Team:Austin UTexas/Team
We are all students at UT Austin with a passion for biochemistry and kombucha. Because of these passions, we collectively strove to understand and recreate our favorite carbonated tea. We became the 'Bucha Bunch. Our team has been working tirelessly this year to bring our kombucha project together. We would not have been able to present our research without invaluable guidance from our advisors and principle investigators.
The 'Bucha Bunch
-
Matthew Hooper
Major: Neuroscience
Year: Second Year
Hobbies: Studying languages, reading, playing games, watching Netflix
Favorite Song: Someone Like You by Adele
Perfect Pizza: Pineapple and jalapeno -
Grace Long
Major: Chemical Engineering and Environmental Science
Year: Third Year
Hobbies: Being outside, playing with my dog, and religiously going to Disney World whenever I can
Favorite Song: Bohemian Rhapsody
Perfect Pizza: Feta, artichoke hearts, spinach, mushrooms, and black olives -
Zachary Martinez
Major: Biology
Year: Second Year
Hobbies: Playing sports and video games, reading, watching sports, movies, and my experiments fail
Favorite Song: Neon Moon by Brooks & Dunn
Perfect Pizza: Pepperoni, cheese, olives and garlic -
Prachi Shah
Major: Biochemistry
Year: Second Year
Hobbies: Dance, cooking, napping, and Netflix!
Favorite Song: My Heart Will Go On
Perfect Pizza: Pineapple, jalapenos, and red peppers -
Saamiha Kenkare
Major: Neuroscience
Year: Second Year
Hobbies: Reading, piano
Favorite Song: Twinkle Twinkle
Perfect Pizza: Pepperoni -
Erum Dhanji
Major: Biochemistry
Year: Fourth Year
Hobbies: Reading, swimming, and drinking coffee
Favorite Song: Zion by Lauryn Hill
Perfect Pizza: Veggie pizza -
Jenna McGuffey
Major: Neuroscience
Year: Second Year
Hobbies: Rugby, photorealistic art, volleyball
Favorite Song: Perdón by Camila
Perfect Pizza: Everything on it -
Daniel Garza
Major: Cellular and Molecular Biology
Year: Third Year
Hobbies: Playing video games, watching new movies, and trying new restaurants
Favorite Song: Boston by Augustana
Perfect Pizza: Pepperoni -
Alexandra Alario
Major: Neuroscience
Year: Second Year
Hobbies: Fencing, UT Symphony Band
Favorite Song: I Constantly Thank God For Esteban by Panic at the Disco
Perfect Pizza: Cheese. As much as possible. -
Laura Shub
Major: Biochemistry and Computer Science
Year: Second Year
Hobbies: Playing cello and video games
Favorite Song: Cold Cold Man by Saint Motel
Perfect Pizza: Margherita -
Sofia Chinea
Major: Human Biology
Year: Fourth Year
Hobbies: Playing saxophone in the UT Pep Band
Favorite Song: Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
Perfect Pizza: Hawaiian pizza -
Ian Overman
Major: Biochemistry
Year: Second Year
Hobbies: Running and training for long distance races, or napping in my hammock
Favorite Song: Starman by David Bowie
Perfect Pizza: Pepperoni, mushroom, and feta cheese -
Baltazar Zuniga
Major: Plan II and Biochemistry
Year: Third Year
Hobbies: Gardening, Biking, Cooking
Favorite Song: Seal of Love by The National
Perfect Pizza: Tomato, mozzarella, pesto, basil -
Stratton Georgoulis
Major: Biochemistry
Year: Second Year
Hobbies: Reading, listening to and playing music, camping and hiking
Favorite Song: Summer Teeth by Wilco
Perfect Pizza: Mushroom, sausage, and onion with extra garlic -
Riya Sreenivasan
Major: Biology
Year: Second Year
Hobbies: Going to concerts, TaeKwonDo, and reading
Favorite Song: One Day by Matisyahu
Perfect Pizza: Olives, mushrooms, and jalepenos -
Katelyn Corley
Major: Biology and Spanish
Year: Fourth Year
Hobbies: Running, exercise, cooking, and reading
Favorite Song: Beast of Burden by the Rolling Stones
Perfect Pizza: Give me cheese, give me sauce, give me a nice hand-tossed crust, and then put all the meat in your possession on top
Advisors
Aziz Al'Khafaji
:)
Sean Leonard
Degree: PhD candidate, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Hobbies: Being snarky, eating tacos, taking pictures of my pets
Favorite Song: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
Dacia Leon
:)
Principal Investigators
Primary PI: Professor Jeffrey Barrick, PhD
Prof. Barrick's has mentored the UT Austin iGEM team since 2012. The Barrick Lab works on biological engineering projects at the intersection of synthetic biology and evolution.
Secondary PI: Professor Dennis Mishler, PhD
This is Dr. Mishler’s third year advising the UT Austin iGEM team. He leads the synthetic biology FRI stream, “Microbe Hackers”, at UT Austin. This research lab course introduces freshmen to research during their spring semester.
