Team:TU Dresden/Team

Team TU-Dresden | the DipGene project

Beaming BioBricks from Space...

Meet Our Team

A great project demands great people!

Sebastian Eguiguren

Specialist of the trades and King of the cellulose paper

Expert opinion: "If it binds, it binds."

- Age: 25
- City + country of origin: Loja, Ecuador
- Bachelors: Biology / Taxonomy and systematics of fungi from southern Ecuador
- Interests: Mycology, Genetic engineering / rock climbing, in-line skating, trekking and camping

- Peculiarities:
In 2017 when I was working in the Amazon rainforest doing conservation biology during the construction of a gold mine, I was bitten by a venomous snake, a couple sloths, countless rodents and swam in the river tracking a family of otters to make sure they live in a safe environment – but I am still alive doing research!

- What do you like about iGEM?
I see the iGEM competition as a great way to learn from my team members who come from many different backgrounds and nationalities and combine all our great ideas to create something that will help people with limited resources by developing a fast and affordable diagnostic tool for testing genetic diseases.

Pedro Guillem

Professional of the coin and Lord of the wiki

- Age: 36, well lived
- City + country of origin: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
- Bachelors: BSc. Bioengineering, Universidad el Bosque
- Interests: Computational Biology / Music / Sailing / Cooking

- Peculiarities:
I got chased by a flunk of birds over a kilometer for stealing one of their eggs at age 10... nothing in my life was normal ever since. I would probably enjoy spending my last days living on a sailboat.

- What do you like about iGEM?
iGEM is an exciting opportunity to do some practical science. I like the fact that we learned to work as a team. I also got to know my classmates closer than I ever expected, which I enjoyed very much. And well... we're going to BOSTON!!! Who wouldn't like that? :-D

Sophie Heidig

Sardar of Spirulina

- Age: 23
- City + country of origin: Meißen, Germany
- Bachelors: B.Sc. Molecular Biotechnology, TU Dresden

- Interests: Annoying people with science, Talk, Volunteering for international students in Dresden with ESN, Binge watching on Netflix (recommendations appreciated)

- What do you like about iGEM?
I knew I wanted to do iGEM when, by accident, I walked into the presentation of a previous team. I want all that scientific freedom - choose my topic, choose my project, choose my track. I want to experience all the stuff in research no one tells you about in lectures. Also, iGEM appeals to my habit of putting all my efforts in something I don't actually get paid for...

Anastasia Kurzyukova

Ambassador of social networks and Queen of collaborations

- Age: 23
- City + country of origin: Yekaterinburg, Russia
- Bachelors: Bioengineering systems and technologies, Ural Federal University
- Interests: Coffee, coffee and traveling

- Peculiarities:
Starbucks‘ cookies lover 🍪 and photo taking addicted person.

- What do you like about iGEM?
As students we get used to always have someone teaching us and explaining how to do a certain experiment, while iGEMers have the opportunity to learn from their own experience by trial and errors. For me, iGEM is about how science happens in real life and does not stop with only a successful experiment but also funding, collaborations, human practice, safety, teamwork, and time management. All of this plays a crucial role in the achievement of our final goal!

Mara Müller

Think-Tank and Coordinator of DipGene, best friend: Procreate.

- Age: 26
- City + country of origin: Potsdam, Germany
- Bachelors: Bachelor in Applied Natural Science (TU Freiberg), Bachelor Thesis at UCC, Cork Ireland
- Interests: Loves travelling, climbing, hitchhiking

- Peculiarities:
I love drawing and hate math, but I study science. I am afraid of heights, but I love climbing.

- What do you like about iGEM?
Do you know the drawing "The evolution of intellectual freedom" by Jorge Cham (PhDComics)? It depicts the restrictions you will face in modern research. It’s just unique to have the opportunity to make a project completely on our own. Even if everyone just smiles about the idea, being sure it wouldn't work. iGEM is a frame in which you can try out anything that you can come up with. We manage our own funds, our own ideas, there is no body to tell us what to do and what not to do. Sometimes (or most times :) ) it is chaos, but I learned more in this few months than in years of studying.

