Team:SoundBio/Team
Team
Leadership
Charlie Anderson
Lakeside School, 2021
Synthetic biology has been a fascination of Charlie's since third grade, when his science class did a (very)
brief unit on it and he decided he wanted to learn more. Being on an iGEM team has been a great opportunity
for him to gain hands-on wetlab experience and meet some truly awesome people. Charlie hopes to eventually go
into a career that somehow integrates synthetic biology, neuroscience, and machine learning. He also enjoys
playing games and reading.
Claire Yang
Tesla STEM High School, 2021
Claire is a junior at Tesla STEM High School who loves discovering new ideas and meeting cool people to
discuss them with. Being a part of SoundBio iGEM has allowed her to do exactly that, and she’s loved the
opportunity to work with a group of high schoolers who are just as passionate about biology as she is. Claire
also loves dancing, writing, and drawing/painting. You can find her on Instagram @artsbyclaire.
David Lu
Roosevelt High School, 2020
David is a senior at Roosevelt High School. He was fascinated by synthetic biology after taking a biotech
course sophomore year. In his free time, David likes to go sailing or play music. He also likes the color
blue.
JJ Wheeler
Tufts University, 2023
JJ Wheeler enjoys finding creative ways to engineer biological systems to overcome challenges in the community
or world. He especially enjoys applying biotechnology to protecting and restoring the environment, producing
food and other products sustainably, and combating disease. He is starting his freshman year at Tufts
University where he hopes to double major in Biochemistry and Biotechnology. He will continue iGEM in college
because he has STILL not yet realized his dream of bringing actual legit fire-breathing dragons to life with
the wonders of genetic engineering. The science just isn't there yet apparently.
Katherine Holo
Interlake High School, 2020
As an aspiring biomedical engineer and entrepreneur, Katherine's experience in iGEM has been an amazing
opportunity to not only learn, but to meet new people who are also dedicated and interested in synthetic
biology and its impact on the global community. Outside of iGEM, she can be found running a statewide Model UN
conference, procrastinating on her homework and searching for new music to listen to. She has thoroughly
enjoyed working on SoundBio iGEM's project this year and is excited to see all the projects and teams at the
Giant Jamboree!
Sarah Alvi
University of Washington, 2023
Sarah Alvi enjoys reading, rowing, traveling, and hiking. Her interest in genetics really peaked after she got
the opportunity to explore Institute for Systems Biology as a high school freshman. Since then, she has
explored other fields but has always come back to biology. More recently, she has gained an interest in tissue
engineering. Being part of SoundBio iGEM for her third year has provided her with a great place where she can
learn about topics that truly interest her, connect to the iGEM community, and have a good time with her lab
buddies. Sarah will be a freshman at the University of Washington College of Engineering in the fall where
hopes to continue her iGEM experience.
Sonia Yuan
Ingraham High School, 2020
Sonia is a senior at Ingraham High School. She had no idea synthetic biology was a thing until she joined
iGEM, she just knew she liked linking & applying concepts between seemingly unrelated situations. Needless to
say, she's having a blast making genetic circuits and designing experiments. When she's not doing iGEM, she
enjoys binge-reading fantasy novels and running cross country.
Sophie Liu
Newport High School, 2020
Sophie Liu is an aspiring computational biologist. In the future, she hopes to design experiments to explore
questions that shape the future of science and research in industry or academia (she hasn't decided between
the two yet). In her dream world, she would be able to study fields including but not limited to computer
science, structural biology, and synthetic biology. In her free time she likes to play badminton and hang out
with the Newport Orchestra viola squadddddd.
Team Members
Alex Richardson
Newport High School, 2020
Alex is a Newport senior that got interested in synthetic biology by watching mammoth documentaries in
elementary school. He has transitioned this big love to little cells after entering iGEM his sophomore year.
Alyssa Tou
Garfield High School, 2021
Alyssa is currently a junior at Garfield High School. Joining Soundbio iGEM has sparked her interest in
pursuing a STEM career, especially in the field of biology. All her other side hustles include running cross
country and track, as well as the violin.
