About Us

Our team consists of 11 students and 2 supervisors (Jana Herrmann and Frank Groß). We are biologists, bioengineers and biochemists. If you want to know a little bit more about us, you can read some information on this site.

Jana

Jana studied Molecular Biotechnology in Dresden and Munich. From biophysics to biochemistry to chemistry, she has been working on projects in different disciplines. However, her favorite discipline has always been Molecular Bioengineering. Therefore, she is happy to support the TU Dresden team to get SPACE-P into the orbit of iGEM. Being outside the lab, she enjoys the nature while hiking or cycling, and for working off energy – if something is left at the end of a busy week – she likes playing badminton. She says: “The iGEM competition is a great opportunity for the students to get a feeling of what it takes to plan and perform a project (also from the organizational and financial side) and to realize that having know-how is beneficial, but having a good network is as important.”

Frank

Frank studied biology at the Universtät Hohenheim and got his PhD at the TU Dresden. After three years as a postdoc with Syngenta at the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA, he returned to Germany. He is interested in natural products, molecular bioengineering and lately in epigenetics due to group affiliation. “To be asked by the students to supervise the Dresden iGEM team is a honor. It was and is a hard learning process for all of us, since we are all novices in the iGEM hemisphere. Nevertheless, this project is a great opportunity for them to learn how science functions: planning a project, writing proposals to get funding and finally realizing the plans at the bench in the wet lab and present the results.”

Abhinaya

This 26 years old from Chennai (India) with a major in Biotechnology is a downright protein enthusiast. Casual, determinant and exuberance perfectly define her. This former IT professional finds utmost comfort in mixing research and technology and loves being on the edge! Music, adventure and anime is her mantra for personal time out, occasionally with a dash of spiritual salvation involving yoga and meditation. According to her iGEM is "one helluva ride! Brilliant but scary...".

Ashwin

Ashwin Balakrishnan is 23 and he is currently studying Molecular Bioengineering. This Indian young man studied Biotechnology at the Anna University, Chennai, India. In his free time Ashwin likes watching trains and hiking. He is a foodie and likes to try new and different cuisines. Whenever he is not in the lab or the class he is sleeping. He describes his experience with iGEM as "its sheer hard work and patience".

Carl

Carl Brehl is 26 comes from Eichenzell (Germany). He studies Bioprocess Engineering at the TU Dresden and will finish in 2016 with his Master's degree. Besides the work on the iGEM project, Carl likes traveling, to find new interesting places, meeting new people and learning about the different cultures. In his free time enjoys doing many different sportive activities such as hiking, running, playing team sports and competing in extreme runs. He describes his iGEM experience as an “exciting new interdisciplinary experience of hard work”.

Robert

Robert Dinger is 24 years old and studies Bioprocess Engineering at the TU Dresden. He is on his way to finish his Master's degree and is constantly looking for new challenges that will expand his knowledge of classical bioprocess engineering in fields like molecular biotechnology or biophysics. He joined the iGEM team to gain experience in an interdisciplinary workgroup and support with his experience in cell cultivation. In his spare time Robert likes to do all kinds of sport and found his new challenge in Powerlifting. He also likes playing Basketball and Lacrosse with friends. From his iGEM experience he concludes that "from chaos arises order: interweaving many ideas and form it to a strand that will lead to our goal".

Bo

Bo Heinz is 25 years old from the sunshine state of California, USA. A dual citizen of both USA and Germany, Bo decided to discover his roots whilst obtaining a masters in Molecular Bioengineering from TU Dresden. Bo is highly active in sports and particularly enjoys running and competing in races. As for his creative outlet, Bo is an avid guitar player and also dabbles on the ukelele. He also likes long walks on the beach and candle-lit dinners. To characterize his iGEM experience Bo says, "The multifaceted components bringing this project to life unraveled a roller coaster of emotions that I wouldn't change for anything".

Carolin

This is Carolin Heller. She is a 23 year old student from Northern Germany. Before coming to Dresden she studied Medical Biology in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. She likes to spend her nights dancing swing at the Elbe river. She also enjoys discovering cultures and she tries to travel around the world as much as the economy allows it. After thinking for hours she couldn't find the words to describe her iGEM experience...

Bastian

Bastian Joffroy is a 24 year old German and he is currently studying Molecular Bioengineering. In his Bachelors he studied Applied Natural Science at the world famous mining University Bergakademie Freiberg. He loves all kind of sports such as Jujutsu or Gymnastics (the more painful the better). He claims that "iGEM taught him the beauty and borders of working in such a colourful herd".

Romina

Romina Piscitello is 23 and comes from Spain. She is studying Molecular Bioengineering but she studied Biomedical Sciences for her Bachelors. Although she was born and raised in the sunny and beautiful city of Barcelona, she cannot stand temperatures above 30 degrees and therefore she loves being in the lab in front of her laptop until the sun goes down. She sums up her iGEM experience as "a chaotic challenge that pays off".

Marvin

Marvin Prein is a 23 year old dual citizen of the USA and Germany originally from Virginia. After completing his Bachelor in Biotechnology at the University of Scotland last year, he is now studying Molecular Bioengineering in Dresden. A friend for odd-ball sports such as Ultimate Frisbee, he is also master drummer, playing for almost 14 years. iGEM for him is a "wonderful comprehensive experience to learn the mechanics of a teamwork based project".

Melanie

Melanie Schneider is a cheerful 24 year old who has fun doing all kinds of weird biology stuff on her computer. Born in the beautiful romantic city Heidelberg in Germany, she highly appreciates her new home's beauty, culture and evolving scientific fields. Besides her master studies in Molecular Bioengineering her greatest passion is dancing. She also loves travelling and cycling around, always seeking for new impressions and challenges. iGEM taught her "how at the same time difficult and enriching it can be to organize and finally realize a common project combining various disciplines and opinions".

Sethuraman

Sethuraman Subramanian is 23 years old and is studying Molecular Bioengineering. He studied biotechnology at SRM University, Kattankulathur, India. He enjoys sports and watching TV shows in his free time. He claims to be an artist by hobby and says: "much like drawing, iGEM is about building an idea on a blank paper and the iGEM experience holds us on the creative edge which is exciting".

Team:TU Dresden/Team/Aboutus