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 Technische Universität 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. But nevertheless, this project is a great opportunity for the students to learn how science is functioning: 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

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

Bastian

Bastian Joffroy is German 24 year old 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 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

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 loves travelling or cycling around, always seeking for new challenges and impressions. 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/Aboutus