Team:Washington/Team

Team

Members

Cameron Roots LinkedIn Kevin Li

Cameron grew up in the North Kitsap area of Washington State, eventually making his way to the University of Washington. A rising senior, he served the main wet-lab portion of UW's iGEM team as the ultimate lab monkey—taking on tasks anybody else lacked the time or confidence to complete—before continuing on as BioBricking co-lead. Cameron joined iGEM seeking the in-lab versatility to complement his knowledge-versatile majors: Biochemistry and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. While his educational inspiration stems from the self-coding language that is DNA, Cameron steps away from science for his leisure, enjoying Dungeon and Dragons, PC gaming, hiking, playing guitar, public speaking, and more.

Been with the UW iGEM team for around 4 years, which makes me an old man practically. Currently serving as an advisor and webmaster. I handle the wiki and parts of dry lab as well as administrative duties, which include recruiting and team member management. I presented in 2013 in Toronto at the North America Regional Jamboree. In my spare time, I am a complete nerd, which shouldn't surprise anyone. Cosplay, DnD, or video games. You can decide, which is worse. I do get out of the house for a run or to boulder. Jokes aside, I am currently going into my Masters in Bioinformatics and applying to Medical School. I hope to get into VR/AR with regards to cardiology.

Anne Bania Natalie Johnston

I was born and raised in New Mexico. I am currently in my senior year at the University of Washington completing my degree in Bioengineering. This was my first year with the iGEM team. I focused on the wet lab portion of the iGEM this year. In addition to working on the wet lab team this year, I am also a co-lead for the BioBricking team. In addition to lab work my main hobbies include cooking and exploring different neighborhoods and coffee shops in Seattle. After graduation, I hope to work in education where I can share the information I have learned and inspire the next generation of scientists.

Anastasia Nicolov LinkedIn Brandy Tang

A native of Seattle, I am in my senior year at the University of Washington, studying Bioengineering and Violin Performance. This year, I’ve mainly been involved in administrative work for the iGEM team, organizing and attending outreach events, coordinating fundraising efforts, and helping with team leadership. I have also pitched in on BioBricking and other labwork. Outside of iGEM, I am passionate about my research in biomaterials and my volunteer work in STEM outreach programs through the BioE department and her Tau Beta Pi chapter. I am also an avid performer in multiple local orchestras and chamber groups. After graduation this year, I plan to work in the biotech industry or at a research institute while working on medical school applications. In my limited spare time, I enjoy running my Etsy jewelry business and traveling with my family.

Native Bellinghamster pursuing a B.S. in Bioengineering at the University of Washington and seeking to go into the biomedical industry. This was her first year in iGEM and in a lab. Brandy works with the wet lab crew and couldn't be happier. She has mastered the delicate art of loading wells for gel electrophoresis (wow, no more punctures!), remembering to screw on the lid for the centrifuge, and disposing of biohazardous materials properly. In her spare time she can be found either reading, learning to play ukulele, or catching and releasing insects that have strayed into her dorm room. She is one of those people who enjoys splashing in puddles when it rains and going out of her way to step on dried leaves. Winter is her favorite season because she was born in the cold, unforgiving North and it’s where her favorite form of precipitation, her middle name’s sake, can be seen falling from the sky. A couple interesting things that bug her are decorative rugs and mismatched socks.

Justin Jenkins Sunny (Sun Jung) Park

I graduated from the university’s bioengineering program this June and stuck around to help advise the team and build the project up. I am currently in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Ph.D. program at UC San Francisco, hoping to eventually apply synthetic biology methods to either discover new drugs or elucidate drug-bacteria interactions. While in Seattle, my past times were food hunting, movie watching, and city exploring. Now in San Francisco, my hobbies are food hunting, movie watching, city exploring, and complaining about rent.

Originally from Korea, she moved to Raincouver (Vancouver), Canada when she was in middle school and eventually to the United States for college. She is a senior majoring in Biochemistry and will be finally graduating in 2017. As a wet lab member, Sunny has been struggling to be friends with "the Violacein" pathway! Sunny is happy that iGEM has introduced her to the field of synthetic biology. Outside of iGEM, Sunny enjoys watching movies, playing ukulele, and listening to K-pop.

