Team:DTU-Denmark/Team
Gijs Verkleij
MSc. in Biotechnology, 2nd semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
Synthetic biologists are the next rockstars! Not just me who’s saying that: http://www.wired.com/2015/11/move-over-jony-ivebiologists-are-the-next-rock-star-designers/
Theater or cinema?
Cinema, because it’s for young people. I will engineer my own genes to stay forever young.
Stefani Pjaca
MSc. in Biotechnology, 2nd semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
iGEM is an once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity to be a part of an ambitious team and to develop a project from scratch to the final jamboree in Boston and hopefully contribute to the synthetic biology community.
If you had 50.000 DKK to spend in two hours, what would you spend them on?
I really enjoy traveling the world, so I would definitely use the money to go traveling somewhere! I would probably book a trip to Australia since I have never been there before.
Mohamad Ali Khalil El Lakany
MSc. Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, 1st semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
I like the entrepreneurial aspect to the whole project. Having and idea and making that idea happen. To watch it grow to something useful, beautiful, practical and presentable. To handle and overcome the obstacles you meet on that road. It really thrills me. Igem is exactly that and more.
What cheers you up?
Oh, that’s a long list. I would say, children and dogs. Children because of their innate, almost unquenchable curiosity, in addition to their appreciation for the even the smallest things. They make us rethink things and reevaluate our habituated views on things and the actions we do. Dogs are just great, and always happy to see you...loyal too.
Isabella Loft
MSc. Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, 1st semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
Utilising my skills in concert with other smart people to create something that may some day change or better the life of even a few are always a great way to learn even more.
Which destination would you love to recommend other people visiting?
Marrakech in Morocco is one of my favorite destinations, the food culture is rich with a wealth of spices. Taking a walk in the old city gives both joy for the eyes that can’t rest on a single thing and a quest to not get stuck under a scooter or other vehicle before you can find your way out of the labyrinthine like small streets when you have become lost.
Mikkel Storm
BSc. Biotechnology. 4th semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
I want to further my horizon with a special course in synthetic biology. It is a great motivation to participate in a competition and i look forward meeting other participants and see their projects.
Dogs or cats? Why?
I like dogs, my small puppets to take over the world.
Klaudia Ciurkot
MSc. in Biotechnology, 1st semester
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
The list of reasons is quite long, in fact I cannot find a reason to not join! iGEM is the great opportunity to work on a scientific project with a group of amazing people, dedicated to science while having fun as well.
S. cerevisiae or E. coli - why?
Saccharomyces cerevisiae since I love a freshly baked yeast cake with plums, yummy!
Trine Sofie Bladt
MSc. in Biotechnology. 2nd semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
If you can’t have fun with what you are going to work with the rest of your life - what’s the point of it all?
What would you rather? Always dance instead of walking, or always sing instead of talking.
I would die from pure happiness if my life was a musical, and every conversation was just a build-up to a song about my life! Alas, people who have ever run into me on a long day in the lab will know, that I have an awful singing voice.
Baosheng James Hou
MSc. Biomedical Engineering. 2nd semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
Over a lifetime there are only so many moments where you can join a force of good and become a part of something greater than ourselves. There is a divine message in the code of life - Mankind will be united, we will see past our differences, diseases shall be cured, species shall be saved, Mother Nature shall be defended. In the name of synthetic biology shall we stand, and fight, and die. Such is the way to enter Valhalla.
Mathias Blicher Bjerregård
MSc. Mathematical Modelling. 8th semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
Improve my experience on applied data analysis and modeling
How do you want your remains dealt with when you die?
Forget about burial or burning. I want to have my name (or possibly nickname) engraved in the forehead of my skull, and then have it preserved in a glass case. That way I will still be among my descendants, so they always can consult me.
Line Andresen
BSc. Biotechnology. 4th semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
Synthetic biology is the coolest! I talked to one of last years team members, and I knew I had to be a part of this years iGEM team. I want to use biology to solve some of the problems we are facing and will face in the future.
Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck, or a hundred duck-sized horses?
I would definitely choose a hundred duck-sized horses. Ducks can be aggressive and I wouldn’t want to meet one that is bigger than I am! On the other side, if I could tame the duck, then I would have a pet that might be big enough to fly with me on its back? In that case I would choose the duck!
Kristoffer Bach Falkenberg
MSc. in Biotechnology. 2nd semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
I’m deeply fascinated with synthetic biology, and the problems the technology can solve today and will be able to solve in the future. The fact that we have come to a point in time where programming life is a relatively trivial task is fantastic, and I want to be a part of the development of this field. Also I like the smell of yeast!
What art would you like to master?
The art of watching Titanic without falling asleep. People tell me it’s a classic and I need to watch it to the end, although I’ve had three attempts so far but have fallen asleep every time (Leo could definitely have fitted on the door by the way).
Vasileios Rantos
M.Sc in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology. 2nd semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
A preview of future biological applications is an offer that I can not refuse, this is how I see iGEM. So, having the opportunity to be part of a proof-of-concept procedure will help to achieve my long-term goals for a major contribution in the Biological discipline and the solutions it can provide in our everyday lives.
If you had a warning label, what would yours say?
BEWARE: High concentration of humour Description: Usage recommended for people with bad mood. Extremely addictive, use under your own risk.
Benjamin Schwetz
M.Sc. Biotechnology. 2nd semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
To promote and develop concepts of open technology within synthetic biology and to win a gold medal, of course.
What music do you listen to when cleaning?
I usually crawl out of my bed to The worst hangover ever by The Offspring, make some coffee, and then I put on Curtis Mayfield (Curtis) to get it done.
Camilla Krogsgaard
Msc. in Biotechnology. 2nd semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
iGEM is awesome and such a great learning opportunity - and hey, who wouldn’t want to go on a trip to Boston?!
What would you want to be in your next life?
A microorganism that can produce an enzyme which prevents people from getting fat when eating chocolate. Wow, I’d be precious!
Sidsel Ettrup Clemmensen
MSc. in Biotechnology. 2nd semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
To save the planet and mankind! Or at least to become a part of the synthetic biology community and help develop technologies to solve some of the problems that our and the generations to come are facing.
If you joined a circus, what would you perform?
I actually did perform in a circus as a juggler - which definitely shines through in my laboratory skills!
Nicolai Kofod-Jensen
BSc. Environmental engineering. 2nd semester.
What is your motivation for joining the iGEM team?
It is my dream to combine Biotechnological and Environmental Engineering disciplines to combat pollution in water and soil, potentially using synthetic biology to create cells capable of biodegradation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). As such, this feels like a logical start.
How would you prank someone on April fool's day?
I'm not quite sure... Not so much into pranking. I suppose that's why I never see it coming when people try to prank me...
