Team:Richmond UR/Team
Team
Dr. Dan Pierce - Instructor
The iGEM competition started just after I graduated from my undergraduate institution and I’ve always been jealous that I wasn’t able to compete as a student! While my graduate work was involved in biochemistry and molecular biology, I remained intrigued by the amazing promise of synthetic biology and iGEM. After teaching an Introduction to Synthetic Biology course to incoming biology students, it has been my pleasure to mentor our own iGEM team. I’m proud of all the work they’ve put in to start our team and look forward to more years with UR iGEM!
Savannah Del Cid - Student Leader (Winchester, VA)
Major:Biology
Minor:Russian
I wanted to bring iGEM to the University of Richmond because I am fascinated by the dynamic role synthetic biology can play in the future of medicine and technology. I also felt the multidisciplinary skills required for the competition would be important for my fellow science peers and myself to develop for our future careers. I am very excited to work with an amazing group on our project this summer!
Garrett Lang - Student Leader (Catonsville, MD)
Major:Biochemistry
Minors:Healthcare Studies, Mathematics
I wanted to explore my research potential in the biochemistry field, and synthetic biology seemed like the perfect field to try. When I heard there was a competition that brought together synthetic biologists from all over the world, I thought it would be great to recruit some fellow spiders to try it out! This experience has taught me a lot about my research interests, working as a team, and the next steps for a career.
Chandler Barrett - Teammate (Smithfield, VA)
Prospective Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Political Science double major
I joined iGEM because the idea of bioengineering and biobricks seemed exciting. This project and the conjoined research has been what I've been looking forward to for the past few months.
Sofia Bustamante - Teammate (Quito, Ecuador)
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Minor: Math
Why I joined iGEM: I have always been interested in using synthetic biology to cause change. I look forward to working on agrobacterium because it will be an eye-opening foundation to the complexity of bio-engineering.
Maxim Ohairwe Ermoshkin - Teammate (Kampala, Uganda)
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Minor: Mathematics
I am interested in iGEM because of it provides a scientific platform that encourages creativity and unconventional ideas. This gives a good contrast to more traditional scientific education that emphasizes rigor and precision . I think iGEM is a good way to expand your ability to think of science, especially Synthetic Biology, with more freedom and risk.
Majd Aboul Hosn - Teammate
Major: Biology, Mathematics
I joined iGEM because I am excited about trying to use a pathogen to actually establish immunity in plants.
Loreto Malinowski - Teammate (Naples, Florida)
Intended major: Biology
I joined iGEM because I was interested in delving into one topic and learning as much as I could about it. Attending the conference allows me practice and push myself further in terms of scientific presentations.
Jajsani Roane - Teammate (Richmond, VA)
Major: Environmental Studies (Environmental Science Concentration), Visual and Media Arts Practice
As both an arts and science major, I was most intrigued by the creative and innovative aspects of synthetic biology. As someone interested in the environment, participating in research concerning agrobacterium and plant immunity has been particularly rewarding.
Addison Swackhammer - Teammate (Scranton, PA)
Major:Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
I joined iGEM because I’m really interested in synthetic biology and wanted to be able to contribute to a larger project that could potentially help others.
