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Revision as of 11:17, 19 October 2016
Meet the people who make awesome stuff
Fun, happy, likes parties, says random comments, bunny lover, drummer, sassy
Carmen is one of the most helpful and nicest persons you can meet. At first she can be a bit quiet, but once she feels comfortable she is very funny and loves partying. She has had an incredible growth during the project and when you get to know her, you discover a pretty amazing girl who loves concerts and rock bands and who will amuse you with her random questions. We have never seen her angry and she is always smiling, but be careful, her smile is contagious!
iGEM fact: She knows everything about other teams’ wikis.
Random fact: She loves bunnies and she also juggles in the lab.
Carmen Padilla
Biotechnology engineer
Strong, gamer, sweet, love, hugs, IT/computer science, expressive.
Meli is the strongest member of the team and that’s what makes her a true Pokémon Master. She is sweet, loves hugs and she is always trying to make everyone happy. She dreams to be a computer scientist as well as a bioengineer and we are sure she will rule the world because she knows how to get what she wants when she wants it. Her ability to play video games is undoubtedly what makes her unique. If she is angry just get her a chocolate muffin, drop it slowly and run for your life. Her soul talks with the voice of Navi.
iGEM fact: She is our certified DNA purifier.
Random fact: She has Pokémon clothes and loves dying her hair.
Melissa González
Biotechnology engineer
Dedication, passion, responsible, organized, belly dancer, runner, coffee lover, baker.
One thing that’s for sure is that without Caro, we wouldn’t be here. Our team leader is a proactive member who enjoys a good cup of coffee while getting everything done. Caro is like Wonder Woman, she can move her hips like Shakira while she is running marathons for homeless kids and baking cupcakes to build her future multinational bakery. Although she is a great leader, she has had to learn to delegate responsibilities because she is the definition of impossible multitask. Caro has a great sense of responsibility and one of the best attitudes of the team, as she is always willing to listen to everyone’s ideas (even if they are a little bit crazy). We all know that her dedication, hard work and passion will take her to unimaginable places, and once she gets there, we all want to be there to see the better world she created.
iGEM fact: It’s her third time participating in iGEM and she loves it like crazy.
Random fact: She is proud of showing an old picture of her when she was a chubby kid.
Carolina Elizondo
Biotechnology engineer
Careful planner, intelligent, realistic, honest, dramatic, semi-god like explaining skills, map lover.
We can all affirm that iGEM wouldn’t have been the same without him, he’s the one who keeps us focused on the goal because he’s not afraid to take up more responsibilities to support the team. Chuy is a complete drama queen but he is also the smartest guy you can meet. If you want to ask him anything about cute little plants, rare diseases, exotic animals or anything about life and the universe, he is definitely your man. He is always deep, thoughtful, impatient and caring; he can be a little bit of a hater sometimes, but somehow he still manages to make us love him endlessly.
iGEM fact: He is our expert on iGEM history.
Random fact: He eats everything in front of him, if you leave a pen in front of him he will unconsciously chew it until it’s useless.
Jesús García Lima
Biotechnology engineer
Our Ale
LOVE LOVE
Alejandra Vela
Biotechnology Engineering
Creative, focused, intense, funny, reggaeton dancer, tequila lover.
Yili is the most hard working person ever, without her we don’t know what would have happened with the project. She is extremely efficient and knows how to get things done because she is very realistic and honest, and God knows that’s what we needed on the team. Her sense of humor is unique and it only compares with her love for twerking. She gets together with Chuy to throw hate. Also, her playlist of old school mexican hits is one of the most requested ones at the lab! She is definitely the person you want by your side during a crisis, but she is also the one you invite to the best party of your life.
iGEM fact: She made an amazing drawing of a kid for our Human Practice.
Random fact: She is the best at creating science memes.
Yili Natalia Padilla
Biotechnology engineer
Dreamer, independent, random, proactive, creative, funny, positive, crazy.
