Team:Evry/Team
Our team of students
Maria Bargués i Ribera24 years old M2 mSSBComing from Barcelona, I finished this year the Master in Systems and Synthetic Biology (mSSB) in Évry. I started on the lab bench during my degree in Human Biology, but now computers have become my hands for doing science. In my near future, I plan to become a theoretical biologist working on dynamics of populations. Hobbies? Music as the key piece of the puzzle.
I barely knew about iGEM before coming to Évry, but motivation of ex-participants was contagious. Constructing an own project on Synthetic biology in an interdisciplinary context sounds too appealing for refusing the opportunity. In the team, I have taken care of the modeling part and helped on the wet-lab, but my main role has been coordinating tasks and solving flux bottlenecks in team communication.
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Jean Debédat24 years old M2 mSSBBorn and raised in Bordeaux, I moved to Paris when I joined the mSSB, as I’ve always been interested in new technologies and new approaches regarding Sciences. In parallel, I was finishing my industrial pharmacy curriculum.
I decided to join iGEM very early last year, as it seemed really fun and a great opportunity to come together as students to carry out till the end an interdisciplinary project. As part of the team, I was mainly in charge of taking care of the Wiki and most of the infographics.
After the Jamboree, I’ll head right back to the lab in Paris, as I am now doing a PhD on the implications of the human gut microbiota in cardiometabolic diseases!
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Delphine Dessaux25 years old M2 mSSBDuring iGEM, I was carrying out a master in Synthetic and Systems Biology in Evry, but I had a background mainly in biochemistry, more precisely in the proteins study. I learnt about iGEM during my Bachelor degree and I have always wanted to participate since then, but I couldn’t make it before this year.
My motivations? I wanted to discover lots of new interesting things in biology (wet lab as well as computer science) and share a great adventure with students from various fields. My hobbies? I enjoy reading novels and watching movies. A fun fact about me? I have no sense of direction, to the point that I lost my way in the lab several times during the first month of experiments.
My ideal synthetic biology project would have an environmental angle with, for example, bioremediation or pollutant detection involved. After the Jamboree, I will start a PhD about DNA transport through nanopores.
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Vincent Gureghian25 years oldL3 Life SciencesHey, I am Vincent and I just did a bachelor in Life sciences. I like to hike, to dive and to dance salsa, and I also love old hip-hop songs and funk music! Otherwise, I am making science animations for children! Fun fact: I have worked in an ice bar where even bacteria could not ^^
I truly believe in the synthetic biology idea of what you cannot construct/explain, you cannot understand! In the team, I am doing what nobody wants to do, or what I feel needed to be done... Mostly wetlab and side tasks! The best synthetic biology project is ours, for sure!
I only want my career to be interesting and I think orthogonal biology is an awesome topic!
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Jordan Hartunians24 years old M2 mSSBAs everyone around (meeeeeh, except Taman, maybe), Science brought me here. I surely loved the concept of iGEM, of making some good and efficient fun from interesting ideas, and eventually spreading the whole story all around. And as the French philosopher Auguste Comte (almost) said, you can’t entirely know the science when you don’t know the story. So there, was the why.
The how, now. After a technical degree in industrial biology, a BSc in population biology and a MSc in microbiology, I signed to join the thrilling army of mSSBers, discovering, let’s say, the motivating, cosmopolitan, environment of Evry and the associated bunch of brilliant new friends. As for my role in the team, I was mainly present at the beginning of the project to coordinate the mess, to launch the administrative part, and to trigger brainstorming sessions at the pub. Then most of my tasks consisted in investigating on how Maria felt on late Friday nights. I also, c’est vrai, enjoyed the organization of The European Experience, and I took part in our search for sponsors.
On a more personal point of view, talking about passions: I have been working in science mediation for more than three years now. Because, you know, you can’t entirely know the science when blablabla… And now I will be back to Brest and to my first love (the ocean), to try to get myself a PhD by applying metabolic engineering to a marine extremophilic microbe.
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Taman Mhoumadi21 years oldM1 Health LawHi, I am Taman ! I made an Erasmus before entering my Master and I wanted to taste international vibes once again. I am curious about everything so when I heard “international project” and “whatever your field of study, you can come”, I joined straight away.
I like to understand scientific concepts but I am more interested on how it interacts with society. And as synthetic biology is new to me, I have learnt a lot!
My role in the team is to develop the Human practices section and to coordinate the European Experience event.
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Charlotte Nayrac22 years oldL3 Life SciencesI am a student in 3rd year of License in Biology, option chemistry and physic. The reason I joined iGEM was to learn how to manage a project in its entirety. I gave the maximum of myself for our project, I participated in administrative tasks and laboratory experiments.
Creative, I helped to carry out the design of the poster, logo and t-shirt.
In my free time, I enjoy doing sport and eating delicious dinner with my friends.
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Amir Pandi24 years old M2 mSSBWith a bachelor's degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Tehran, followed by a master in Systems and Synthetic Biology at the University of Paris-Saclay, I am starting my PhD on building genetic-metabolic circuits enabling complex computation using engineered bacteria.
