Template:Team
UTK
iGEM
Dr. Cong T. Trinh
Cong T. Trinh received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering (with summa cum laude, honors thesis) at the University of Houston and earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. To continue his interests in biofuels research, he has worked at the Energy Biosciences Institute, University of California, Berkeley as a postdoctoral scholar. His research interests focus on understanding and engineering cellular metabolism with the ultimate goal to design, construct, and characterize cells with optimized metabolic functionalities. These engineered cells are utilized as efficient and robust whole-cell biocatalysts exhibiting only desirable properties specifically tailored for biotechnological applications related to energy, health, and environment.
Donovan Layton
Donovan Layton received his B.S. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the Iowa State University. He began his research career with Dr. Laura Jarboe studying the conversion of levoglucosan, derived from biomass pyrolysis, to ethanol using a microbial biocatalyst. He continued to graduate school at the University of Tennessee to pursue his passion in biocatalyst design for production of novel and useful chemicals. His current work is under Dr. Cong Trinh focusing on the validation of the MODCELL theory for production of novel chemicals.
David Garcia
Originally from Chicago, Illinois, David received his Bachelor's degree in chemistry from Ripon College in Wisconsin. His thesis work seeking to characterize the enzymatic potential of an uncharacterized termitic bacterium was performed under the guidance of Eric Matson. He then worked at the California Institute of Technology performing cryo-electron tomography studies of extracellular structures, before moving to Oak Ridge National Laboratory to assist with the development of biofuel-producing organisms. His current work in the laboratory of Mitchel Doktycz at ORNL is focused on the development and use of cell-free systems for metabolic engineering and biotechnology. David is a graduate advisor for the University of Tennessee Knoxville's iGEM team. In his free time he enjoys reading science fiction, playing tennis, and spending time with friends and family.
Jong Won Lee
Jong-Won received his Master's degree in Bioengineering from Seoul National University in South Korea. His thesis work "Production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid from xylose in recombinant Escherichia coli" was performed under the guidance of Dr. Jin-Ho Seo. He then worked at the Ii-Dong pharmaceutical company in South Korea as a research scientist performing improvement of hyaluronic acid production in Streptococcus zooepidemicus and technology transfer from laboratory to factory before pursuing his Ph.D. degree at UTK. His current work in the laboratory of Dr. Trinh at UTK is focused on the design, construction, and validation of modular cells for production of esters. In his free time, he enjoys watching movies, listening to music and spending time with friends. Jong-Won is a graduate advisor for the University of Tennessee Knoxville's iGEM team.
Brandon Wilbanks
Brandon is a senior in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in Dr. Trinh's lab. He has worked with the Trinh lab since 2012 when he began as a high school student and has been involved in UTK's iGEM teams from 2012-2014. His other work for the Trinh lab is focused on pathway selection and directed evolution via modular cells. Brandon was the team captain due to his previous experience with iGEM and the wet work and experimental lead for the team.
Amany Alshibli
Amany is a junior in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Her fascination with the endless possible applications of biotechnology, and passion for local outreach led her to iGEM. Amany helped the iGEM team with fundraising, budgeting, and outreach.
Marti Bell
Marti Bell is a senior in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. She has been working as undergraduate researcher for 3 years researching driving force of influenza membrane fusion. Research in any biotechnology realm catches her attention and is what lead her to help with the iGEM project. Marti has contributed to the iGEM team by working on the budget, initial meeting organization, team registration and payment, and fundraising.
Evan Boone
Evan is a senior in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering who is involved with research in conjugated polymers for organic electronic applications in Dr. Kilbey's lab. He has experience in synthetic chemistry and a wide range of characterization techniques. Evan has contributed to the iGEM team by helping with designing the wiki page.
Trey Foshee
Trey is a junior in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering who has experienced his first taste of genetic research through this iGEM project. Trey became involved with this project with a spark of interest and has grown to truly enjoy bioengineering through the process. Trey's contributions to the iGEM team include assisting with wet work as well as fundraising.
Katherine Krouse
Katherine is a junior in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering involved in researching drug delivery technologies through the use of nanoparticles. Her love for bioengineering research and teaching science to kids helped her get involved in the iGEM Team.
Matthew Kubis
Matthew Kubis is a junior in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Tennessee. He works in Dr. Trinh's lab on metabolic engineering in bacteria such as E. coli and C. thermocellum and intends to go graduate school for synthetic biology. Matt's work in iGEM included lab wet work, outreach, and data analysis.
Neel Patel
Neel is a junior in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and he is involved in doing cloning work for Yarrowia lypolytica metabolism in Dr. Trinh's synthetic biology lab. Neel has contributed to the iGEM team by helping with fundraising, cloning work, and designing the wiki page.
Taylor Weiskettle
Taylor is a senior in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering who works with eukaryotic fat metabolism in yeast and mammalian cells, and has worked with mass spectrometry technologies. She became involved in iGEM due to her love for science, and educating others about science. After graduation she will be pursuing a career in medicine and medical research. Taylor contributed to UTK's iGEM team by working on iGEM's budget, outreach, fundraising, experiment planning, wet work, and data analysis.