Carlos is the mind that gave birth to the idea of our project, without him we would be doing something to do with mangoes or moringa. He is a very unique person and his ideas are complex and difficult to describe, just like him. He’s willing to err in everything he does until he accomplishes what he wants to do. The definition of random is underestimated when you meet him because as one day he can ask you deep questions about life, the next day he could convince you of investing all of your savings in our project.
iGEM fact: Carlos has contacted several members from other teams just to get to know them, we don’t know if that’s creepy or cute, but well, it’s Carlos.
Random fact: He once tricked part of the team into thinking they were only going for food and instead he took them to a nearby town to look at the stars.
Carlos Vásquez
COCREADORADEIGEM
Trustworthy, mysterious, religious, serious, inquisitive look, responsible, patient, resourceful, alpha male.
Raúl is the big brother of the team and that’s not a surprise because he has had time to train with his 10 siblings at home. He is a very kind person and when you need something you know you can trust him with your life. He is also the most photogenic member of the team, seriously, every move he makes is a profile picture. What makes him special is that he is the carrier of the good vibes of the team. We have reasons to think he was raised by ninjas because he has the supernatural ability to disappear without anyone noticing, however, he always chooses one lucky one to say goodbye to.
iGEM fact: For some reason, he has an unearthly disdain to make agar plates with antibiotics.
Random fact: The Ancient Prophecies state that, if Raúl chooses you in three days in a row to say goodbye before disappearing, you’ll have good luck for an entire month. (It has never happened so far).
Raúl Garza
Creative Director
Innocent, nice, cute, smiley, loves dancing, heart breaker, creative, optimistic.
She is the heart of the team, lovely, cute and innocent. Her tenderness warms the entire team. She is the nicest and she is always willing to help in everything she can. Sometimes her ideas are possible in an impossible universe, but we know these thoughts will turn her into the finder of the most amazing and unbelievable discovery we could ever imagine. We have seen how being in iGEM has helped her to open up with others, and we love that!
iGEM fact: She has an uncanny talent for making the world’s cutest Wall-Es, which she proved in our Human Practice.
Random fact: At 2 am, she starts to transform into this crazy little monster who screams at everyone and only wants to eat (beware because she bites :P).
Melissa Rios
COCREADORADEIGEM
Loyal, handsome, fit, social, loves partying, sensitive, gentleman, funny.
Marcelo is our sweetest member. We can describe him from a cartoon lover, to a gentleman who will always open the door for you, and go to your rescue if you are in need of help. He will be in your worst moments because he is a great listener and he can really understand what you are feeling, almost like if he were feeling it too. He is a rebel without a cause, he is always complaining about the system and he hates routine with all of his heart. He can be a little bit insecure sometimes, but we know he is a great asset to this team and full of potential.
iGEM fact: His lab coat is the most comfortable one, so every team member loves to use it.
Random fact: One of his dreams is to get as fit as Tarzan so that he can take off his shirt to save a damsel in distress under the rain (don’t judge us, judge him).
Marcelo Álvarez
Creative Director
Fun, happy, likes parties, says random comments, bunny lover, drummer, sassy. Carmen is one of the most helpful and nicest persons you can meet. At first she can be a bit quiet, but once she feels comfortable she is very funny and loves partying. She has had an incredible growth during the project and when you get to know her, you discover a pretty amazing girl who loves concerts and rock bands and who will amuse you with her random questions. We have never seen her angry and she is always smiling, but be careful, her smile is contagious! iGEM fact: She knows everything about other teams’ wikis. Random fact: She loves bunnies and she also juggles in the lab.
Suria Itzel Morales
COCREADORADEIGEM
Smart, creative, sweet, fun, gamer, food giver, optimistic, IT God.
If it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t be reading this. He is the computer science mind of the team, always giving advice and being there when the team needs a hug or food. Carlos was the one who created the wiki and helped the whole team to go through the tough days with words of wisdom. He sings High School Musical songs and dances better than all the girls together in the team. You will definitely love his sweet attitude towards life and his rage quits when the code doesn’t work.
Igem fact: He can make every code work in a matter of hours.
Random fact: He has a meme for everything and has the 721 Pokémon in existence registered in the Pokedex.