During the Master I joined iGEM mostly leading the Modeling team on parts design, metabolic network optimization and designing the dynamic regulation circuit. Then joining to the wet lab, I built BioBricks of the team in one shot because I am super lucky!
Science and technology is my hobby! and love to think of how to develop sophisticated biological circuits doing applicable computations.
Robert Ramírez GarcíaM2 mSSBWhen I was born, my parents decided to call me Robert. After that, I tried to survive until today. I don't even know why I ended up being stuck with a group of French-Spanish-Iranian-Malagasy people that were doing a project in synthetic biology and I decided to give them a lift by looking for sponsors, project design, playing in the lab and presenting the project to the public.
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Toky Ratovomanana20 years oldL3 BioinformaticsHello, my name is Toky. Coming from Madagascar, I did my bachelor degree in bioinformatics at the University of Evry. Passionate about technology, biohacking and neuro linguistic programming, I heard about iGEM and I knew that I wanted to participate.
As a computer geek, I was involved in most of task requiring a computer. Designing primer, analysing sequences, modeling and building things virtually before assembled them in the lab was main part of my tasks. Curious, I like to know what happen in the different part of the project and I love to bring my touch and help making things advance.
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Jonathan Tellechea23 years old M2 mSSBMy name is Jonathan. I was born in Uruguay and I studied Biotechnology in Spain. During this year I have been coursing a Master in Systems and Synthetic Biology in Evry. I am quite shy but I try to give my opinion always I can help. I decided to participate in iGEM because I truly think SynBio is the answer for many mankind problems and I love doing science! I have mainly worked on the bench but I have tried to help drylab team as much as I could.
Mounia Saaidy24 years oldL3 Life SciencesI am Mounia, and I am very interested by the interface between biology and chemistry. It is an important aspect in the Master’s degree in pharmacology I want to pursue.
On the other side of my personality coin, I really enjoy going out and do sport. I love to go to the cinema, I have been practicing Crossfit for more than 2 years.
I have been given the chance to participate in the iGEM competition. I worked mainly in “wetlab”, I was involved in communication and sponsoring and I was helping in the design part (the wiki, the Tshirt,etc). For undergraduates (like me), it is an opportunity to get more experience in the setting up of a scientific project and in labwork.
I really enjoyed the team spirit and the funny moments spent with the other members of the team! Humanly it was a good experience of sharing and collaboration.
Our Advisors and PIs
Cécile Jacry25 years old Instructor & AdvisorI am a research engineer in Dr. Faulon's Lab and the advisor of the Evry iGEM team 2016. The iGEM competition is for me a good opportunity to share my knowledge and my experience about this competition, as I did iGEM in 2014.
My main task is to take care about the administration part of the project and to be present when my team needs me for an advise or the wetlab.
I hope that in my future, after the PhD, I will become a great researcher and to be accepted in the Wyss Institute. It's my dream
Otherwise, I like to cook cupcakes!!! My funny fact is that when I have a lot of things to do at the same time and my brain freezes, like I don't remember me what I should do, I tap myself on the head to restart my system ^^.
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Alba Iglesias23 years old AdvisorHi! My name is Alba, I did mSSB this year and I will start my PhD in Synthetic Biology very soon. I did iGEM twice as student and it was the best experience I've ever had.
I love photography, reading and writing about science and watching movies. In conclusion, I'm still waiting for my Hogwarts letter.
Bruno ColomboUniversity of Evry-Val-d'Essonne PIBruno is full professor in Cell Biology and Immunology at the University of Evry Val d’Essonne, France, since 2004. He started his research career in 1987 in Milan, Italy, working on the molecular genetics of cancers.
Since 1994, he is developing several anticancer biotherapy approaches, such as gene therapy and immunotherapy, in Milan and successively in Paris (since 1995). In January 2014 he joined the Institute of Systems and Synthetic Biology in Evry, France, where he is developing new biosynthetic microbial tools to modulate the immune response for biotherapy purposes. He was advisor of the Évry iGEM team 2015.
Andrew TolonenGenoscope PIAndy studies systems biology and genetic engineering of environmentally important microbes. His research focuses on Clostridium phytofermentans, an anaerobic bacterium from forest soil that ferments plant biomass to ethanol and hydrogen. He did his PhD in microbial genomics at MIT and his post-doc in the Church lab at Harvard Medical School.
Andy also teaches microbiology and molecular biology undergraduate and graduate classes at the Université d'Evry and microbial biotechnology in the mSSB program. He has been a superadvisor of the Evry iGEM team since it was founded in 2012.
Our Team helpers
Apart from the core members presented above, the team counted with students during the development of the project idea that also made all of the work presented possible: Zaahith Abdoulatif (L3 Life Sciences), Manu Gimenez (M2 mSSB), Clément Gureghian (L2 Engineering School), Chaima Gzara (M2 Bioinformatics), Yanis Khenniche (L3 Life Sciences), Mauro Moreno (M2 mSSB), Sarah Piet (L3 Life Sciences) and Rebecca Sciauvaud (L3 Life Sciences).
Feel free to contact us!