Team:UofGuelph/Team
The Team
The 2018 Research Team
This is Team UofGuelph's second year participating in iGEM. This year our goal was to expand on our 2017 project, using the skills and knowledge gained from our formative year. This year we grew our team, formed and strengthened friendships and learned a whole lot more about what we are capable of and "how to science". We look forward to competing in the years to come and experiencing that iGEM has to offer.
The University of Guelph was founded in 1964 and specializes in Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine and Biology. Its main campus is located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
President: Dan Lipworth
Dan is in his fourth year of Biological Engineering at the University of Guelph, having already completed a Bachelor of Business Administration at Wilfrid Laurier University. He also completed two years of BSc Biology at York University before transferring to engineering. Dan plans to be in some form of undergrad program for the rest of his natural life.
DAN! WE NEED A DESCRIPTION OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS THIS YEAR! :)
In addition to iGEM, Dan is on the executive council of the Canadian branch of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Canada (SEDS), the largest student commercial space advocacy group in the world. When not in school, Dan is playing keyboards, working out, and thinking about all the other undergraduate programs he could one day attend.
UPDATE THIS TITLE: Jehoshua Sharma
Jehoshua is in fifth year of Microbiology with minors in Molecular Biology and Genetics as well as Philosophy at the University of Guelph. His responsibilities ranged from securing lab space and materials to lots of primer designing and avoiding ethidium bromide contamination in our gel work. As a microbiologist, he did a lot of the growth and isolation work, with a highlight for him this year being an 8 segmented plate he was able to get isolated colonies from. He has aided in the development of lab protocols, obtaining funding for the team and generating interest of Guelph iGEM at the faculty and student level.
Both inside and outside of the lab, he is known as Khal Jehosho, knower of all, avoider of ethidium bromide, designer of primers, transformer of e coli and modeller of lab coats. He hopes to one day be the king of bacteria and has a keen research interest in antibiotic resistance and alternative antimicrobial compounds such as lysins and antimicrobial peptides. When he isn’t heralding the doom of society as we know it he also has experience studying yeast epigenetics and a minor in philosophy with the aim of shaping public ethical assumptions in the field of biology.
Co-Director of Wet Lab: Nykole Crevits
Nykole is in her final semester of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Guelph, and a graduate of the Biotechnology Technician program at Conestoga College. She is currently employed as a Transgenic Canola Research Assistant at the University of Guelph and Saturn AgroSciences, and upon graduating will become a full-time employee in January 2019. Her main responsibilities within iGEM include laboratory work, experimental design, assisting in lab inventory and ordering, mentorship of other lab team members with technical tricks of the trade. She has also been helping the team with fundraising, awareness efforts, recruiting, social media, literature reviews and coding the wiki.
Outside of the lab, Nykole has somewhat of an eclectic collection of hobbies. She does all sorts of crafts from drawing to wood-burning, digital art to jewelry-making, you name it! She works part-time at an engraving shop to help pay for her other hobbies. She is an avid (and competitive!) player of Catan, as well as a variety of other board and video games. She holds a world record for a Staphylococcus aureus protein fold in the game ”foldit” and is recognized in a published journal for one of her contributions to a protein solution. Did we mention she’s a bit of a nerd?
EDIT TITLE: Nicole LeBlanc
This is the other Nicole, AKA "Little Nicole". She is in her third year in Molecular Biology and Genetics with a minor in Statistics. She has a passion for synthetic biology and an plans to pursue her PhD in a related field. ADD TEAM CONTRIBUTIONS AND TASKS
While not in the lab, she is the president of the Guelph Synthetic Biology Club. She also lawn bowls for Canada's national team and enjoys playing sports.
EDIT TITLE: Nathanael Willms
Nathanael is in his second year of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Guelph. He joined iGEM Guelph in order to gain experience in biotechnology laboratory skills, as well as knowledge of synthetic biology and genetic engineering and exposure to that academic field. He is interested in the molecular mechanisms by which genetic information is expressed as phenotypic traits, and their evolution. In the future, he wants to pursue a career in genetic modification, or in molecular genetics research. ADD TEAM TASKS
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN, NATHANAEL??
EDIT TITLE: Ruth Dedman
RUTH BIO
Professors and Staff
Dr. Cezar Khursigara
Dr. Emma Allen-Vercoe
Dr. Joseph Lam
Marissa Dahari
