Team:Vilnius-Lithuania/Members

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Prof. Virginijus Šikšnys (P.I.).
Professor Virginijus Šikšnys is a biochemist at Vilnius University Institute of Biotechnology. His research interests include structure-function relationships of enzymes involved in nucleic acids metabolism. V. Šikšnys and members of his laboratory perform biochemical, biophysical and structural studies of proteins involved in bacterial antiviral defense, including restriction endonucleases and CRISPR-Cas systems. His team was among the first to demonstrate programmable DNA cleavage by Cas9 protein. Prof. Jurga Turčinavičienė (P.I.).
She is an associate professor at Vilnius University, where her research interests cover zoology and system biology. She is also thoroughly involved in various acitivities at the University and is a pro-dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences responsible for international relations, student internships and international exchanges.
Karolis Šablauskas.
He is our team's instructor and a final year medicine student at Vilnius University. Karolis has consulted us on medical matters and has written a few articles for the media and our Facebook page in order to help us get in touch with medical community. In his spare time he plays a trumpet in a jazz-funk band. Marius Jatautas.
A final year biochemistry undergraduate student at Vilnius University. Marius is our team leader and the person who makes sure nobody is slacking off. He is an active lab worker and also is a representative of Vilnius-Lithuania iGEM when it comes to meeting with potential sponsors or other important people. Outside the lab Marius is a cooking enthusiast, focusing mainly on burgers. Ieva Savickytė.
Instructor. She is by far the most experienced person in the team, because it is the second time she is participating in the iGEM. A holder of Bachelor’s degree in genetics, she does the bulk of the lab work. Besides that, Ieva provides valuable insight into all aspects of the competition. Ieva is also an eager traveler with Iceland being her most recent destination. Dainius Tautvaišas.
Dainius participated in iGEM in 2013 as a student. Last year he assembled the first team in the Baltic States – Vilnius iGEM! He continues to provide the team with advice about the competition and synthetic biology frontiers. Dainius is currently doing his PhD in Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University – using Synthetic Biology approaches to treat human diabetes!
Sofija Semeniuk.
She is another very experienced team member who belongs in the research and development group. Since her school years, Sofija has always been interested in biological sciences and wanted to pursue a career in academia. She has recently received a Bachelor's degree in genetics at Vilnius University. Sofija is a big animal lover and owns a cat despite being allergic to them. Rugilė Burbulytė.
She is a third year molecular biology undergraduate student at Vilnius University and the head of our marketing and finances group a.k.a “The Master of Coin”. Rugilė is a member of Vilnius University Student Union which benefits her organisational skills. She is a very determined person and an strong advocate of healthy lifestyle. Marija Fiodorovaitė,
She is a final year biochemistry student at Vilnius University. Marija is mostly involved in working in the lab with phenylalanine transport channels and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase expression. Marija is also a fan of movies and is volunteering in the European film forum “Scanorama”. Vykintas Jauniškis.
A member of research and development group and a person behind the PolyPhe approach. Vykintas is amongst the most experienced people in our team. He is a final year biochemistry undergraduate in Vilnius University and a former intern at the Institute of Genetics in Graffenstaden. He is an avid traveler, who is always keen on a new road trip. Eigilė Eidėnaitė.
A person behind our Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. Eigilė is a final year biochemistry undergraduate student in Vilnius University. Her personal research focuses on human colorectal cancer. Her hobbies include playing a violin, which she finds time for despite a tough exam schedule.
Kotryna Čekuolytė.
As the most skilled public speaker, she specialises in Human Practices. Kotryna has visited plenty of school where she spoke about Vilnius-Lithuania iGEM. In addition to that, she represented us at the International Conference of Natural and Life Sciences (COINS 2016) and at the meeting with the Lithuanian phenylketonuria patients' organization. Augustė Ambrazaitė.
She belongs in our marketing and finance group, Augustė is a third year molecular biology undergraduate student at Vilnius University. She is a bronze medalist of the International Biology Olympiad 2012, which took place in Indonesia. While not having a marketing background, Augustė chose to her current position because of her desire to try herself in a new area. Augustė is a skilled pianist, with Claude Debussy as her favorite composer. Emilija Vasiliūnaitė.
Her work is focused on Human Practices. While working on our project Emilija has organized a number of public events related to the current topics in life sciences (GMOs, CRISPR/CAS9 technology or connection between science and art). She enjoys active lifestyle and has tried herself at variety of sports, such as tennis, capoeira or weight training. Dovilė Ežerskytė.
Dovilė is the chairwoman of SinBio – a nonprofit synthetic biology organization that was established by Vilnius-Lithuania iGEM. She also participates in organizing some of the public events. Dovilė is a final year biochemistry undergraduate student at Vilnius University but she still finds times for her favorite pastimes – theatre and dancing. Dovilė says she is yet to find a style of dance that would be too difficult for her. Jonas Juozapaitis.
Jonas is a final year biochemistry undergraduate student at Vilnius University and the leader of our Interlab Study. As a biochemist, he played an important role in establishing the theoretical model of our experiments. Jonas is in charge of our Twitter and Facebook accounts. He is a fan of movies of mystery and psychological thriller genres and can solve Rubik’s cube in under 2 minutes! Miglė Kalvaitytė.
She is a genetics undergraduate student at Vilnius University in her final year and is our probiotics expert. Miglė has designed the click-activated prototype pill for our project. Her other responsibilities include Human Practices through organising a series of public events about current issues in life sciences, such as GMOs, CRSIPR/CAS9 system or even science and art together with Emilija.
Diana Ikasalaitė.
She is an organizer of various public events hosted by Vilnius-Lithuania iGEM. A third year molecular biology undergraduate student in Vilnius University, Diana is a true generator of ideas which have been useful in our work on the project. She is also a keen explorer and has visited almost all of the European countries. Mantas Sakalauskas.
A third year biochemistry undergraduate student. Mantas is mostly involved in everything that has to do with the law. He is the author of the constitution of our Synthetic Biology organization SinBio. Mantas is one of the busiest Vilnius-Lithuania iGEM team members, managing his time between studies, job, iGEM and other projects. Laura Mataitė.
She is a third year bioengineering student of at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Laura’s main goal was to gain experience working on a project from the ground up. A member of our human practices group, she visited a number of schools telling students about synthetic biology and our project. Laura also worked with the Interlab study. Outside of the lab she is a mentor for exchange students and loves to play basketball.