Carlos Frutos
Creative Director
Engineering Physics student, smart, curious, kind.
Javier is our youngest member. He’s only in his third semester but has been going to courses ahead of his study plan. He is very dedicated and passionate about math and learning. In fact, he got into the team in a very curious way: he was invited to one of the “training” sessions and got instantly interested into Systems Biology and modeling. He is the analytical part of the modeling team and without him the model wouldn’t be as good as it is. He is always a very nice and kind person. He was somewhat shy at the beginning but not so much right now. One thing he keeps doing is not knocking on the lab door, instead he places his head against the glass and waits for someone to see him (the door is magnetically locked and it is made of glass but it’s not fully transparent).
iGEM fact: Every time he receives a voice note, he panics thinking something could have gone wrong with the math model.
Random fact: His last name is almost the same as his home state (Nayarit).
Javier Naya
COCREADORADEIGEM
Physicist, smart, reliable, computer whiz, multi-task, wine taster, coffee addict.
A strange mixture of chemistry, math, and physics; he functions like a science utility knife. Since is studying both engineering physics and chemistry, he hasn’t only done the mathematical model but helped in the design of module III. He can always find a different way of tackling a problem, meaning he always manages to teach us something even when we’re all stumped. Above all, he is a rational thinker, yet his optimism in our project is only surpassed by his commitment to it. He is also very well versed in math or physics jokes, so don't be afraid to ask him one if you see him.
iGEM fact: All the girls are jealous of the curves of his math model.
Random fact: His biggest dream is building his own Iron Man suit.
Javier Montemayor
Creative Director
Safe Lab Works
During the summer, we worked on the Laboratory of Molecular Diagnosis and Genetic Manipulation, which is at the installations of the FEMSA Biotechnology Center, located at our institution, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey.
Since it is the first time Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Chromobacterium violaceum are used on a laboratory inside the Center of Biotechnology, our advisors could only give us general guidance on their use. Two of our team members went to the Laboratory of Geomicrobiology of the Institute of Metallurgy of the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí and were trained by Dr. Viridiana García Meza, so they could learn how to handle Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. The risk with this organism lies in the pH of its medium, which is extremely acid. Its handling must be used in an extraction hood and precautions such as using gloves must be taken.
C. violaceum is biosafety level 2 since it can act as an opportunistic pathogen to animals and humans, infecting only immunosuppressed people through skin lesions. Very few cases of this type of infections have been reported. Nevertheless, many of the protocols, such as cell culture and transformation are similar to those from Escherichia coli. Mentoring from Dr. Rodolfo García Contreras, from the Department of Microbiology and Parasitology from the Faculty of Medicine at UNAM was received through phone calls and emails for recommendations of its handling.
Our lab is biosafety level 2, so measurements such as controlled access and decontamination of work surfaces after completion of work. All the rules are established on the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Safe Project Design
Even though one of the organisms we chose as our chassis is listed as biosafety level 2, our project does not present any danger to animals, humans or plants. But, one of the problems in module II, which is the bioleaching by C. violaceum, is the production of cyanide, which is required for the recovery of gold. For this, we designed a cyanide degradation system, where another C. violaceum strain will be modified in order to overexpress cyanide hydratase, a cyanide degradation enzyme.
Due to the complications in fully degrading the cyanide, we must determine the concentration of cyanide left at the end of the process in order to be able to do a proper disposal. This is done according to the NMX-AA-058-SCFI-2001 federal regulation, which establishes the guidelines for the determination of total cyanide in natural, drinking, wastewaters and wastewaters treated. Once this is done, the proper disposal of it must be done, according to the NOM-157-SEMARNAT-2009 federal norm, which establishes the elements and procedures to implement the disposal of mining residues, including cyanide.
References
Centers for disease control and prevention. (2009). Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories. (5th Edition ed.). United States: HHS Publication.
Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-157-SEMARNAT-2009. Diario Oficial de la Federación, 30 de agosto de 2011.
Norma Mexicana NMX-AA-058-SCFI-2001. Diario Oficial de la Federación, 09 de julio de 2009.
