Team:Tufts/Team

Tufts iGEM Team

Directors
  • Lucas Brown-Lab Director
  • Lucas is a junior majoring in biochemistry and biotechnology at Tufts. Having a passion for molecular biology, Lucas has done work in the Church Lab at Harvard Medical School, Tufts Synthetic BIology Lab, and the Wolfe Lab at Tufts. When not spending long periods of time with bacteria, Lucas fences, plays board games and runs with the Tufts Marathon Team.

  • Hayley Carabello-Financial Director
  • Hayley is a junior double majoring in biology and biotechnology and minoring in child development at Tufts. Besides working with the Tufts Synthetic Biology team, she enjoys studying tissue regeneration in Xenopus at the Levin Lab. She is also an executive board member of the Tufts Timmy Global Health chapter, which focuses on health equity in Guatemala. Recently, Hayley became a GE Healthcare representative for Tufts, and a biology consultant for Mimir Insights.

  • Samantha Toohey-Administrative Director
  • Sam is a senior majoring in biochemistry at Tufts. Outside of Tufts iGEM, she has been involved in research at the Walt lab working on single molecule assays, and the Garlick lab working on the epigenetics of diabetic wound healing. She also runs Tufts Relay For Life where she raises money for the cancer patients she hopes to one day help through research.

Researchers
  • Schuyler Link
  • Schuyler is a biomedical engineering student in his junior year. He is involved in biomedical research at Tufts, designing a bioreactor for the growth of skeletal muscle scaffolds, as well as working in the ophthalmology department at Baylor College of Medicine in his hometown of Houston, TX, on top of having worked with iGEM for the three years he has been at Tufts. He is the captain of the Saber squad of the Tufts Fencing team, involved in mentoring with Tufts Pre-Medical Society, an active participant of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and a member of the public health committee of Sharewood. After graduation, Schuyler plans to take a gap year doing laboratory research before pursuing an M.D/Ph.D.

  • Adam Rayfield
  • Adam is a junior at Tufts majoring in biomedical engineering. Outside of iGEM, he is involved in research with the Tufts Department of Biomedical Engineering regarding bioreactor design for muscle tissue engineering and has worked as an intern at a biotechnology start-up in Greater Boston. On campus, he is a member of the club fencing team and a new executive board member of the Tufts Biomedical Engineering Society.

  • Katherine Williams
  • Kate is a senior Biochemistry major. She is a member of the Levin and Wolfe labs at Tufts, researching the planarian microbiome. After graduating, she plans on attending veterinary school.

  • Marko Vukovic
  • Marko is a senior majoring in Biochemistry and has been working in the Tufts iGEM lab for the last year. Outside of his lab skills, he also has a black belt in judo.

  • Megan Fernandez
  • Megan is a junior studying Biopsychology and Dance. She joined Tufts iGEM her sophomore year. She has been involved in oncology research at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute and more recently involved in research involving the molecular mechanisms of type 2 diabetes at Joslin Diabetes Center. She is involved in a variety of dance groups, and is on TUSC Juniors and TUSC Entertainment; event planning committees on campus. In her very rare moments of free time she enjoys sitting with a cup of tea and a good book.

  • Danielle Burton
  • Dani is a junior studying biology. She has been involved in radiation oncology research at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Center and is also a coordinator of the campus blood drive. She joined Tufts iGEM last fall as a sophomore.

  • Christopher Khuner
  • Chris is a senior majoring in Biochemistry and Spanish and has been a member of Tufts iGEM since his sophomore year, focusing mainly on human practices. He is involved with analytical research of synthetic polymers with the Walt Laboratory in the Tufts Chemistry Department and works in the surgical departments at Winthrop-University Hospital as a Central Service Technician. Chris is currently an intern at a local community health center in East Boston and is in the process of applying to medical schools.

  • Yimin Zhang
  • Yimin is a senior majoring in ACS chemistry and is currently working on her senior thesis. She joined Tufts iGEM sophomore year. She has also been involved in infectious disease research at the Tufts Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health and fluorescent nanoparticle research with the Thomas Lab in the Tufts Chemistry Department. Outside of the copious hours that she spends in lab, Yimin can be found playing flute and pepping as the President of Tufts Pep Band.

  • Michaela Gold
  • Michaela is a senior at Tufts University majoring in Biology and Biotechnology. She has been involved with Tufts iGEM since her freshman year. Michaela is currently studying CAG repeat instability in yeast with the Freudenreich Lab. She has a strong passion for molecular biology and microbiology, which she hopes to eventually use to enter the biotechnology field after graduate school. Besides Tufts Synthetic Biology, Michaela is an avid rock climber and a member of the Tufts Climbing Team.