Team:UCSC/Breakdown

Breakdown



Swathi Balaji

  • Biomolecular Engineering
  • Bioinformatics minor
  • College Nine (UCSC)
  • 4th Year
  • Grant & Web Team
  • From: Pleasanton, CA

Anissa Benabbas

  • Biology
  • Bioinformatics minor
  • Crown College (UCSC)
  • Graduate (Post Bac)
  • Video Team
  • From: Sunnyvale, CA

Cristian Camacho

  • Biomolecular Engineering
    Bioinformatics minor
    Crown College (UCSC)
    4th Year
    Grant & Video Team
    From: La Mirada, CA

Jairo Navarro

  • Biomolecular Engineering
    Bioinformatics minor
    College Nine (UCSC)
    4th Year
    Grant, Programming, Video, &
    Web Team
    From: Watsonville, CA

John Poncini

  • Biomolecular Engineering
    Bioinformatics minor
    College 8 (UCSC)
    4th Year
    Grant & Video Team
    From: Stockton, CA 

"I started on the Field Team with an interest in finding and identifying Haloferax species that contain cellulases, enzymes that break down cellulose. The process of screening archaea for cellulases took the majority of the summer so I promptly switched towards developing a synthetic halophilic cellulase. Using a vast array of computational tools, I developed a pipeline for determining a model cellulase which we will test for expression in Haloferax volcanii. My computational work culminated in the discovery of conserved rare codons in specific gene regions across domains of life, leading towards the development of F.O.C.U.S, our computational strategy for determining rare codons in gene sequences. I hope to soon publish my work as well as continue developing useful computational tools for researchers and future iGEM teams."

Tanvir Saini

  • Molecular, Cell, &
    Developmental Biology
    Bioinformatics minor
    Oakes College (UCSC)
    5th Year
    Webmaster, Graphic Design, Grant,
    Social Media & Video Team
    From: Simi Valley, CA

Roger Volden

  • Biomolecular Engineering
    Bioinformatics minor
    College Eight (UCSC)
    3rd Year
    From: San Jose, CA

"I would undoubtedly say that I have gotten much more comfortable with the people I work with in lab, and it has definitely made me more productive and contribute more to everything that happens. I have definitely grown as a person because of iGEM, and I feel like I have become a better researcher, teammate, and friend because of it. Between all of the lunches, coffee runs, socials, and lab time, I would say that the UCSC iGEM team is like a second family to me. I know I'll always cherish the work that we've been doing and that I'll look back and know how it influenced me as a person."