Team:St Andrews/Team




Team members


Our team






Students:

Hover over the photos to find out more about each student.

Student leaders

Morganne Wilbourne

I'm a third year biomolecular science student interested in drug development and the medical applications of biochemistry. In the next two years I plan to apply for M.D./Ph.D programs in the United States.

Izzy Dunstan

I am currently in my third year at the university of St. Andrews studying biochemistry. I was excited to get involved in iGEM and particularly liked the student-driven aspect of it. iGEM was a great opportunity to be able to work as part of a team to build upon a shared interest and to gain experience in industry- wide lab techniques.

Student members


James Hammond

My name is James, I’m from Forres in the north of Scotland and I’m in the third year of a Biology and Mathematics BSc. I got involved with iGEM because I’m eager to try my hand at modelling biological systems, mainly just to see if it’s something I’d consider doing after I graduate. Outside of the lab, my main interest is moth recording – capturing, identifying then recording moth species and rearing out the larvae. I couldn’t tell you why!

Gavin Lamb

I'm Gavin, a 3rd year studying physics at St Andrews. My core interest going into iGEM was modeling but I ended up working in a biology lab learning things completely outwith my field. iGEM provided a great opportunity for this and my ability to learn even within my own subject has definitely improved because of the experience!

Cam Young

Cam is a third year molecular biology student at the University of St. Andrews, and eventually aims to work in the field of research or science communication. Interests aside from science are cooking, photography, and rugby.

Eleonora Shantsila

I’m a 3rd year BSc Mathematics student at St. Andrews. I am primarily interested in applied mathematics and statistics, in particular mathematical biology and joined iGEM to develop my understanding of this area. The project also gave me the opportunity to work with a wide range of people and to develop my coding skills.

Luca Jordano

Hello. My name Is Luca Matteo Jordano. I am a third-year undergraduate at the University of Saint Andrews studying cell biology. I come from the small town of Santa Barbara, California where I picked volleyball. I hope to pursue biological research in the future the fields of either, microbiology or statistical analysis and modeling. I enjoy observing wildlife, and making home made gelato. I took part of the Igem competition to challenge myself, gain experience in the lab, and to work as a part of a team with my classmates.

Adrian Aboyoun

I'm in my third year of a Psychology and Computer science degree. I'm interested in AI, blockchains, and scientific computing. I joined this project to experiment with modelling and web design.

Madeline Alley

Madeline Alley is a third year neuroscience student at the University of St Andrews. She is involved in the outreach parts of the St Andrews iGEM team.

Bethany Reaney

'm a third year Cell Biologist with an interest in cell signalling and medical research. I took part in iGEM as it offered an enjoyable way to spend the Summer developing my lab skills and working with an incredible team on an engaging and multifaceted research project.

Lewis Macdonald

Hello, my name is Lewis Macdonald. I’m a 3rd year molecular biology student interested in gene regulation and hope to continue my studies with a Masters/Ph.D. I joined iGEM to develop my laboratory skills and to get the opportunity to take ownership for a project as part of a team. The independence granted to work on a project that I was passionate about was the most rewarding aspect of being a part of iGEM.

Lucie O'Donnell

Lucie is a fourth-year biology undergraduate who worked in the wet lab this summer.

Lauren Ross

Lauren is a third-year cell biology student from Glasgow. She helped to do literature research this summer and is active on the Saints Women’s Rugby Team.

Pierce Bozeat

I am a second year undergraduate biologist from Dorset who aims to study molecular biology for my degree, and then hopefully go into research after graduating! I joined iGEM because it seemed very interesting and was a great opportunity to get some lab experience.

Nina Petrovic

Nina is a Neuroscience student who last year was on committee for the Operation Smile Society at St Andrews. She’s from Johannesburg, South Africa and enjoys baking.

Eva Snaith

Eva is a third-year biology student who worked on the Interlab portion of the project this summer.

Peter Edwards

Peter is a third-year undergraduate physicist from Bath. He’s interested in quantum physics and enjoys playing rugby in his spare time.

George Dooner

George is a third year biology student from London. He worked in the wet lab this summer.

Supervisors:

Hover over the photos to find out more about each supervisor.

Primary PI

Clarissa Czekster

I’m from Porto Alegre, Brazil, where I got BSc in Biology. I moved to the US to do a PhD working with tuberculosis, followed by a postdoc at Yale in chemical and synthetic biology. I came to the University of St Andrews almost four years ago to work on toxins from bacteria and mushroom. I am now working on finding the next generation antibiotics and in understanding how bacteria use chemical warfare to compete and cooperate with each other and with us. My group works with several enzymes that produce small molecules used in competition/cooperation, and our goal is to understand how these enzymes work and how we can modify them to our advantage.



Secondary PI

Anne Smith

I am computational biologist, specializing in networks across many levels of biological organization, including genes, brains and ecosystems. I am interested in synthetic biology and in understanding the behavior of synthetic circuits; I initiated the first iGEM Teams at St Andrews many years ago and continue to be involved in its returned appearance.

Helder Ferreira

I am a molecular biologist interested in chromatin dynamics and telomeres. I did my PhD in Dundee and a postdoc in Basel.

John Mitchell

I am a faculty member in the School of Chemistry. Academically, I’m interested in anything that’s computational, especially if it’s related to molecules. My interests range from bioinformatics to theoretical chemistry, such as modelling antibiotic resistance and molecular evolution, computing protein-ligand binding, and predicting solubilities, side-effects & toxicities of pharmaceuticals.

Special thanks to

Dr Chris Hooley

Dr Chris Hooley is a Senior Lecturer in Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics and the Operations Director of the Scottish Doctoral Training Centre in Condensed Matter Physics (CM-CDT). His research focuses on collective behaviour in many-particle quantum systems, both in and out of equilibrium. In addition to this year’s, he was a staff member of the 2010, 2011, and 2012 St Andrews iGEM teams.



Advisors

Hover over the photos to find out more about each advisor.

Ryo Yanagida

I'm a PhD student in the School of Computer Science. I mainly act as an advisor on wiki/modelling aspect of the project

Filippo Abbondanza

Sponsors

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our sponsors, without whome this project wouldn't have been possible.

You can click on each of the sponsors logos to visit their website and find out more about the work that they do.

Enhancement themes

University of St. Andrews : School of Biology

The genetic society

University of St. Andrews : School of Chemistry

University of St. Andrews : Computer Science

University of St. Andrews : Psychology and Neuroscience

SULSA

University of St. Andrews : Proctor's Office

University of St. Andrews : Student Association

CAPOD

Wellcome Trust

University of St. Andrews : Physics