Muntaha Samad

Hi! My name is Muntaha Samad and I am a third year at UC Davis studying Computer Science and Engineering. I am very interested in mobile deep linking, and the idea of making the app world fluid like the web. I also really enjoy robotics and am interested in pursuing a career working with smart prosthetics. In my free time I enjoy playing ultimate frisbee and working for the UC Davis C-STEM Center. I decided to join iGEM to gain more experience programming in the context of solving biological problems.

This summer I produced an app that calculates your antimicrobial footprint and raises awareness about the unnecessary and potentially harmful ubiquity of antimicrobials in our environment. I also put together the wiki.

Logan Vinson

Hello, I am Logan Vinson a fourth year Genetics and Genomics major at UC Davis. My career interests include genetic monitoring and breeding selection for endangered species and populations under inbred depression and genetic bottleneck. In my spare time I enjoy rock climbing and engineering. I first found out about iGEM while i was at my junior college by my biology professor. She told me about the competition after i had expressed interest in genetic manipulation and synthetic biology. Ever since then i had made it my personal and professional goal to compete in iGEM.

This summer I worked on genetic assembly and integration, expression and protein purification. I also helped with outreach and data collection.

Gabriel Freund

Gabe Bio

Andrew Shephard

Andrew Shep BIO

Joanne Wu

Joanne BIO

Dr. Justin Siegel - Advisor

University of California Davis, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine and School of Medicine
My scientific efforts are focused on combining computational and experimental tools to develop a fundamental knowledge of enzyme catalysis, and applying those principles to design novel proteins of therapeutic or commercial interest. Currently I am working with an international community on the development of Rosetta computational methodology for predicting and designing macromolecular structures, interactions, and functions. Using this methodology I have completed the de novo design of enzymes capable of catalyzing chemical reactions not found in nature, such as the Diels-Alder reaction. This was followed up by working with an online community, Foldit, to further engineer these proteins for enhanced activity. Most recently I have worked on the redesign of naturally occurring enzymes for the degradation of immunogenic gluten proteins, to develop a novel CO2 fixation pathways, and design of a novel anthrax therapeutic. My current focus is on the design of novel biofuel and commodity chemical biosynthetic pathways, the development of novel therapeutics, and the general understanding of the relationship between protein sequence, structure, and function.

Dr. Ilias Tagkopoulos - Advisor

University of California Davis, Department of Computer Science and UC Davis Genome Center
My lab’s interests span a variety of topics related to evolutionary, synthetic and systems biology. We employ machine learning, graph theory, mathematical optimization, multiscale modeling and HPC simulation methods to address questions in these fields. Computational predictions are experimentally tested in our microbiology lab, where we perform laboratory evolution of microbial cultures, and we construct novel synthetic gene circuits for biotechnological applications.

Dr. Marc Facciotti - Advisor

University of California Davis, Department of Biomedical Engineering and UC Davis Genome Center
I are interested in using the tools of Systems Biology to elucidate rules of biological assembly for gene regulatory networks and in turn use this knowledge, through Synthetic Biology approaches, to build novel circuits.

Alex Carlin - Advisor

University of California Davis, Biophysics Graduate Group

Aaron Cohen - Advisor

University of California Davis, Department of Biomedical Engineering
I graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Biomedical Engineering and hope to one-day owning my own biotechnology business.

Russell Neches - Advisor

University of California Davis, Microbiology Graduate Group

Andrew Yao - Advisor

University of California Davis, Department of Biomedical Engineering