Yoshitaka Goto LinkedIn Texia Loh

A Japanese guy who grew up in Tokyo, then New York, now at the University of Washington. He is currently a junior pursuing a B.S. in Bioengineering and a minor in Applied Mathematics, seeking to go into the biomedical industry. He is one of the presenters for the iGEM - Washington team as well as drylab lead. Why both? Explanations range from peer pressure to sensory impairment.

Joining iGEM this year, he had no idea what kind of slavery adventure was in for. Delving down the world of chemostats and challenging himself in myriad ways such as asking a bewildered Art Department for dyes for "some science experiment," there are a few things he learned. He has the magical ability to find doppelgangers of previous members of the team. He loves Moon Cakes, Mango Tea, and White Coffee. He can't whistle or snap, but can clap yay. He somehow keeps people off focus and stays helpful at the same time. He has an ongoing argument about Starbucks with the wetlab lead. Makes various sound effects at surprising times. If he had a superpower, it would be regenerating bananas. Always accidentally sounds sarcastic. Despite all, iGEM is love. iGEM is life. As in, iGEM is taking over his life. Send help. If you want to hear serious boring things about this human being, come talk to him at Jamboree! Don't worry—voted as "A nice guy" for 5 years running!

Texia hails from the (almost) unknown land of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Looking towards earning a bioengineering degree, she joined iGEM in her Freshman year, and is one of the presenters for the team. Not only does conducting experiments in wet lab make her happy, she also enjoys the social aspect of the lab, like keeping others company. Interaction with the other members have given her great insights to the scientific world as well as social satisfaction. Part of that satisfaction comes from watching her other two presenter teammates squabble over Starbucks and everything in general.

Raised multilingually, she gets excited whenever she hears another person speaking a language she knows. Also raised as a true Asian, she constantly has packets of food on her at most times (unless it's been eaten) and thinks that it is unacceptable to work on an empty stomach. Therefore, if you’d ever like to have a cup of Chinese tea, let her know! She can and will bring the tea to you, as long as you desire it :)

Anita Elnathan George Sun

Anita is a junior at the University of Washington and plans to major in Electrical Engineering with a synthetic biology focus. She one day plans to work in industry to combine her love of synthetic biology with her interests in finance and investments. This is Anita’s second year on the University of Washington iGEM team.

This year, Anita has taken on the responsibilities of wet lab lead, chief of finances, and lead presenter for the 2016 iGEM season. She has taken on many roles and is often sleep deprived but nevertheless thankful to be on a team with so many amazing individuals and to grow in her leadership skills. In her free time, she enjoys reading the FT, drinking coffee, and discovering new restaurants on Yelp that she can drag the other presenters, Yoshi and Texia, too.

George, who is participating in iGEM for his first year, is a sophomore studying bioengineering. He started his iGEM career as a contributor in wet lab; now, he works mainly on hardware and wiki design. Specifically, this season his contributions include creating the digital renderings of the team's autonomous control system, engineering and prototyping the many components involved in hardware, and designing the theme and creating content for the wiki. In his free time, he programs, works at the on-campus maker space, volunteers with several student organizations, and researches.

Roya Amini-Naieni LinkedIn Yang Ping (YP) Kuo

Roya is a senior at International School in Bellevue, Washington. This year she’s been involved in administrative work for the team, ordering sequences, directing a crowdfunding campaign, helping with leadership, designing biobricks, and helping with project design. She’s also passionate about her work on the UW iGEM website and launching the first high-school iGEM team in Washington with the rest of her team and Anna Vasyura, a student at the Tesla STEM High School. Other than being a member of iGEM, Roya's an avid science blogger, Netflix aficionado, and filmmaker.

YP is a senior at the University of Washington. He majors in Biochemistry and Biophysics. This is his first year at UW iGEM. He drops by once in a while or whenever he's needed. He has experience with a wide variety of fields so he provides ideas that seemed random but sort of useful. YP is from Shoreline, Washington and spent half of his lifetime in Washington.

Attributions

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