Judging/Committee
Executive Judging Committee
Beth Beason-Abmayr
Committee Member
Teaching Professor of BioSciences, Rice University
Beth has a Ph.D. in Physiology & Biophysics and is a National Academies Education Mentor in the Life Sciences. She teaches multiple course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) as well as a student-centered course in animal physiology. A founding leader of the Rice iGEM team, she has been the faculty advisor since 2006. Beth has been judging iGEM since 2011, including co-head judge at two regional jamborees, and has served on the Executive Judging Committee since 2014.
Janie Brennan
Committee Member
Lecturer of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis
Janie was originally an iGEMer as an undergrad at Purdue (2007-2009). She then helped mentor the Purdue team from 2010-2015 and has been the WashU faculty advisor since 2015. Janie has been judging iGEM since 2011, including the inaugural high school Jamborees, and has served on the Executive Judging Committee since 2014. Her PhD is in Chemical Engineering, and her research interests are primarily in engineering education.
Nils-Christian Lübke
Committee Member
Doctoral candidate at the Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University
Nils’s research is focused on bacterial regulatory networks. He also lectures high school classes in biotechnology. Nils has been part of the iGEM community since 2010, as a member (2010) and then supervisor (2011-2014) of Bielefeld’s collegiate teams. Currently, he mentors the Rheda_Bielefeld High School team. His judging experience comprises regional (2013) and championship judging (2014, 2015). He has served on the Executive Judging Committee since 2016.
Jessica C. M. Tang
Committee Member
Teaching Associate in Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
Jessica has a PhD in Microbiology. She teaches several undergraduate lecture courses, including a blended learning course as well as an experiential lab course. She has been an iGEM instructor for the iGEM HKUST team since 2010, served as an iGEM judge since 2015 and is a member of the Executive Judging Committee since 2017.
Peter Carr
Director of Judging
Senior Staff, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Bioengineering Group
Peter wears many hats in iGEM, spanning the committees for judging, responsible conduct, safety, and human practices. In his day job he sits at the technical intersection of synthetic biology, microfluidics, and biosecurity. Peter has been involved with iGEM since 2004.
Traci Haddock-Angelli
iGEM HQ Committee Liaison
Director of the Competition, iGEM Foundation
Traci has a Ph.D. in Microbiology and has worked at iGEM HQ as a Fellow, the Director of Technology, and now the Director of the Competition. Traci oversees all aspects of the iGEM Competition and is working to ensure that all of our teams have a successful iGEM season.
Vinoo Selvarajah
iGEM HQ Committee Liaison
Director of the Registry, iGEM Foundation
Vinoo has worked at iGEM HQ as a lab technician, Generalist, and now the Director of the Registry. He works on the distribution kits, parts and the Registry.