Team:UMaryland/Team
After leading last year's inaugural iGEM team to a gold award last year, Iowis returned this year to further grow the team. Outside of iGEM, he studies the characteristics of DNA looping protein in Dr. Kahn's lab. He has had the entire periodic table memorized since 8th grade. Outside of lab, he loves reading manga, watching sports (as a Boston sports fan), and following the global politics. He recently visited India last winter and Germany last summer. After graduation he plans to enter MD/PhD program.
Stephanie is a senior at the University of Maryland researching mechanosensitive channels in V. cholerae. When she's not in the lab, you can find her wandering organic farms trying to find my spirit animal or exploring the rocky paths of the local Billy Goat Trail along the Potomac River. In addition to basic scientific research, she is interested in science education and policy and plans to work in that arena after earning her PhD.
Standing at 190 cm, Kevin is the tallest Asian on the team. He joined iGEM because of its fast-paced, multidisciplinary, problem solving nature, as well as its connections to entrepreneurship. He is the founder of SuperScore Inc, and serves on the national board of Kids Are Scientists Too. He hopes to attain a MD/MBA someday. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys boxing, parkour, and reading.
Rob is currently a junior bioengineering major. He joined iGEM because of its innovative, creative nature and how it addresses so many different aspects of synthetic biology. Outside of the iGEM lab and our human practices efforts, he enjoys reading about virtually anything, learning about vegetarian cooking recipes, being out in nature, exploring my new found hobby of SCUBA diving with the Maryland Terrafins, exploring, learning about issues in Bioethics, and spending time with his wonderful friends.
Hailing from Singapore and Australia, Chun Mun's strong interest in genetic engineering prompted him to join iGEM. He hopes to conduct research in this field after attaining an MD/PhD. Outside of school, he is a self proclaimed piano prodigy, having won consecutive local competitions and placed in international ones. He can solve a Rubik's cube in a very slow average of 17 seconds and is an avid video gamer.
Aditya is a senior at the University of Maryland who is studying BioEngineering. Aditya brings 5 years of wet lab research experience including one prior year with Maryland's IGEM team. This year Aditya's main project is in the design of a cheap and effective PCR machine, and modeling metabolic pathways of engineered E.coli. In his free time Aditya enjoys the movies, making food for the team, and visiting cows.
Adam is a senior neurobiology and physiology major at the University of Maryland. This is my first research experience and exposure to synthetic biology. In the future I hope to attend medical school and pursue more research opportunities. Outside of the lab, I'm a huge news junkie and I love following politics. I also enjoy traveling, weight lifting, and browsing reddit.
Kimia is a sophomore majoring in Physiology & Neurobiology and on the pre-med track. She is considering pursuing obstetrics in the future. She would like to travel and apply my knowledge to developing countries or disaster relief. Beyond that, she has interests in nutrition and business. Kimia is a student photographer for the Honors College and play on the Women's Ultimate Frisbee Team. Her favorite way to spend her free time is staying active in nature, such as jogging or doing adventure courses.
Juhye is a sophomore Neurobiology and Physiology major in the Integrated Life Sciences honors program. Currently, she is a member of an epidemiology lab at UMD focusing on creating a support program for Korean breast cancer patients in addition to iGEM. She hopes to attend medical school after graduation to become either a dermatologist or an oncologist. Outside of school, she enjoys reading, dancing, and binge watching countless crime and cooking shows. Her favorite movie of all time is Finding Nemo, and her favorite food is macaroni and cheese (or just cheese in general!).
Kara is a sophomore bioengineering major at the University of Maryland. While she isn't sure, at this point in time, what exactly she plans to do in the future, she hopes that experiences like iGEM will help her to find her interests and give me more exposure to the many careers related to biology. Outside of school, she enjoys running and keeping up with track & field. She also enjoys doing kungfu (martial arts) and just recently started indoor rock climbing this summer. Basically, she love doing sports.
A member of the Integrated Life Sciences Honors College, Dylan is heavily involved in the design of various components of the team’s PCR machine. This is his second research experience and first wet-lab experience. Outside iGEM, he is a member of the University of Maryland Gymkana Troupe and he is obsessed with Rubik's cubes and all other Twisty Puzzles.
After leading last year's inaugural iGEM team to a gold award last year, Iowis returned this year to further grow the team. Outside of iGEM, he studies the characteristics of DNA looping protein in Dr. Kahn's lab. He has had the entire periodic table memorised since 8th grade. Outside of lab, he loves reading manga, watching sports (a NE Patriots fan), and following the global stock market. He recently visited India last winter and Germany last summer. After graduation he plans to enter MD/PhD program.
Hi, my name is Samiha Ahmed and I'm a sophomore Neurobiology and Physiology and Public Health Sciences double major. I hope to go to medical school one day, and I love all things arts and crafts related.
I am a sophomore and member of the Gemstone Honors College. I was predominantly involved in the Wiki design. In addition to iGem, I work in a Polymer Chemistry lab and enjoy finding as much free food as possible.
Pavel is a senior and member of the Integrated Life Sciences Honors College at UMD, and is originally from the distant land of Russia. Outside of iGEM, he also has another internship at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, where he works with thyroid cells. Outside of academics and scientific work, his hobbies include video games, model kits, fencing, anime, and writing science-fiction stories.
George is a senior bioengineering major and statistics minor at the University of Maryland. He hopes to attend medical school after my undergraduate education. In his time outside of the classroom, he enjoys running, playing basketball, and taking long naps in the library when he really should be studying. Recently, he has also been occupied with self-learning new computer programming languages. Expect big things from UMD iGEM this year – go Terps!
Research Interests: DNA structure and topology in multi-protein DNA complexes and DNA loops. Construction of nanoscale objects using DNA and protein-DNA complexes. DNA packaging by peptides used for transfection of DNA and siRNA. Role of DNA structure in transcription and gene regulation.ps!
Research Interests: Professor Eisentein's laboratory is investigating a number of questions involving plants, including their remarkable capacity to produce a complex array of interesting compounds, the way they respond to pathogens and disease, and also the feasibility of engineering their biosynthetic apparatus for applications ranging from human health to biofuel production.
Dr. Quimby is Associate Director of the Integrated Life Sciences honors program in the Honors College at the University of Maryland. Prior to joining the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics at UMD as a full-time instructor, she earned her Master's of Arts in teaching from the University of South Carolina, after which she taught high school science in Atlanta, Georgia for eight years. She then returned to graduate school and received her doctorate in genetics and molecular biology from Emory University.
Nathan is a former vice president of the UMaryland iGEM team and had served many roles this past year as the team formed. He graduated with a degree in Bioengineering and currently works in the Life Sciences consulting field while also working as a mentor and advisor to this year's team. His background primarily consists of metabolic and genetic engineering research, and in my spare time he is an avid rock climber and plays ice hockey!