Team:METU HS Ankara/Team
ABOUT THE TEAM
People in our school became aware of the iGEM competition after a school club
was made under the name “iGEM”. After two years of its establishment and its
success in the iGEM competition last year, students learned what this club was all
about and they became interested in it. Hence lots of students gathered in this
club.
Our team, METU HS iGEM consists of students from different age groups
and with a variety of personalities. And our diversity is what makes this team so
vibrant and full of color. But as well as our differences, we also have our
similarities; we all like biology and creativity. Most of us wanted to join this team
to obtain an experience in a worldwide famous competition like iGEM, because
most of us are planning to study biology in the future.
Just like any other team in iGEM, we had our ups and downs during our times of
work. But eventually we learned that nothing can be achieved without working
hard and as the time passed we learned to work in union. We accepted our
differences and became like brothers and sisters with each other. We had quite
hard time determining our project idea but as we worked harder and researched
more, we found our most suitable project idea. We love going to the lab and put
some music on and sing and have fun as we work. We especially love treating
bacteria that we’ve cloned as our sons and daughters. We had so much fun doing
our human practices and helped the society to raise awareness about colon
cancer.
As a team, we think that iGEM is surely more than a synthetic biology
competition because it provided us to think creatively and improve our problem
solving skills. We are all glad that we joined the iGEM family and grateful that we met
each other within this team.
ABOUT METU DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION HIGH SCHOOL
ODTÜ Geliştirme Vakfi Özel Lisesi (Middle East Technical University Development Foundation Private High School),was established in 1989 in the capital city of Turkey, Ankara. It has 4 seperate campuses located in different cities.
Our school is authorized by the ministry of education, as are all public and private schools in Turkey, and the curriculum is standardized from k-12 by the ministry of education in Turkey.
Our school sees students to be the embodiment of their knowledge, skills, feelings and behavior as a whole. In addition to its regular academic program, the school offers a wide range of extra-curricular academic, social, cultural and sports activities. Besides the students have the opportunity of joining international clubs, iGem is one of them. The school emphasizes social responsibility projects and activities where students work together to help solve social and environmental problems.
Tugba Inanc Gok
Primary Instructor
Tugba Inanc Gok
Primary InstructorHi there, I am Tugba Inanc Gok. I am a Biology teacher at METU High School and primary instructor of METU HS iGEM team. As an educator I am volunteer to any kind of scientific project that gives my students the opportunity to be scientist of future. In that manner doing iGEM in high school is the best opportunity for me and for my students. All iGEM steps and processes require hard working but nothing makes me happier than seeing how fun synthetic biology is and makes students enthusiastic in the field of area. I was always interested in synthetic biology and genetic engineering, but the best part is to explore this world with my students. This is officially my second year at iGEM, me and my team put best effort for our project and are very excited to be part of iGEM family.
Cem Inan
Matlab Veteran
Cem Inan
Matlab VeteranHey! I’m Cem, A.K.A. Matlab Veteran, and I’m 11th grade student in METU High School. Biology as a whole is very enticing to me so it came as no surprise that it didn’t take long to make me like the concept of molecular biology and iGEM. I just love how a group of students gather under the name of iGEM, sit down and try and find answers to serious problems. All in all, I’m very glad to be an iGEMmer and hope our results will be satisfying.
Atakan Topcu
Modeling Master
Atakan Topcu
Modeling MasterHi everyone! I’m Atakan a.k.a. Modeling Master and I am a 11th grade student at METU High School. This is my first year in iGEM. However, I always had an interest in every fields of science for a long time before I got a chance to be in iGEM team. I love doing research about biology and hoping to pursue this penchant as a career down the line. Therefore, iGEM is a big opportunity for me to redefine my passion and capabilities.
Ipek Kargin
Curious Coli
Ipek Kargin
Curious ColiHi there ! My name is İpek a.k.a. Curious Coli and I'm a sophomore in highschool. I’m a huge science lover and I think learning new things is beautiful. Even if it's my first year in iGEM I've had so many different impressions. Thanks to iGEM and , ehem , my teammates , I've learned many things in a very short time. Researching, solving problems , discussing about what we learned, making new friends. It's absolutely an honour to be here! See y'all in Giant Jamboree!
Ozgur Can
Agar Maker
Ozgur Can
Agar MakerHello ladies and gentlemen! My name is Özgür Can a.k.a Agar Maker. I’m 17 years old. I am a junior in METU High School. I love Science and Genetics. Since I was a little boy I had this interest about every branches of Science. I used to do a lot of experiments at home and in my mother’s pharmacy. She is always afraid of my experiments. And now thanks to this competition , I finally got a chance to be a part of something that is bigger than me . Also I got a new place, our laboratory for my experiments!!
Seniz Yuksel
Advisor
Seniz Yuksel
AdvisorHey Grounders!
I’m Şeniz Yüksel and this is my fourth year in an iGEM Team. I’m studying Biology at the Middle East Technical University. This year, I’m advising METU HS Ankara team. My favourite part of the project is the work in the lab. In iGEM I can find the opportunity to develop our ideas and to be a part of science. We are all working and giving our best for our project. I enjoy being a part of science and iGEM.
Defne Culha
Miss Smiley
Defne Culha
Miss SmileyHey! I’m Defne a.k.a. Miss Smiley. I’m 17 years old. This is my first year in an IGEM team. However, I’ve always been interested in biology. This year, thanks to iGEM, I learned to work as a team, shared great memories with my teammates while doing human practices and wetlab, and had the opportunity to experience my dream future job. iGEM is a great opportunity and I am really happy to be a part of this team. I wish all teams the best of luck!
