Back row, left to right: Pangsibo Shen, Annabel Zhang, Sujith Swarna (Vice President), Michael Mu Third row, left to right: Dennis Jang, Brenda Situ, Michael Hwang (President), Veronica Paltaratskaya Second row, left to right: Cyrillus Tan, Kathy Li, Yibo Zhao, Mone Anzai Front: Ichiro Matsumura (Instructor)
My name is Yibo and I am a junior at Emory University majoring in biology. I have always been interested in biotechnology and the field of genetic science. I enjoy observing the minutiae and this has led to an ability to channel my observations into creating new and interesting perspective of the world around me. I also find self-expression in drawing and designing characters. My passion, however, is to use my creative instincts in the field of biology and biotechnology to better the lives of others.
Donian Chyoung is a current sophomore at Columbia University. He was a student this past summer in Dr. Matsumura's lab with support from the from Columbia University's Anonymous Internship Fund and contributed greatly to our lab work.
My name is Priyam Mazumdar and I am from Austin Texas. I am now a student at Emory University pursuing a dual degree program with Georgia Tech. I am studying Neuroscience and will be continuing on to doing Computer engineering. I have a lot of passions outside of the classroom though! I am a violinist in the orchestra as well as a photographer on the side and am obsessed with my golden retriever Leo. Biotechnology has been a growing passion of mine and I want to see the applications of things I am learning now and how to use it in the healthcare field in the future.
Hi! My name is Michael Mu and I am a junior studying biology at Emory University. I love science and participated in Science Olympiad in high school, so when I heard about the iGEM competition even before I started college, I knew I wanted to join. Thus began my journey on the Emory iGEM team. After a year of serving on our business committee, I learned a lot but am looking to reconnect with the science portion of iGEM on our project committee!
Hello, my name is Michael Hwang, and I am student leader of Emory iGEM team. I am currently studying biology and chemistry at Emory university. Outside of lab and academics, I enjoy music and watching movies. Above all, the opportunities synthetic biology presents to improve our everyday lives excite me more than anything!
My name is Sujith Swarna, a senior majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. I became interested in iGEM because of the opportunity it provided undergraduates with to conduct creative and innovative research that they could have full authority of. Participating in iGEM has given me a wonderful experience in the entire scientific process from conception to design to the actual carrying out of the experiment and it has definitely helped to hone my interest and love of research!
Hey, my name is Kathy and I'm a senior this year at Emory majoring in Biology and Music. I joined iGEM my sophomore year because I wanted to be part of a team and it has given me opportunities to learn and do so much more than just wet-lab research. I've learned a lot about marketing, fundraising, and even a little html. Outside of iGEM, I work in a research lab in Winship Cancer Institute. When I have free time, I like to spend it making music, learning languages, and making the most of my last days in undergrad.
Hi my name is Munsa Manandhar and I'm a senior majoring in Biology. Coming into Emory, I knew I wanted to gain some research experience but I wanted my project to be something I was really passionate about, not just something assigned. When I heard about how I could design my own research project through iGEM, I knew I wanted to join. Outside of biotechnology, my hobbies and interests include dance, makeup artistry, and learning about medicine.
A senior in Emory’s College of Arts and Sciences, Mone is majoring in biology and psychology. Mone is a research intern in the pediatric nephrology department of Emory’s School of Medicine. She hopes to pursue a career in medical research with a focus on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. In her free time, she enjoys playing with dogs, baking, spending time with friends and volunteering.
Hey there, I'm Dennis, a second-year student majoring in biology while on the pre-med track. I am ecstatic in learning more about human anatomy. I was intrigued by iGEM due to its representation that a mashup of both fields of engineering and synthetic biology can create something wonderful.
I'm Annabel and I'm currently a sophomore at Emory College majoring in chemistry. I'm interested in research related to organometallics and syntheses of naturally derived materials. I enjoy reading novels and playing with cats.
Hi, my name is Pangsibo Shen. I’m from Shaoxing, China. I’m currently a junior at Emory college, double majoring at Biology and Art History. I have spent the past summer learning cloning technique with Dr. Matsumura and participated in the plasmid reconstruction. I love travelling and playing soccer. My favorite movie director is Quentin Tarantino.
Hi, I’m Brenda and I am a sophomore at Emory, double majoring in biology and political science. I have always been interested in the field of genetics and iGEM has given me the amazing experience to learn more about my field of interest in a laboratory environment. It has taught me things that normally would not be taught in a traditional classroom. iGEM is not only a competition but also a valuable opportunity to collaborate and learn from other like-minded peers. I look forward to integrating the knowledge I have gained from this past summer in my future academic journey.
Dr. Ichiro Matsumura was once an undergraduate at M.I.T. and subsequently became a Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley. He was an postdoc at UT Austin before he became an assistant prof at Emory. He studies mechanisms of adaptive evolution and believes that evolutionary theory is the ultimate instruction manual for synthetic biologists. Ichiro has served as iGEmory's faculty advisor since the team's inception 3 years ago. He has provided guidance, mentorship, a work space and materials to our team.
Emily Weinert graduated from Duke University in 2002 with a B.Sc. in Chemistry after working with Professor John Simon. She then joined Professor Steve Rokita’s group at the University of Maryland for her Ph.D. At the end of 2006, Emily began her postdoctoral work in Professor Michael Marletta’s laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. She joined the faculty of Emory University in 2011.
