Kathleen Brandes

Kathleen is a sophomore majoring in both electrical engineering/computer science and math at MIT. She is excited for working with many field experts during this year’s iGEM project to understand endometriosis and hopefully provide a better treatment option. She is interested in synthetic biology’s circuit-like approach to understanding biological systems, and hopes to apply what she learns from this research experience towards robotics work in the future. Outside of iGEM, she pole vaults for the MIT varsity track and field team and holds a leadership position for the Microbiome Club. She also enjoys cooking delicious desserts, photographing wildlife, and reading science fiction novels.

Damon Berman

Damon is a sophomore from New York majoring in biological engineering. Always trying to make other people’s lives better, he is excited to use synthetic biology to more effectively diagnose and treat a disease, and he hopes that iGEM will be the first of many projects of this type that he works on. A former cross country and track runner, he still enjoys running as well as playing basketball, badminton, hockey, and ultimate frisbee. He is also a brother of Theta Chi, where he serves as rush chair and risk manager and enjoys hanging out, playing video games, and watching movies with friends.

Liz Strand

Liz is a junior at MIT majoring in Biological Engineering and minoring in Chemistry. She is enthusiastic about this year's project in endometriosis because she's always wanted an opportunity to improve the lives of people inflicted with a chronic disease. Through iGEM, Liz hopes to gain knowledge in the many applications synthetic biology has with diseases, and to learn the skills needed to begin a wet lab project and carry it out to completion. In the future, Liz wants to apply what she's learned from iGEM to an independent project or continue the team's work in Endometriosis. On the MIT campus, Liz also is a member of the student group, SaveTFP, and plans to increase her theatrical make-up skills through helping with the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble. She also enjoys baking, reading, and exploring both Cambridge and Boston.

Theresa Machemer

Theresa is a sophomore majoring in Biology and minoring in Writing. She first heard about iGEM through some guy who she hasn’t seen since, and only managed to apply because her friend in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science forwarded her the iGEM email that was sent to the EECS mailing list. She didn’t know anything about circuits or synthetic biology before iGEM, but this year’s project- improving the state of endometriosis diagnosis and treatment methods- is really exciting, and it’s a great opportunity to learn about synbio, lab work and the project design process. In her free time, Theresa crochets mini dolls for her Etsy store, plays violin, and writes for Odyssey.

Sarah Caso

Sarah is a sophomore majoring in Chemical-Biological Engineering. She’s always had a strong interest in chemistry and became particularly excited about biology during her first semester at MIT. She joined the iGEM team to learn about how engineering can be applied to solve biological problems and to gain wetlab experience. The project has sparked her interest in developing new approaches to cure diseases, as this year's iGEM team is striving to build a biological circuit to cure endometriosis, a disease formerly only cured through surgical procedures. Outside of iGEM, she enjoys sailing for the MIT Varsity Sailing Team, cooking, playing the clarinet, and exploring Boston.

Archis Bhandarkar

Archis is a junior studying Biological Engineering and Electrical Engineering at MIT. Systems and synthetic biology attract him as fields that can provide the tools to unravel the innerworkings of complex biological systems. In the future, he aspires to be part of the ranks of physicians and surgeons ushering in a new era of genomic medicine. His dream is that patients with currently intractable genetic disorders can someday walk into his care and receive the treatment they need.

Julia Goupil

Julia is a rising junior majoring in Biological Engineering at MIT. She’s excited about this year’s project, developing a genetic circuit to detect endometriosis, a complex disease that is poorly understood. She looks forward to carrying out the project from start to finish while gaining wet lab experience. Outside of iGEM, Julia plays for the MIT Varsity Women’s Soccer Team and enjoys reading, hanging out with friends, and eating lots of ice cream.

Maya Kaul

Maya is an MIT sophmore from Tetazoo. She is (by current calculations) majoring in bioengineering and plans to minor in EECS, while maintaining a decent fangirl standing for mechanical engineering. She is interested in gene editing and delivery systems to make applications of synthetic biology more viable. Current topics that pique her interest involve an alternative to FBS, cultured animal products, and cell penetrating peptides for gene delivery. In whatever time she steals violently from the work she should be doing, she appreciates janky carpentry, janky electronics, and very not janky ropework. She likes exploring, writing, and finding fun people who will tell her stories.

Wangui Mbuguiro

Wangui is a rising senior from Maryland studying Biological Engineering at MIT. Wangui was drawn to iGEM by the prospect of being able to design a project from start to finish. In the past, Wangui has lived two separate research lives. In one life, she explored her curiosity through research in the fields of neuropathology and oncology. In another life, she created and repaired devices as a student in Health, Sciences, and Technology and later as a Biomedical Equipment Technician. She is excited to be fusing the curious and creative sides of her to create a genetic circuit to detect endometriosis, a condition that affects 1 in 10 women. In her spare time, Wangui loves reading, writing, and running. Her other passions include planning events for Black Women’s Alliance, a community that has always supported her, and fundraising for Expediting Access to Standard Education, a club that supports education projects in developing countries.

Gizem Gumuskaya

Gizem is an architect and a masters student in Computation at MIT’s Department of Architecture. She is interested in exploring Synthetic Biology in order to develop scalable living building materials for construction in extreme environments. She is very excited to be practicing SynBio in mammalian cells as there lays many opportunities for synthetic tissue engineering. She plays the cello, sails in the Charles River / Atlantic Ocean and swing dances in her "free" time that she manages to hijack from Architecture, Design and Biology!

Colleen Foley

Colleen is a rising sophomore in Biological Engineering at MIT. In the future, she wants to work on developing technology that will help people live better, healthier lives. While she is still not sure how she will accomplish this yet, she is excited about being introduced to the field of synthetic biology through iGEM. She enjoys working on such a high-impact project to develop a treatment for a disease that is highly misunderstood. Beyond academics, her favorite things in life are dogs and chocolate.