Dilara Ozden
Squirrel
Dilara Ozden
SquirrelHi my name is Dilara, I'm 11th grade student in METU high school. This is my second year in iGem. Since last year I'm the social squirrel in this team and i love to be a part of my team and also iGem.
Zeynep Baran
Joyful Gel
Zeynep Baran
Joyful GelHi everyone! I am Özlem Zeynep Baran a.k.a. Joyful Gel and I am 15 years old. It’s my fourth year in METU but it’s my second year in high school. I love genetics that’s why I thought that iGEM would be a good experience for me. Also I love doing research and learning new things. iGEM is giving that opportunity to me. Besides, I learn about genetics and teamwork which are very helpful to me. I want to thank my friends and teacher for giving that chance to be a part of a big job.
Ipek Gokalp
Got the Power
Ipek Gokalp
Got the PowerHi!, I’m İpek a.k.a. Got the Power (Point) and I’m 16 years old. I have been at METU High School for 10 years so it has became my family. iGEM is one of the most important and enjoyable part of that family. It’s my first year at iGEM and I’m glad that I chose to join this incredible team. I have always been interested in biology therefore I think that iGEM is a great opportunity for me to fulfill my dreams. In addition to these, I have been playing tennis since I’m eight and it really makes me feel happy and satisfied. I’m also a great fan of Marvel Comics. Ultimately I want to say that I’m pleased that I’m a part of this community and I hope we do a marvelous job.
Burak Kizil
Advisor
Burak Kizil
AdvisorHeyy I am Burak, I am a master student at Biological Science Department in Middle East Technical University. After two years with iGEM as a team member, finally I can participate as an advisor and welcome new iGEMmers. Introducing people to science, directing their attention to synthetic biology and seeing their passions are the most attractive sides of iGEM. We got used to iGEM summer works, all its tiredness and distress. Then the project presentation comes closer and experiments are over, all effort is worth the distress. iGEM also becomes full of scientific pleasure. Enjoy doing science!
Ece Akin
Colon Master
Ece Akin
Colon MasterHi! I am Ece a.k.a. Colon Master and I am 16 years old. This is my first year as an iGEMer. I want to make a difference in this world and I want to be remembered. Besides I want to study molecular biology and biochemistry. That’s why I have joined iGEM. I love iGEM family and I am so happy because I had a chance to join this inspiring family. Good Luck to all teams and see you at October!
Berenis Demir
Professional Polyp
Berenis Demir
Professional PolypHi everyone, I’m Ece Berenis Demir a.k.a Professional Polyp! I’m 16 years old. I’m a 11th grade student and it’s my first year in METU High School Ankara iGEM Team. I’m really into biology and genetics so I think iGEM is a wonderful opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the lab and do what I love. Since iGEM is worldwide competition it also will have great impact on my future as genetics is the discipline that I want to work on when I graduate. Also in iGEM we try to solve the problems in the world such as cancer and I think this is something really important for the future because when we grow up, we’ll know that small things can have big effects on the biggest problems.
Selin Sahin
Social Panda
Selin Sahin
Social PandaHi. I’m Selin Şahin. I’m 18 years old. I’m 11th grade student at METU High School. It is my second year in iGem. I’m a social panda of our team . I love biology , being in lab , being in contact with people also love pandas!
Goksu Bayrak
Transformation Expert
Goksu Bayrak
Transformation ExpertHey, iGEMers! I’m Göksu a.k.a. Nanodrop Master, a junior student in METU High School. It’s my first year in this competition and I’m so glad to be a part of the METU HS ANKARA team. I think that iGEM is a great opportunity for me to gain knowledge about genetics. For me, learning brand-new things is like exploring the countries I have never been before. I also enjoy making research and doing experiments so much. Besides, I want to study molecular biology in the future that also encourages me to attend the competition. Good luck to all teams that are in iGEM 2016, see you at Giant Jamboree. Peace out!
Gizem Karaaslan
The Transformer
Gizem Karaaslan
The TransformerHello! My name is Gizem Karaaslan, a.k.a The Transformer. This is my first year in METU HS iGEM Team. I am sixteen years old and had already been enthralled by the world of biology. From tiny little cells to huge organisms everything intrigues me so much. With iGEM, I have a chance to get some answers to the crazy questions in my head, experience the wonderful atmosphere of lab and hone my research skills. So I am very happy to be a part of this year’s team and will forever treasure the memories I made here.
Ezel Erkan
Human Resources
Ezel Erkan
Human ResourcesHi, everyone! I’m Ezel Erkan and it’s my second year in METU High School Ankara iGEM Team. I love genetics very much. So, I thought that iGEM would be my favorite extra-curricular activity. I really enjoy doing experiments and making research about biology. Therefore, I want iGEM to be in my life in the future too. iGEM makes me think about things that seem very unimportant at first sight but are worth to be researched further and discovered and increased my interest in molecular biology. Furthermore, it makes me enthusiastic in the field of area. Finally; I want to thank my awesome team; for their excellent teamwork and for having a lot of fun.
Zeynep Sakaoglu
Queen of Isolation
Zeynep Sakaoglu
Queen of IsolationHi! I’m Zeynep, a.k.a. Queen of Isolation (Plasmid), and I’m a junior in METU High School. I’ve always had an interest in biology and wish to study molecular biology in the future. This is my second year at METU and my second year being an iGEMmer. iGEM made it easier for me to get used to the school and we had great memories together.
