Team:William and Mary/Team
Kalen is a junior studying biology and applied mathematics. The interdisciplinary nature of our project appeals to
her desire to blend her interests. Kalen believes the intersection of disciplines is a great source for innovation.
She became interested in science and research at a young age. One of her childhood memories is of constructing a zoo
for her dolls to attend, even doing the research to write placards for each animal exhibit. Her continued interest
in constructing and designing things has driven her to pursue a career in bioengineering. Eventually she sees herself
researching evolutionarily optimized biological structures so that their design can be replicated when engineering
biological and non-biological structures. Outside of the lab, Kalen spends her time tutoring elementary students,
watching movies, and playing volleyball.
Ethan is a sophomore pursuing a B.S. in Biology and Computational & Applied Mathematics & Statistics. For as
long as he can remember he’s always wanted to be a scientist both because of his love of learning and because
of his desire to change the world. Ethan was especially excited to work on iGEM this summer because synthetic
biology is a relatively young field and there is a lot that we don't know yet. Additionally, synthetic biology
is a field that has a lot of potential to change the future of medicine and the world at large. In his spare
time Ethan enjoys perusing local culture forums to consume and create various image and text based communications,
as well as learning highly specific useless facts and playing tennis.
Likhitha is a junior pursuing Biology and Chemistry. She joined the team to work with students who approach
a scientific challenge differently from the way she might so that she can develop a well rounded view of the
gray area in STEM and think like a mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, biologist, and chemist all
at once. Likhitha wants to continue her synthetic biology journey into medical research, which is why the
overlap between synthetic biology and biomedicine motivates her to push existing boundaries to build circuits
that could for example design microbes that assist cell-based immunotherapy.
Joe is a junior majoring in Computational & Applied Mathematics & Statistics. Last year he was a member
of the 2015 W&M iGEM team. As we have a young team this year, Joe oversees the day-to-day wetlab operations
and keeps things running smoothly. He is excited for the future prospects of iGEM as an institution that
embodies both creativity and scientific rigor at William & Mary.
John is a senior majoring in Applied Mathematics. He is interested in the fundamental
laws and principles governing biological systems and how they give rise to the emergence
of complexity. Last year he was a member of the W&M iGEM team, performing the mathematical
modeling and data analysis for the project, and this year he is the team's designated
student leader. After iGEM, he plans on applying to PhD programs in Systems and Synthetic Biology.
John is a sophomore at the College of William & Mary where he is studying physics and mathematics.
This year he is on the iGEM team where he is doing mathematical modeling and simulations. John
hopes that his work in iGEM will provide him with experience in a variety of STEM disciplines.
After William & Mary, he hopes to pursue a doctorate in theoretical physics.
Callan is a sophomore hoping to major in Neuroscience and Computational & Applied Mathematics & Statistics.
She’s been in love with all things biology since elementary school, and her recent expedition into the
synthetic biology field through iGEM has been incredibly exciting! As a part of the W&M iGEM team Callan
has been able to gain valuable research experience while learning how to think about molecular biology in
terms of complex systems and circuits. In the future, she has her heart set on working in the medical field
in some way, whether it's practicing medicine or participating in biomedical research; she is particularly
interested in neurobiology and neurological disorders. In addition to the iGEM team, Callan is also a part
of W&M Dhamaal Bhangra, a dance team that specializes in the energetic bhangra dance native to northern India!
She also enjoys swimming/diving, tutoring small children, and wandering through the Williamsburg farmers market
in search of cute dogs.
Adam is a junior at the College of William and Mary, studying biology and the mathematical modeling of biological
systems. Adam has been involved in computational research since the beginning of his sophomore year, and has moved
into synthetic biology research with the 2016 William and Mary iGEM team. Having been interested in medicine
from an early age, Adam has been involved with several volunteer fire departments as an Emergency Medical Technician
for the past four years. He intends on going to medical school upon graduation, and is looking forward to his next
few years of research.
Christine is a senior majoring in Biology and Computational Applied Mathematics & Statistics. She was a member
of the 2014 W&M iGEM team, and rejoined this year because she enjoyed the creativity and engineering aspect of
iGEM. Besides synthetic biology, her main interest is in immunology, and she hopes to conduct research on tumor-immune
interactions beyond W&M.
Team
Kalen Clifton
Ethan Jones
Likhitha Kolla
Joe Maniaci
John Marken
John Mitchell
Callan Monette
Adam Reiss
Christine Gao
Advisors
Dr. Margaret Saha
Dr. Saha is a developmental neurobiologist and the primary adviser of the W&M iGEM Team. Her unwavering support was instrumental in the founding of the team in 2014, and in the team's continued progress. She drinks 15 cups of coffee per day, much to the concern of some of her students. She insists it's alright.
Dr. Greg Smith
Dr. Smith is a computational biologist and the secondary adviser for the W&M iGEM Team. He provided invaluable advice and guidance on the mathematical modeling in the 2015 project, and did the same for our 2016 efforts.
Andy Halleran
Andy Halleran is a PhD student in Bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology and was co-captain of the 2015 William and Mary iGEM Team. This year he served as a student advisor for the project.
