Team:Lethbridge/Team

Team Members

Team Leaders

Catrione Lee

Hello! I know my name can be intimidating when you first look at it but it's just pronounced as Cat-ri-na. I could write that in IPA for you linguistic nerds out there, but I’ll restrain myself this time. :) The 2019 season will mark my second year being involved in iGEM and my debut as a team leader. I’m a 5th year biology undergraduate student who’s interested in all things microbiology. SynBio is just an application of the systems that I’ve come to love. I’m very excited about our project this year for a couple of reasons: getting to work with new microorganisms; and getting the opportunity to work on a project with direct implications on the accessibility of healthcare, which is something very close to my heart. I can’t wait to see all of the amazing work done by all of you at the Jamboree.

Luke Saville

I am a fourth year undergraduate student studying biochemistry at The University of Lethbridge and this is my second year on the iGEM team. My research interests include using synthetic biology to solve unmet medical needs, studying molecular methods of neurodegeneration and analysis of genomic and transcriptomic data. I am excited to see you all at the Jamboree!

HAL

I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.

Student Members

Kalob Barr

I am currently going into my fourth (and FINAL) year of neuroscience, however, despite my neuro background I enjoy pushing my boundaries and trying to gain as much experience in all fields during my undergrad. This will be my first year as a team member on the UofL iGEM team and I have already gained a large amount of knowledge and experience on what goes on behind the scenes in the coolest syn-bio projects we hear about all the time. It’s hard to keep me quiet and thankfully I have found a spot in human practices where continuously talking to strangers can be seen as a good thing. Our team has big things coming this year... May the force be in our favour.

Jesse Holbein

Hi my name is Jesse I'm a general science student at the University of Lethbridge. I have a variety of interests including languages, biology, and martial arts. I have a bad memory. This is my first year with Igem. Hi my name is Jesse I'm a general science student at the University of Lethbridge. I have a variety of interests including languages, biology, and martial arts.

Dia Koupantsis

Hydrogen Iodide (HI), my name is Dia Koupantsis and this is my first year with the Lethbridge Collegiate team as well as my first year as an advisor for the High School iGEM Team. I am currently studying biological science with a specialization in molecular genetics at the University of Lethbridge, I have a particular interest in RNA based research, genomics, epigenetics and synthetic biology. I joined iGEM because it seems like the perfect place to grow my passion for science, to be in a wonderful team such as the Lethbridge Collegiate team, and of course to learn more about applied synthetic biology.

Allyson Lawrie-White

I am currently in my fourth year of Neuro at the U of L focusing mainly in Alzheimer's research, this is also my first year in iGEM. I like to learn and to be in the lab, but when I’m not in the lab I’m usually spending time with friends, playing/refereeing rugby, or in the gym.

Landon McCabe

Hi, My name is Landon McCabe. I am currently in my second year of undergrad majoring in Biochemistry at the U of L. This is my first year as part of the UofL iGEM team and I’m really grateful to be part of the amazing project we have this year! I’m very interested in protein structure and function, and how we can manipulate these to create useful tools for humanity, so being part of iGEM and the synthetic biology scene is a great fit. I enjoy mountain biking, skiing and hiking, when I’m not in the wetlab. When I am in wet lab I enjoy bugging Kristi with a million questions.

Joshua Omotosho

Hi, I am a second-year Psychology/Computer Science major. This is my first year being a part of the iGEM team and I am having a blast. Currently, I am a part of a joint lab researching neural networks and had joined iGEM to broaden my breadth of knowledge, provide my coding skills, as well as be a part of an amazing interdisciplinary effort. My research interests include but are not limited to the following: neural network applications in the medical field, artificial grammar learning, and artificial general intelligence.

Kera Whitten

I am a Bachelor of Science student here at the University of Lethbridge, a research enthusiast, and a new mom! My passion for learning and love of the academic environment attracted me to the collegiate iGEM team; where a bunch of interdisciplinary, science-crazed, research junkies work to make awesome synthetic biology dreams come true. My contributions to the team lie in offering creativity, optimism, and laboratory assistance. I specialize primarily in Neuroscience but have deep interests in Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, and Philosophy —just to name a few. When I'm not working or researching, I am likely hanging out with my family, teaching yoga, or on an adventure in the mountains. Here’s to a great year, iGEM 2019!

Team Advisors

Sydnee Calhoun

Hi there! My name is Sydnee and I am currently working on my Masters of Science in biochemistry at the University of Lethbridge. This is my fifth year of iGEM, but my first as an advisor for the Collegiate team. I enjoy the multidisciplinary nature of iGEM, which enables me to build transferable skills outside of the laboratory. Outside of iGEM, I enjoy hanging out with my friends, baking, and accumulating an abundance of nicknames (29 and counting including squid, sydoku, and kiwi!).

Aubrey Demchuk

I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in Neuroscience but I have an academic background in Molecular Genetics, which definitely helped shape me into the SynBio nerd that I am today. I am returning as an Advisor to the Lethbridge Collegiate iGEM team because I really enjoy working on challenging interdisciplinary projects that bridge my research interests (and because I apparently cannot abide spare time)! And if I am not in the lab, you can find me on my mountain bike!

DJ Kim

Hi, my name is Dong Ju Kim and I force everyone to call me DJ, otherwise people call me Dong (if you call me Dong, I will express my hatred towards you very clearly). I find iGEM is a huge opportunity for people who search for rapid and intensive gains of knowledge not only in synthetic biology but also in many different fields. Multidisciplinary aspects of every team member converges into a single project and the ideas really shine as we coincidentally apply different approaches that are highly innovative and more efficient than the traditional methods. I would like to share my view of the people with Type I Diabetes or any type of illness. They are the initiators of human development and they are the reason why I care about studying science. I, as a scientist, have a responsibility to serve them the best on their priority, not testing my own hypothesis. I will be working hard, ethically, and honestly on our project to show my respect to them.

Kristi Turton

Hello! Here I am back at it again for the third year in a row! I am the wetlab adviser for the University of Lethbridge team as well as the High School team. I have just started in my masters at the UofL and am also a part of the RNA innovation Program. I have a huge passion for synthetic biology and pathology and have enjoyed working on this project due to its therapeutic applications. If I don’t answer by my name, just yell Shifty; lab names tend to catch on.

Investigators

Angeliki Pantazi, Primary Investigator

I am an Instructor at the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Lethbridge and this is my second iGEM season. In my previous lives I have worked as a medical geneticist, cancer genomicist and life sciences consultant in four countries and two continents. I am fascinated by the capabilities of synthetic biology to tackle long-standing problems particularly in the areas of health and disease. I love iGEM because it opens up a window to an exciting world of scientific discoveries, leading-edge innovation and impact on society while it creates a sense of inclusive community for my students.

Trushar Patel, Secondary Investigator

I joined the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute at the University of Lethbridge as an Assistant Professor in 2016 and the iGEM Lethbridge team in 2017. My laboratory is focusing on understanding the recognition events between viral nucleic acids and host proteins that results in up-regulation of viral replication. I am very excited to be a part of an iGEM team and learn more about advances in synthetic biology and apply synthetic biology approaches, in combination with biochemical and biophysical techniques to achieve our goals.