Team:ColumbiaU NYC/Team
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Jacky Cheung is a 3rd year CC student at Columbia University, and he is currently a pre-medical student majoring in Computer Science and Biology. Apparently, according to the Meyer-Briggs personality test, his personality type is ENFP (A.K.A The Campaigner). He is not quite sure how he feels about this. He has been involved in Synthetic Biology research since high school and this year is his third year participating in iGEM. His emoji of choice is :p because he enjoys teasing his friends, but ^.^ and XD are a close second and third. To relax, he enjoys taking long walks along the pier and messing with his friends (especially Hudson). Something he is known for is asking to get cheesecake or pie at 2 A.M after finishing long coding assignments because he is dopamine-deprived. He is named after Hong-Kong pop sensation Jacky Cheung; and one of his aspirations in life is to top the aforementioned celebrity on Google after doing a search of his name.
Ross is a PhD student in the Biological Sciences Program. He received his B.S. from University of Texas, Austin.
Carlotta is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab. She received his PhD in Metabolic And Genetic Engineering from Denmark Technical University.
Sonja Billerbeck is a postdoctoral fellow in the Cornish Laboratory. She received her PhD in 2013 at the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) in the interdisciplinary Department for Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE). Prior to coming to the ETH Zürich, she was awarded a master's in biology from the University of Tübingen, Germany for a master's thesis performed at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in the Department of Protein Evolution studying the function of archeal chaperones.
During her doctoral studies, Dr. Billerbeck developed a novel strategy for the rational design of switchable proteins for application in cell-free biotechnology. Her current research interest revolves around the field of synthetic biology, with special emphasis on protein engineering strategies applied to understand and functionalize bacterial microcompartments. She was awarded a fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation, and in 2014 was named a Junior Fellow of the Simons Foundation.
Harris Wang has joined Columbia University Medical
Center as an Assistant Professor in the Columbia
Initiative in Systems Biology and the Department of
Pathology and Cell Biology. His research focuses on
understanding the evolution of the ecosystems that
develop within heterogeneous microbial
communities. Using approaches from genome engineering,
DNA synthesis, and next-generation sequencing, he
studies how genomes in microbial populations form,
maintain themselves, and change over time, both within
and across microbial communities. His goal is to use
synthetic biology approaches to engineer ecologies of
microbial populations, such as those found in the gut
and elsewhere in the human body, in ways that could
improve human health.
Virginia joined the faculty of the Chemistry
Department at Columbia in 1999, where she carries out
research at the interface of chemistry and biology,
and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in
2004 and then Professor in 2007. Her laboratory brings
together modern methods in synthetic chemistry and DNA
technology to expand the synthetic capabilities of
living cells.
Ken joined Columbia University in 1997, where he is
now Professor of Electrical Engineering. At the same
time, he co-founded CadMOS Design Technology, an EDA
start-up which pioneered PacifIC and CeltIC, the first
tools for large-scale signal integrity analysis of
digital integrated circuits. The success of these
tools led Cadence to acquire CadMOS in 2001.Current
research interests interests focus on circuits for
VLSI integrated circuits in deeply-scaled CMOS
technologies, new technologies for electronics
applications, and the application of integrated
circuits for biology-related applications.
Prof. Tal Danino's research explores the emerging
intersection of systems biology, synthetic biology,
and engineering, focusing on building a quantitative
understanding of gene circuits and designing
biological behaviors that have technological
applications. The interaction of microbes and tumors
is a major target of his work, where DNA sequences and
synthetic biology are used to program–microbes as
diagnostics and therapeutics in cancer. Dr. Danino
also brings this science outside the laboratory as a
TED Fellow and through science-art projects.
Ambitious. Genius. Handsome. These adjectives only
begin to illustrate the man that is James Gornet. Born
from the fires of Hades and raised by wolves, he is
the living embodiment of freedom. Men fear
him. Children want to be him. In high school, James
Gornet researched molecular computing—a branch
of computing that utilizes DNA, biochemistry, and
molecular biology instead of silicon-based
transistors. Currently, he doing research in
developmental neurobiology and axon
pathfinding. Majoring in biomedical engineering with a
minor in neuroscience, James Gornet hopes to pursue a
PhD in computational and molecular neuroscience. His
Myers-Briggs personality is ENTJ—known for the
commander disposition. His emoji of choice is 🦄
because he was pressured by Rachel Mintz to put one in
his biography. In his spare time, James Gornet enjoys
exploring New York City and frequenting concerts.
