Hello! My name is Nimaya De Silva, and I am 18 years old. I just graduated from Winston Churchill High School. Starting this fall, I will be entering the biomedical sciences program at the University of Calgary. This is now my third year of iGEM. I joined iGEM to gain more experience in the lab, and to venture more into the world of biology. But I have also found myself working on human practices, and coding the wiki which has been very enjoyable! I hope to continue my experiences in iGEM in post secondary as well! Besides iGEM, I love to read anything and everything to do with dystopia and Harry Potter and love to recreate pop songs on the piano!

Hi!!! My name is Mina Akbary-Zheng, I am sixteen years old and I am in grade 11 at Winston Churchill High School. I was excited to join iGEM for the first time because I loved the idea of creating something completely unique with people with similar interests to me. I love designing and coding on the wiki and learning new things about lab work and synthetic biology. I have not yet decided what I want to study in post secondary but iGEM has led me towards a path in engineering or computer science. Besides iGEM, I love dancing, listening to music (Jazz, La La Land or Hamilton) and annoying my parents while singing in the shower.

Heyyy! My name is Dewuni De Silva and this is my first year of iGEM! I am sixteen years old and I am in grade 11 at Winston Churchill High School. I originally joined iGEM to learn more about synthetic biology, as well as to gain experience in the lab. I have found myself enjoying many aspects of iGEM such as coding and wet lab. After high school I hope to continue learning about science and biology in post secondary. Aside from this I love listening to anything Disney and eating chocolate! :))

Hello! I am a grade 11, 16 year old student at Winston Churchill High School, Lethbridge. I joined iGEM because of my interest in synthetic biology and the idea of creating a biological system to a solve a problem. After high school I plan to go to university and work on a degree toward biochem. In my spare time, I love volunteering for a good cause, because I believe I have the ability to. I also enjoy going on long walks around the lake and interacting with people.

Heylo, it’s Alice here and I am sixteen years young, attending grade 11 at Winston Churchill High School. This is my very first year of iGEM and it’s been a BLAST so far. I joined because I thought it would be interesting to get some experience in the lab and in coding. And so far, I like what I’ve been doing. My future after iGEM is undecided but I’d really love to take a year off before post-secondary to travel around Russia. In my normal life, I enjoy drinking chocolate milk, being edgy with my mains and reading. Toodles, bye.

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Hello :) My name is Mark Lea, I am in Grade 12 and I go to Chinook High School. I am really glad that I have had the opportunity to participate in our iGEM project this year! Originally, I wanted to focus on the wiki design and coding, but I have found that I am very interested in wet lab and mathematical modelling. I have learned a lot this season, and it has even influenced what I want to study for my undergraduate degree. Currently the degree that interests me is Biochemistry (Biology AND Chemistry!!?), and in the future I would like to pursue a career in Medicine. Outside of iGEM I enjoy playing piano, volunteering, listening to music, drawing and reading anything!

Hello! My name is Emily and I’m in grade 12 at Winston Churchill High School. I joined iGem because I wanted to learn more about synthetic biology and also other areas of iGem such as coding, human practices, and lab work. After high school, I want to go to university to study neuroscience and East Asian studies. I enjoy listening and playing music and watching kdramas.

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Hello, my name is Andy Sun. I am a student at Winston Churchill High School in Grade 12. I joined iGEM to discover more about synthetic biology, and I have found that my interests are primarily in modelling and wet lab. After High school I plan on continuing my studies in math or science. Other than iGEM I enjoy playing the piano, going on airplanes and listening to classical music!

Hi, my name is Karen! I’m in grade 12 at Chinook High School. I joined iGEM because science is my favourite. I love how we learn so many different things in iGEM—biochemistry, Human Practices, and more. Other than science, I love cats and music.

Hello! My name is Wade Zhang, and I am 17 years old, having just finished my 11th year at Winston Churchill High School. I joined iGEM because of my interest in poking small things for science, but it has also been very interesting learning about all the bigger things related to biological applications such as human ethics. After I graduate, I would really like to apply the skills I have learned in a field related to promoting human health. I like making and listening to music, and also enjoy flossing.

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Hi, my name is Sydnee and I am a fourth year biochemistry student at the University of Lethbridge. I will be finishing my B.Sc. in the fall and applying for genetic counselling programs. This is my third year advising the high school iGEM team. I love the opportunities and experiences that iGEM can give to students while they are still in high school. I have always enjoyed conducting human practices work and I think it is important for our students to understand the implications that their work can have on society. Outside of iGEM, I enjoy coffee, hanging out with my friends, working in the lab, and coffee.

I joined iGEM in 2012 to take a chance on something new. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of continuing to participate, mentor, and explore new ideas in synthetic biology. The best part of iGEM is the ability to engage in a meaningful multidisciplinary project and develop solutions to emerging challenges. In the future, I want to be able to bridge the worlds synthetic biology and public policy to make sure that we do the most good possible at the least cost.

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Hi! I’m Kristi and I am a fifth year student at the University of Lethbridge. I am currently in my last year of my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry. This is my first year as a advisor for the High school team and my second with iGEM. I love working in the lab and passing on experimental and theoretical knowledge. I hope to continue on with a masters in the upcoming year. A random fact about me is that my favorite scientific discovery to date is CRISPR-Cas9.

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Originally from Germany I moved to Canada in 2005 to start a research group on the structure and function of the bacterial protein synthesis machinery, a cellular process targeted by over 50% of the known antibiotics. I am intrigued by the molecular design and function of this essential bio-nanomachine. I try to unravel the underlying design principles in order to enable the rational design and engineering of novel bio-nanomachines. I am essentially asking the question if such novel bio-machines can be constructed from simple and fundamental principles or are these assemblies just to complex. Well and that’s why it was extremely easy to rope me into doing iGEM.