The Team

Niko Dalheimer

Course of studies:

Biology

Semester:

6 B.Sc.

Favorite field in biology:

Neurobiology and molecular cellbiology

Favorite organism:

Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) - master of regeneration

Motivation for iGEM:

iGEM is a chance for me to create an own project, to gain experience in the lab and to make new friends. I like the idea of solving a problem through independent and interdisciplinary work by using genetic engineering methods.

Funny Story:

When we started our crowdfunding campaign, we updated our site every few minutes to see how much money we were making.

Eva

Course of studies:

Biology

Semester:

6 B.Sc.

Favorite field in biology:

Plant physiology

Favorite organism:

Mammillaria dioica - because cactus are my favorite plants

Motivation for iGEM:

iGEM is a huge opportunity for me to learn things, the most students probably don't learn during their bachelor studies. Also it is great to work with other students on a project.

Funny Story:

The morning our crowdfunding campaign started, we were all together to contact all the people we wanted to reach. After the start of the campaign everyone of us refreshed the page every second.

Adrian Engels

Course of studies:

Bio Sciences

Semester:

6. B.Sc.

Favorite field in biology:

biotechnology, immunology and phytopathology

Favorite organism:

Chlamydomonas nivalis – staining the snow blood red while protecting itself from uv radiation, or how it is called in English watermelonsnowr

Motivation for iGEM:

I like to utilize my know-how and my skills from different fields of study at a self-determined project scope. I am especially excited to gain more experiences during the project and to meet many people from different backgrounds.

Funny Story:

While I was exporting HPLC files our HPLC and MS wizard come to my place and used the helium tap/pipe/outlet/valve to inflate some balloons and stored them under the fume hood.

Jenny Heinrich

Course of studies:

Biological and chemical engineering

Semester:

4 B.Sc.

Favorite field in biology:

Biotechnology

Favorite organism:

Theobroma cacao - cacao tree, since there is nothing better than hot chocolate

Motivation for iGEM:

iGEM is a great opportunity for me to work independently on a scientific project, develop a lot of new skills, in and outside the lab, and meet many new people.

Funny Story:

After we started our crowdfunding in the beginning, close before our first and second goal and close to the end we reloaded the website about every thirty seconds.

Dorothée Klein

Course of studies:

Bio Sciences

Semester:

6. B.Sc

Favorite field in biology:

biotechnology, humanbiology and neurobiology

Favorite organism:

tardigrades (moss piglets) – survival artists

Motivation for iGEM:

I see iGEM as an opportunity to pursue my passion for biology while broadening my knowledge. I love to work in a motivated team on our project to solve real world problems. Additionally I like to challenge my skills and to get to know my boundaries.

Funny Story:

Starting MoClo reactions in the evening so you can come back at midnight and transform your fresh constructs into E. coli while watching Netflix on the projector.

Marcel Meyer

Course of studies:

Biophysics

Semester:

6. Diploma

Favorite field in biology:

Biophysics

Favorite organism:

yeast - for pizza and beer

Motivation for iGEM:

I wanted to work independently and with great colleagues. And iGEM gave me just that. -

Funny Story:

I was trying to throw an eppi full of 1x SDS to Lukas, but it hit a Lamp, fell on a lab bench and exploded all over Niko and Marlene

Lara Peters

Course of studies:

bio sciences

Semester:

6 B.Sc.

Favorite field in biology:

Microbiology

Favorite organism:

Lactococcus lactis, who does not love some sourcrout

Motivation for iGEM:

iGEM is a great opportunity for me to work independently on a scientific project, develop a lot of new skills, in and outside the lab, and to meet meet many new people.

Funny Story:

It was late that day and everybody staied in the lab because we were waiting for our blott to show the results of the screening. That was the day when we first showed the secretion of our enzymes PETase and MHETase. Everybody was so tired but really happy and we celebrated the moment by sharing a bottle of champagne that we stored in the fridge for this occasion.

Lukas Punstein

Course of studies:

bio sciences

Semester:

6 B.Sc.

Favorite field in biology:

marine biology, biotechnology

Favorite organism:

noctiluca scintillans - causes „milky seas“/bioluminescence in the ocean – beautiful

Motivation for iGEM:

I really like working together as a team and to realize such an ambitious project. Doing one´s own research is exciting for me because it is beyond the normal research possibilities in a bachelor´s programm

Funny Story:

It's always funny when you pipette random coloured solutions, invert them, vortex them and finally put them into a heating block only for a TV clip

Marlene Schlosser

Course of studies:

Bio Sciences

Semester:

6 B.Sc.

Favorite field in biology:

plant physiology and phytopathology

Favorite organism:

Mimosa pudica – a plant that moves!

Motivation for iGEM:

iGEM is a great way to do research on your own and to learn a lot of new things as well as to apply already learned skills. Also I find it interesting to meet teams from all around the world and work with them.

Funny Story:

We decided to get some Pizza and watch a horror movie. Because it's quite complicated to find the right building the pizza delivery guy drove to the other end of the campus. So we had to run the whole way through the dark raining night and feared the evil creatures around us.

Julian Stieß (Jules)

Course of studies:

Computer Science

Semester:

4 B.Sc.

Favorite field in biology:

Bioinformatics?

Favorite organism:

Ilex paraguariensis, for an extra boost.

Motivation for iGEM:

I saw creating and designing the wiki as an endearing challenge I wanted to prove myself on.

Funny Story:

Probably the day I met Laura with birchstocksandals in the bus, since someone closed up the locker room.

Laura Tscholakov

Course of studies:

Biological and chemical engineering

Semester:

4 B.Sc.

Favorite field in biology:

Biotechnology

Favorite organism:

Aspalathus linearis (Rooibos) - tea time!

Motivation for iGEM:

I like to work at a self-determined project. To expand already obtained knowledge and learn new skills at the lab will be a great experience. Also I am excited about meeting many people with the same interest at the laboratory.

Funny Story:

While doing lab work we wanted to listen to some music through the radio. Sadly the radio signal was not clear. After trying for quite some time, Lukas accidentally broke off the antenna. Strangely exactly that fixed our signal and since then our signal stays clear.

Saskia Zeilfelder

Course of studies:

Biowissenschaften

Semester:

6 B.Sc.

Favorite field in biology:

Neurobiology and biotechnology

Favorite organism:

Alpheidae - snapping/pistol shrimps

Motivation for iGEM:

It is a great opportunity to gain lab experience and to make new friends. I am really excited about the results of our project.

Funny Story:

During the first day of our crowdfunding campaign everyone refreshed the page. Every 5 minutes someone was yelling a new number in the room and it reminded me of an auction.