our world."