Arnau Pérez Roig

Administrator of the team and Expert in science slams

- Age: 23
- City + country of origin: Valencia, Spain
- Bachelors: Biology, University of Valencia
- Interests: Beer, Biology and use Biology to make beer

- Peculiarities:
I’m the Boss! Do you need something else?😜

- What do you like about iGEM?
My main motivation to start iGEM was the opportunity to start whatever project we can think about from the very scratch and confront all the problems that this implies. I think this is an invaluable experience that as a student I can't get any other way.

Paula Santos Otte

Princess of Human Practices and Queen of the wiki design

- Age: 23
- City + country of origin: Cádiz, Spain
- Bachelors: B.Sc. Biophysics, Humboldt University, Berlin
- Interests: Ballet, volleyball, hiking, in-line skating or just walking for hours with someone laughing about good, old memories or stories

- Peculiarities:
I get very easily lost in my thoughts, sometimes even ignoring what is going on around me.

- What do you like about iGEM?
iGEM is THE opportunity to learn all what science should be involved in. From coming up with a cool project and designing it, to experimentally perform it in the lab, looking for sponsors, spreading your ideas and knowledge by involving your community, preparing posters, presentations, keeping record of every single detail to illustrate it on the wiki… and all this only in a few months!! iGEM is simply this awesome experience that allows you to work with people from all over the world and learn from each other while you do your own science, your own project that you have decided to start from zero.

Victoria Sarangova

Viscount of the Medals and Duchess of Safety Regulations

- Age: 23
- City + country of origin: Elista, Russia
- Bachelors: Molecular Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University
- Interests: Ceramics, running, outdoors, writing, comedy improv

- Peculiarities:
Five foot tall coffee addict, movie buff, might remember very unnecessary details but very bad at google maps

- What do you like about iGEM?
iGEM opens a door for an independent research and provides a sense of freedom and responsibility for each member of our team. It is something new, and I like it. Besides, it is a fun way of learning and growing, and I'm pretty lucky to share this journey with such cool people around me.

Nikitha Vavilthota

Noble of the Pipetts

- Age: 24
- City + country of origin: Bangalore, India
- Bachelors: B.E. Biotechnology, India
- Interests: Gardening, drawing, playing cricket and listening to music

- Peculiarities:
Nature and Animal freak

- What do you like about iGEM?
To get the flavour of working independently and to design and get a project work from scratch. Finally, the thing I like about iGEM is how different people from all across the globe come together, meet and work together for the common goal of making science more accessible and realistic to the public.

Behbood Moeini Chaghervand

Baron of the plasmid design

- Age: 25
- City + country of origin: Tehran, Iran
- Bachelors: Biotechnology. Tehran University of Medical Sciences
- Interests: Reading, Collection making, Bioinformatics, Working on new ideas, Movies/Series, Music and symphonies

- Peculiarities:
I consider myself an introverted person who enjoys to be alone. I gain energy from working on my plans/goals in my cave. Besides that, I am quite intuitive and don’t really care about reality. I just follow my dream. The other part of my personality is my judging character. I prefer to tell the truth and taking serious action instead of postponing decisions and appeasement with wrong ideas. Finally I am typical turbulent person who can’t tolerate non-functional and traditional trends without a reason.

- What do you like about iGEM?
In spite of mainstream competitions which focus on theoretical tasks , iGEM has both theoretical and practical part which is interesting for me. Apart from that , iGEM also has extra criteria, like poster making ,wiki making, human engaging and finding sponsors, which in my opinion prepares competitors for their own real professional life and establishing businesses . In addition to that, iGEM requires you to provide it with the same requirements which startups want you to have for promoting an idea or invention, according to this I can say that engaging in one of the biggest startups across the world would be unavoidable for those who finally want to establish their own business one day .

Honorary Team Members

Niall Belton

Master of the Tongue

- Age: 28
- City + country of origin: Marquette, Michigan, U.S.A.
- Bachelors: Mathematics
- Interests: Playing music, sports, camping

- Peculiarities:
Doesn't like to drink cold water