Team:Tacoma RAINmakers/Team
Team:ECUST/Lab/Notebook
Meet the Team
Tacoma RAINmakers
With high school members from all over the area, we have built a diverse and spirited team.
Our Team
-
Sarah Bortel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Kira Boyce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Kian Croston. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Ian Gutierrez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Keshava Katti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
James Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Michael Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Jaskiran Pental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Leon Wan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Heidi Xu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Madelyn Yeh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Jonathan Zacarias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Instructors
-
Brendan Studebaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Catherine Ryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advisors
of the
Team
-
Amanda Galuszka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Kristine Grace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -
Susan Xu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Principal
-
David Hirschberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Investigators
-
Judy Nguyen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emotional Support Staff
-
Mobius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Meet Sarah Bortel
Sarah, a senior at Charles Wright Academy, strives to pursue her interests in physics and biology. She hopes to broaden her knowledge of the subjects and expand her interests. While Sarah is not in the lab, she is either reading, playing her guitar, or learning more about her other interests: French, history, and math. Sarah also does advanced ceramics in school and hopes to continue the subject in college next fall. Sarah is very passionate about her hobbies, and strives to learn as much as possible about as much as possible. Sarah’s passion for learning has found a home at RAIN, where she can learn and experiment as much as she pleases.
Meet Kira Boyce
A senior at Charles Wright Academy, Kira hopes to utilize her lab experience taken from RAIN by applying it to her own research this coming school year. She aspires to become a biomedical engineer and is always looking for a way to bring the team closer together. She is very passionate about music, cooking, and running, all of which she constantly tries to incorporate into her work at RAIN.
Meet Kian Croston
Kian is a second-year member of the Tacoma RAINmakers iGEM team. A truly experienced scientist, Kian’s entire aura exhibits calmness and control. Since his early days of research, Kian has been the absolute manifestation of flexibility. Versed in a multitude of talents, Kian transitions seamlessly between coding, wet lab, and technology. In his free time, Kian enjoys watching Khan Academy videos and drinking tea at eccentric cafes. Kian’s strong individual motivation coupled with a driving desire to learn will take him far in the realm of bioengineering and beyond.
Meet Ian Gutierrez
Ian is a senior at Stadium High School and does Running Start at Tacoma Community College. He is passionate about computers and hopes to pursue a career in computer science. Ian is apart of the wet lab team and the technology team and spends almost every day of the week at RAIN working in the lab or doing other projects. Ian hopes to gain more skills in the lab and possibly utilize them in the future. When Ian is not in the lab, he is also very passionate about photography and takes portraits of individuals and families often.
Meet Keshava Katti
Keshava is preparing for his second year of iGEM and has a enjoyed more than a year of wet lab work. As a high school junior, Keshava began with no pipetting skill, a nebulous concept of the central dogma, and an equally clueless understanding of PCR and gel electrophoresis. Today, he leads lab efforts that extend further than he could have ever dreamed, from fluorescent protein analysis to in vitro DNA extraction. Keshava will be attending the University of Pennsylvania in the fall and plans to double major in electrical engineering and mathematics. In the future, Keshava hopes to harness his understanding of synthetic biology for electrical engineering applications.
Meet James Lee
James, a rising senior in Charles Wright Academy, hopes to pursue his passion in science by being a part of RAIN’s iGEM team. With a strong interest in chemistry, James always finds a way to use his strengths by actively engaging in lab work and being on the tech team. He comes in almost everyday during the summer, not just to contribute to the team project, but also to meet people here who are the experts in science field and to hear about their experiences. James strives to pursue his passion in science in the future by majoring in biochemistry and joining the college research team.
Meet Michael Martin
Curiosity and desire to make a difference inspires Michael as he enters his Senior Year at Bellarmine Preparatory High School. Michael is a student who never gives up his pursuit of excellence and gives 100 percent effort toward learning. Michael has proven academically successful in college level classes and is hoping to bring something new to the table at RAIN. He is currently working on finding a better-functioning promoter sequence for the production of ArsR in the project design.
Meet Jaskiran Pental
As a rising senior at Annie Wright Schools, Jaskiran will enter her 14th year at the same school. Professionally and academically, Jaskiran’s interests lie in the field of bioengineering as it pertains to her natural curiosity towards understanding how things work in an interdisciplinary manner. Jaskiran hopes to delve into the sciences throughout college - this includes finding and learning from experiences within and surrounding STEM. After joining iGEM in the beginning of 2018, Jaskiran learned about the lab processes involved in cloning and now applies them to her work in the lab. She has gained many skills from spending hours in the lab and hopes to use these skills in her future research-oriented endeavors. Jaskiran also works on the Human Practices team, in which she works with other team members to find ways to spread awareness about who the Tacoma RainMakers are and what they do. Besides participating on the iGEM team, Jaskiran also loves to dance, contribute to her school community and spend time with friends and family.
Meet Leon Wan
Leon is a senior at Steilacoom High School who prefers to spend his time reading, being physically active, and eating. He also enjoys learning about STEM, which is a leading motivation in his involvement with the Tacoma RAINmakers team in 2018. This is his very first year participating in the iGEM competition, and although he struggles at times, he tries his best to help out in and outside the lab.
Meet Heidi Xu
Heidi is a CWA senior with a passion for learning and zesty tang for life. While she enjoys biology, she also loves art, history, and watching people make coffee art of shiba inus. She is excited that her involvement with RAIN means a greater level of proactivity in the community, and she hopes that her background in design can help enhance this year’s project.