Amy Lin
Newport High School, 2021
Amy Lin is a junior at Newport High School in Bellevue, Washington. She enjoys serving as an officer for
Newport's HOSA and DECA chapters, volunteering at Harborview Medical Center, and binge-watching TV shows. Her
interest in exploring the sciences has sparked especially after completing eighth grade biology and watching
documentaries on the development of the human body as it ages. In the future, Amy aspires to work in the
medical field where she can positively impact lives on a daily basis.
Ananya Nandula
Tesla STEM High School, 2021
Ananya is a junior at Tesla STEM High School in Redmond, Washington. She loves learning about applications of
science and engineering that change lives. In her free time, she loves playing tennis, singing, and cooking.
Annie Tu
International School, 2020
Annie is a senior at International School in Bellevue, Washington.In her free time, she enjoys cooking,
dancing, and reading Harry Potter. She loves meeting new people, travelling, and listening to music. Her
interest in biology stems from the classes she took at school and its relevance to everyday life. iGEM has
taught her a lot about synthetic biology and the importance of having a sterile workplace.
Arya Gharib
Lincoln High School, 2022
A sophomore at Lincoln High School in Seattle, WA, Arya has always had a passion for molecular biology and
math. When he heard about iGEM in the beginning of the year, he was eager to have the opportunity to be able
to combine these two interests in the software sub team of SoundBio iGEM. When he is not in the lab or holed
up in his room doing cool software stuff, he can be found working on his iOS app or playing his bari sax.
Belle Pan
Lakeside School, 2021
Belle is a junior at Lakeside School who has been fascinated with biology ever since that first "real" biology
class in seventh grade. The smaller it is, the more fascinating it is, so synthetic biology was the perfect
choice. Belle is also a coxswain on the school's rowing team and enjoys the weird blend of roleplaying,
debate, and power plays that constitute Model United Nations. Other hobbies include trying with varying
success to learn digital art from the dark depths of the Internet, reading, playing the violin, and listening
to a wide range of podcasts.
Cathy Zhao
Inglemoor High School, 2021
Cathy is a junior at Inglemoor High School. In her free time, she enjoys baking, photography, and reading. She
is interested in many parts of science, such as behavioral science and computer science, and hopes that iGEM
can give her more experience and a greater understanding of careers within the scientific field.
Claris Winston
Homeschooled, 2020
Claris Winston, a homeschooled senior, heard about SoundBio iGEM at a local science fair and has had a blast
being part of the team this year and learning about the fascinating field of synthetic biology. Being on the
software side of the project was truly an eye-opening experience as it helped her realize the important role
of computing in synthetic biology! Outside of school and iGEM, you will find her composing/playing music,
playing basketball, drawing, or figure skating. She also leads the Seattle chapter of Iatrix21, a high school
club for girls interested in the medical sciences.
Collin Dong
Lakeside School, 2021
Collin is a junior at Lakeside School. He developed a growing interest in biology ever since taking a biology
class in 8th grade. By receiving the opportunity to work in a lab thanks to iGEM, he is extremely grateful to
gain such invaluable experience and hopes to eventually pursue a career in the field of medicine. More
specifically, he dreams of making gene therapy for all kinds of diseases and disorders both safe and
affordable. Outside of iGEM, Collin enjoys watching cooking videos and rowing.
Daniel Koo
International School, 2023
Daniel "Kyung Mo" Koo is a freshman at International School. Even though this is Daniel’s first year at iGEM,
with little experience in advanced chemistry and biology as well as being one of the underdogs because of his
age and grade, he has still grown very fond of the field of synthetic science. He strives to learn by asking
many questions from very self-explanatory to very in-depth. Ever since he was a kid, he loved doing
experiments and random tests that could expand his welfare of so to speak "random knowledge" that could
someday hold useful. He hopes to learn a lot more starting from his teammates all the way to different teams
in iGEM competitions. He also loves to eat Korean food as well as listening to Kpop.
Emma Huang
Eastlake High School, 2021
Emma Huang is a current junior at Eastlake High School. She enjoys swimming and playing the violin in her free
time. She enjoys being a part of the team and she hopes to learn more about synthetic biology in the future!