Kirsten Jung is originally from Seoul, Korea, but
moved to the U.S. 8 years ago because her 15-year-old
self mistakenly thought she could survive in a foreign
country on her own and somehow managed to successfully
convince her parents to leave her behind. She is a
rising senior at Columbia University, majoring in
chemical engineering and music. She works at a
protein engineering laboratory on campus, specifically
studying the metabolon structure of TCA cycle enzymes
and their enzymatic activities. Once graduating, she
plans to attend a graduate school and to pursue her
Ph.D. in chemical engineering, but ultimately she
hopes to work in a R&D department of a
pharmaceutical company. Her Myers Briggs personality
is ESFJ, "the consuls," and she doesn't have an emoji
of choice because her cynical self thinks she is too
cool to use an emoji. In her spare time, she enjoys
running, exploring the city, and cooking.
Hudson Lee is a New York City native currently on the
Pre-med track in his third year at Columbia College as
a Biology major with a Psychology concentration. He
was a member of the 2015 Columbia NYC iGEM team and
hopes to attend medical school upon graduation. His
Myers Briggs personality result is INFP and emoji of
choice is :trollface: as he enjoys messing with his
friends in his spare time. Other pastimes include
several styles of dance including hip-hop, multiple
styles of ballroom, and long walks on the beach.
Vincent “Venti” Liu is originally from Beijing, China
and moved to Walnut, California five years ago. He is
a sophomore at Columbia Engineering majoring in
Computer Science and also pursuing a minor in
Statistics. Previously, he had worked in two molecular
biology laboratories while in high school and spent a
year in a biomaterials laboratory at Columbia. He
boasts a Meyers-Briggs personality of ESTJ “The
Executive”, which he thinks is the best of all. As a
consequence of his altruistic personality and
muscular, 6’3 physique, lab members respectfully refer
to him as The Spotter, and not surprisingly his emoji
of choice is, which really isn’t even a choice of
his; it just makes sense. In his pastime, Vincent
enjoys photography, bartending (exclusively for his
friends, sorry), practicing Krav Maga, and getting
swole. Though very cool, Vincent is actually chill and
friendly, unlike the ostentatious and self-obsessed
James.
Theresa Mensah is a rising junior from Accra,
Ghana. She is a Biochemistry major with research
experience working with the Immunology Department of
the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical
Research. Upon graduation, she plans to either
immediately pursue a PhD in either Pharmacology or
Immunology, or take a year off to intern with WHO or
L’Oreal. Her Myers Briggs personality is INTJ, The
Architect. and her fave emoji is ^0^, because it can
portray amusement, alarm, gloating, excitement and
shock all at the same time; an amalgam of emotions,
that is of course, necessary to portray at
times. Theresa's leisure activities include learning
languages (speak 5 fluently, and 3 like a
kindergartener, hey, I'm trying!), volunteering to
teach high schoolers about science in the Double
Discovery Center, and climbing things: hills, trees...
tall friends... all climbable surfaces welcome.
Rachel Mintz is from Long Island, New York. She is a
second year student majoring in biomedical
engineering. In high school, she worked in a medicinal
biochemistry laboratory for three summers. At
Columbia, she works in a nanotherapeutics and stem
cell engineering laboratory. Upon graduation she plans
to pursue an MD-PhD. Her Myers Briggs personality is
INTJ, and her emoji of choice is the alien (👽) because
some (most) people think she is out of this world. In
her spare time, she enjoys seeing Broadway shows and
attending concerts. She enjoys taking long,
contemplative walks (but not on the beach).
Kaitlin Pet is a senior in Columbia College majoring in Biology and minoring in computer science. She has previously worked on stem cell galvanotaxis with the Bulinski Lab through the Columbia SURF program and worked on protein informatics and structural assays through volunteering at the Fernandez Lab. Her favorite -.- because people are too sassy in this world.
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