Meet Madelyn Yeh
Madelyn Yeh, a senior at Charles Wright Academy, is a notable part of the wet lab and human practices team for the Tacoma RAINMakers. Her passion lies within the sciences, specifically the biological field. She hopes to use iGEM as a stepping stone into bioengineering with a hope of making a real impact on the world. Besides working in the lab, she enjoys learning new instruments, trying new types of food, and trying out new photoshop techniques. Intelligent, kind, and full of puns, she brightens up the lab and works hard while smiling and making others smile. One of the first of the team members to attain full lab independence, her keen intellect and drive make her an invaluable asset. The 2018 RAINMakers would not be the same without her, and she’s a blessing wherever she goes.
Meet Jonathan Zacarias
Driven by a love of learning and the people around him, Jonathan studies general engineering at the University of Redlands and seeks to apply his wide skill set in mechanics, electronics and the lab, as well as his “can-do” and supportive attitude, to his studies. Jonathan, as one of the four returning student members from RAIN’s 2017 IGEM team, leads the 2018 RAINMakers team as the technology subteam leader. This means he not only oversees the hardware for the team, but also the social media, app and wiki development. Bringing his experience from the last years team he has sought to prepare this years team as much as possible for competition.
Meet Qianwen Zhang (a.k.a. Cheyenne)
Meet Brendan Studebaker
Brendan is currently a 4th year biomedical science student at the University of Washington in Tacoma and works at RAIN as a junior scientist and operations assistant. Brendan is involved with a neuroscience research group on campus studying the functionality of the GRIP1 protein and is involved with the iGEM team at RAIN. He was a team member on the 2017 iGEM team and is now an instructor for RAIN’s 2018 team. Brendan has a passion for synthetic biology and teaching.
Meet Catherine Ryan
Catherine is a rising junior and instrumental in helping the team find their way around RAIN's laboratories. She is a research intern at RAIN working on a project to develop an isothermal DNA amplification technique for the detection of environmental DNA. Her skills have helped the RAINmakers learn how to clone their arsenic sensor and has supported the team with educational outreach events like classroom visits and science demos. Catherine is passionate about learning everything she can about every topic!
Meet Amanda Galuszka
An international educator whose passion for science has driven her to study and teach on two continents, Amanda Galuszka is a celebrated and award-winning biology teacher and STEM education enthusiast who brings first-hand experience of science education and knowledge to RAIN’s iGEM program. Hailed by her overseas peers for her work, Mandy has dedicated more than 13 years to the field of science education. Her belief that hands-on laboratory experiences are gateways to life-long experiments and curiosity of the world around us, Mandy has used her knowledge and experience to bring new approaches to diverse STEM learning to more than 1700 students over a formal teaching career that included instruction at high schools in Stuttgart and Ramstein, Germany, as well as our local Tacoma schools. When she's not at RAIN, Mandy can be found following her passion: traveling with her husband and creating in- and outside-home learning experiences for her twins, Ben and Ella. They spend as much time as possible in nature, camping in the mountains, swimming at local lakes and beaches, and collecting rocks and fauna.
Meet Kristine Grace
Kristine has twenty years of clinical experience as a Board Certified Oral and
Maxillofacial Surgeon. After completing a BS in Biology from the University of Notre Dame, she went on to complete a DDS at the University of Washington and a Masters of Science in Oral Biology and Pathology.
She maintained a private practice in Oral and Facial Surgery Puyallup and
operated at Good Samaritan Hospital and Tacoma General during her 20 year
tenure. After completing her MBA at the University of Washington, she started a digital marketing company for healthcare providers. She has since sold this
company to focus on domestic and international medical missions. In this
capacity, she continues to consult in the healthcare industry, manages various
types of medical practices, and is an Affiliate faculty at the University of
Washington. She also mentors early start-up companies in business modeling
practices. She serves on multiple non-profit Boards in her community including Bellarmine Robotics. She acts the Director of Marketing and Strategic Network Partnerships at the Readiness Acceleration & Innovation Network, a non-profit life-science incubator in Tacoma, Wa.
Meet Susan Xu
Mrs. Susan Xu is an enthusiastic technology advisor for the team. She has a MS in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and worked as a software engineer for many different companies, including Intel Corp. She is an active parent volunteer at Charles Wright Academy and enjoys reading, traveling ,and listening to music. Susan has been a great help to the technology team and with the various events that the RAINmakers have been involved with hosting.
Meet David Hirschberg
Dr. David Hirschberg is the Principal Investigator for the RAINmakers. He is the CEO and founder of RAIN, the nonprofit organization that sponsors the RAINmakers. He also has professional appointments at University of Washington Tacoma and US Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. David is passionate about bringing biotechnology to Tacoma and getting students involved in the process. We are grateful for David's readiness to involve high school students in research and support of the team.
Meet Judy Nguyen
Dr. Judy Nguyen is the co-PI for the RAINmakers and head scientist at RAIN. She is a molecular biologist who wants to develop new assays that will help in the detection of biological or chemical signatures in the environment. Her role at RAIN is to train students, build capabilities, and generate funding to support students and entrepreneurs in research. She is excited to involved in creating educational programs that will help young people prepare for careers in biotechnology.
Meet Mobius (a.k.a. "Mobi")
Mobius is Dr. David Hirschberg's service dog. He is a Catahoula Cur (officially called the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog) who is vital to our team, helping us manage our stress levels. Mobius is a truly one-of-a-kind companion, fun to be around, and always eager to please (mostly because he wants someone to feed him). When there's food in the vicinity, he is very driven and develops a work ethic that many humans lack. Without Mobius, our team wouldn't be the same.