Eric Xia
Lakeside High School, 2021
Eric is a junior at Lakeside High School. Although he entered iGEM with very little synthetic biology
experience, his short year on the SoundBio team has taught him about a lot of interesting and new ideas. Eric
has a passion for cross-disciplinary applications of different ideas and principles, and hopes that he will
get to explore a lot of them during high school. Outside of the lab, Eric enjoys watching the busy streets of
Seattle from the curbside and trying not to get kidnapped while waiting for his ride. He loves his city but it
gets sketchy sometimes.Outside of iGEM, Eric loves coding interesting things (github: rkique), going running
in the rain, and participating in MUN crises. Eric is a budding Esperantist as well, and hopes to meet another
some day.
Forest Tschirhart
Garfield High School, 2021
Forest attends Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington, and is currently in his Junior year. He enjoys
playing guitar in various bands, pole vaulting, and climbing. Forest has been interested in almost every kind
of science since he was young, and is enjoying being part of the Soundbio iGEM team, both because he is
learning a lot, and because the other members are fun to hang out with. This was the only photo we could find
of him don't judge…
Gargi Panatula
International School, 2020
Gargi Panatula is a senior at International School. She is passionate about all kinds of biology and the
environment. She hopes to be able to merge her two passions and to one day create biology based solutions to
the problem of climate change. In her spare time, Gargi enjoys hiking and dancing Bharatanatyam.
Hari Koneru
Lakeside School, 2021
Hari is a junior at Lakeside Upper School. His passion for synthetic biology started with a particularly
interesting unit in his 8th grade biology class about the central dogma. iGEM has given him the opportunity to
delve deeper into an otherwise relatively inaccessible topic in a hands-on way. He hopes to continue to learn
more about the topic and eventually help solve important problems via synthetic biology. Outside his endeavors
in biology, he enjoys hiking, playing video games, and coding.
Hayden Bhavsar
Cedarcrest High School, 2020
Hayden is a senior at Cedarcrest High School. He was inspired to join iGEM after learning about synthetic
biology in his AP bio class. This is his first year in iGEM and he enjoys getting experience doing lab work.
Hayden runs cross country and can often be found fishing, reading, SCUBA diving, or watching his aquariums.
Keemia Mohammadi
Juanita High School, 2020
Keemia Mohammadi is a Cambridge senior at Juanita High School. She is a part of multiple clubs such as MUN,
NHS, Key Club, HOSA, and Earth Corps. When she is not swimming forJuanita, she is most likely eating burgers
and fries. She is so thankful for being a part of Soundbio iGEM team.
Keerthana Thammana
Redmond High School, 2020
Keerthana Thammana is a senior at Redmond High School in Redmond, Washington. Her interest in biology
increased after taking advanced courses in high school, and she wants to pursue biomedical engineering in the
future. She is fascinated by the immense possibilities of synthetic biology, and would like to learn more
about its various applications. When she is not sleeping, you can usually find her drawing, singing, reading
or playing the piano.
Kevin Lu
Roosevelt High School, 2022
Kevin Lu is a sophomore at Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Washington. His first year of iGEM has further
increased his interest in the biotechnology as he learns about the numerous applications it has. Fascinated by
biological phenomena and technological advancements, he hopes to become a biomedical engineer one day. As for
now, Kevin plays the cello and stresses over school.
Liana Wood
Woodinville High School, 2022
Liana enjoys hiking and cooking and knits like an old lady even though she's in 10th grade (and is
homeschooled) and likes martial arts, though soccer is her cover sport. She is also fascinated with everything
foreign and spends an inordinate amount of time listening to K-pop and watching k-dramas, but is even willing
to bike 21 very difficult miles to get to the lab when she's needed. About 70% of her education is
science-related, and half of that is iGEM stuff, and that is the way she likes it. Her dream is to someday be
able to save even just one life using her biology knowledge, since saving the world is impractical.
Mahathi Mangipudi
Interlake High School, 2021
Mahathi Mangipudi is a junior at Interlake High School. She is passionate about bioinformatics, earth and
environmental science, and climate justice. Outside of iGEM, Mahathi is a hub coordinator for Seattle Sunrise,
a Sustainability Ambassador, and a mentor for the United States Earth Science Olympiad program. Mahathi loves
to share her enthusiasm about STEM with younger students and teaches elementary and middle school students
biology and earth science through a non-profit organization. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, singing,
and writing and performing spoken word poetry at various venues.
