Team:Lethbridge HS/Team

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TEAM

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Students

Nimaya De Silva

Undergraduate

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!

Mina Akbary

Grade 11

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.

Dewuni De Silva

Grade 11

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! :))

Rebecca Avileli

Grade 11

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.

Alice Zhang

Grade 11

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.

Michelle Wu

Grade 11

Hello! My name is Michelle and I am in grade 11 at Winston Churchill High School this year. I joined iGEM because I really enjoyed biology and wanted the opportunity to experience synthetic biology as well. So far it has been amazing! Though it took me a solid 6 months to understand a majority of synthetic biology, it has been an amazing learning experience. I like to spend time in the wet lab and work on human practices mainly, though modeling interests me as well. I look forward to a future that hopefully involves more iGEM! Outside of iGEM I spend time playing badminton, eating watermelon, and procrastinating (working hard on fixing that, iGEM is proving that this is NOT effective). In addition to that, I like to run (as I have to have an abundance of energy in the worst times), and spend time with family and friends.

Aidan Sander

Grade 12

I am a grade 12 student, and previously I attended Catholic Central High School in Lethbridge. Currently I am at an International Baccalaureate boarding school in British Columbia. I enjoy spending time playing badminton and volleyball. I like sciences and aside from iGEM I have partaken in the Heritage Youth Research Summer Program. I spend free time playing sports and hanging out with friends and family.

Aroma Pageni

Grade 11

Hi! My name is Aroma Pageni and I am currently in grade 11 at Winston Churchill High School. This is my first year in iGEM and I joined because of the problem-solving aspect of it. I love being able work with other people my age to address important issues in the world head-on. In iGEM, I enjoy designing and coding the wiki and working in the lab. After high school, I want to complete a bachelor’s degree and then hopefully go to Law School. When I am not in iGEM, I am usually watching rom-coms or taking pictures with my camera.

Mark Lea

Grade 12

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!

Emily Huynh

Grade 12

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.

Nic Parra

Grade 11

Hey! Nic here, I’m 16 and go to Winston Churchill High School in the 11th grade. I’m currently enrolled in all the possible science courses, because to me, science is one of the most important aspects of my learning experience. I joined iGEM for my first time this year because I was hoping to gain a deeper understanding of synthetic biology and its applications. In my spare time I like to conduct experiments, play sports and hangout with friends. This iGEM season has been amazing thus far and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

Andy Sun

Grade 12

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!

Karen He

grade 12

Hi, my name is Karen! I’m in grade 12 at Chinook High School. I joined iGEM because science is my favourite! iGEM has provided me with a wonderful amount of scientific knowledge-- but also other important things, such as Human Practices, presentation-making, and public speaking. For the future, my plan is to go into the biological sciences at university. Other than science, I love cats, cereal, and walking in nature.

Wade Zhang

Grade 12

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.

Logan Black

Grade 11

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Tyler Black

Grade 12

Hello, I am a grade 12 student at Lethbridge Collegiate Institute. This is my first year of iGEM, and I am an idea man! I love coming up with creative new ideas that can be solved using synthetic biology. I enjoy spending my time doing sciences and learning about airplanes.

Advisors

Sydnee Calhoun

Undergraduate

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.

Chris Isaac

Graduate

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.

Erin Kelly

Graduate

My first High School iGEM experience was actually when I was in grade 12 and participated on the Lethbridge High School iGEM team in 2012. I then went on to be an advisor to the high school team in 2013 when I started my undergraduate program. I am excited to be back instructing HS iGEM again! My favourite part about iGEM is designing genetic constructs because these molecular biology systems are so elegant. I am pursuing my MD and have completed my MSc, and hopefully maintain an emphasis on biomedical research and engineering.

Luke Saville

Undergraduate

My name is Luke Saville and I am from Calgary, AB. I have just completed my second year as a biochemistry major at the University of Lethbridge. I also do RNA based research at the University of Lethbridge. I joined iGEM because it seems like a good way to be surrounded by cutting edge science that is constantly growing.

Kristi Turton

Undergraduate

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.

Dr. Laura Keffer-Wilkes

Primary PI

Hello! I am super pumped to be a part of the Lethbridge High School team this year. I am the Primary Investigator and it has been amazing working with all these awesome young people. I studied RNA modification enzymes in graduate school and love STEM outreach. This year’s iGEM team has continuously impressed me with their dedication, knowledge and creativity. I especially loved the music recital they organized. I hope you enjoyed learning about our project!

Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden

Secondary PI

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.

Dr. Angeliki Pantazi

Instructor

A new addition to an established team! I am an Instructor at the University of Lethbridge, my background is in Medical Genetics and Cancer Genomics and this is my first time participating in iGEM. See you all in Boston!