Maya Landry-Livshetz
Ingraham High School, 2022
Maya is in 10th grade and enjoys doing Martial Arts, painting and drawing using various media, listening to
alternative music, and Victorian literature. She is passionate about biology and ecology. Some of her hobbies
are reading, drawing, hiking, skiing, and rafting.
Minsoo Kwon
Lakeside School, 2020
Minsoo, a current Senior at Lakeside School, discovered her passion for biology through her high school
biology classes and loves exploring it through iGEM! She enjoys the collaborative aspect of biological
research and hopes to continue iGEM in college. Her other hobbies include playing the flute and working on the
Oncology floor of Swedish Hospital.
Sofia Alvi
International School, 2023
Sofia is a freshmen at International School in Bellevue. She first got into bioengineering after taking a
biotech class over the summer. She enjoys hiking, hanging out with friends, and of course science! This is her
first iGEM season and she really enjoyed the experience. It’s nothing like she’s done before!
Vrishabhadev Sathish Kumar
University of Washington, 2023
Vrishabhadev Sathish Kumar is a rising freshman at the University of Washington pursuing Computer Science
under the Pre-Med track. His avid interest for synthetic biology brought him to iGEM last year, but after
witnessing its limitless possibilities, he's even more ecstatic for this second season. In his free time,
Vrishab loves to read, go on hikes, and make those much needed afternoon boba runs.
Advisors
Aida Hidalgo-Arroyo
Wetlab Advisor
Aida is a volunteer at SoundBio Lab, acting as a scientific fellow and as advisor to the SoundBio iGEM team.
She holds a BSc in Food Chemistry (UNAM, Mexico), a MSc in Clinical Microbiology (University of Nottingham,
UK) and a PhD in bacterial genetics (University of Birmingham, UK). Prior to moving to Seattle, she worked as
a research scientist in different NHS Microbiology Reference Laboratories in the UK, where she performed
routine molecular diagnostic tests and assisted with the implementation of new technologies for the rapid
identification, characterisation and typing of various microorganisms. She also participated in different
research projects which involved the molecular characterization, typing and antimicrobial susceptibility
testing of different bacterial pathogens and completed the NHS Scientist Training Programme in Clinical
Microbiology in Bristol, England.
Anastasia Nicolov
Hardware Advisor
Anastasia Nicolov is a bioreactor scientist at Just Biotherapeutics, a drug manufacturing company based in
Seattle, WA. She graduated from the University of Washington in 2017 with a B.S. in Bioengineering and a
Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance. Also an advisor for SoundBio iGEM and Team Washington, this is her
sixth year being involved in iGEM and attending the Jamboree. Outside of work and iGEM, she enjoys playing in
local orchestras, running her Etsy jewelry business, and traveling with her family.
Regina Wu
Public Relations Advisor
Regina is an educator and curriculum designer based in Seattle, WA. As co-founder of SoundBio Lab, she focuses
on fostering equity within science education and research. Regina is also a program manager at the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center where she works to develop robust protocols and curriculum material for high
school teachers across WA State. Aside from work, Regina loves graphic design, her cat Beaker, and Taiwanese
food.
Yoshi Goto
Software Advisor
Yoshi graduated in B.S. Bioengineering with a focus on Systems Biology from the University of Washington,
Seattle. He currently works as the Director of Operations and Lab Manager for SoundBio Lab. He is an iGEMer
involved since 2016. He helped start the iTESLA-SoundBio team in 2017. In iGEM, he is the Advisor for both
Washington and SoundBio teams, as well as an avid participant in AfteriGEM initiatives. Aside from synthetic
and systems biology, which he thinks is pretty awesome, Yoshi likes hiking, playing board games, reading manga
and eating good food.
Zach Mueller
Primary Instructor, Wetlab Advisor
Zach is a biohacker based out of Seattle, Washington, who is the co-founder of SoundBio Lab where he engages
in community projects, advises their high school / community lab iGEM team, and oversees general operations.
Although Zach has no formal background in biology, he is extremely passionate about synthetic biology and
strengthening the power and network of DIY labs. When he is not working after hours in the lab, Zach can be
found at his day job working as a Data Scientist at Amazon. Zach's mission is to push innovation in the
biotech community through open-source technologies while lowering barriers for anyone that shares similar
passions in biotechnology. Pairing these with his love for travel, he visits community labs around the world
to increase collaboration in DIY bio projects worldwide.