Rice IGEM

This is Brian Lee, an undergraduate student studying Biosciences with a concentration in Cell Biology and Genetics. He just joined Wet Lab about a month ago because he wanted to get some lab experience with a relaxed, yet determined research group. He enjoys the low-key atmosphere of our meetings and looks forward to starting wet lab work. If you ever find yourself in need of a parmesan cheese packet — he’s the guy to go to. He’s known for hoarding them from pizza restaurants!

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This is Vanshika Jhonsa, the wiki subteam lead and wet lab manager. She is an undergraduate student studying Biochemistry and Social Policy Analysis. She has been a part of the iGEM team since summer 2020 and joined because she was excited about the prospect of a student-run research team. She loves how there are no limits to the topics we can research and projects we can do through iGEM. She loves how everyone on the team is super passionate about our project and the different sub teams work together on different areas of the same goal. She also feels like she has gained skills on how to be part of a long-term project. If you ever get the chance to sit down for a meal with Vanshika, just know she might be the last one to leave the table. She is a notoriously slow eater!

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This is Sofi Aguilera, a member of the Wiki team with plans to go to wet lab once she goes to campus in the summer. She is an undergraduate student studying bioengineering and has been involved with iGEM since January 2021. She joined iGEM because she is interested in genetic engineering and its applications to real world problems, and now appreciates how dedicated, smart, and enthusiastic everyone on the team is about the project. She has gained a better understanding of research and the science behind genetic engineering. Her friends will tell you she is a dedicated person, and a great addition to the team!

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This is Alicia Selvera, the former president of iGEM, who now is now working predominantly with the Wiki subteam. She is an undergraduate student studying Biochemistry, and has been on the iGEM team since January 2019. She joined iGEM because she liked the idea of a student research project, and feels like she has gained so much from her experience. Through every mistake she encountered on the team, she has learned how to “work with different teams of people, how to manage a work-life balance, and how to foster an environment that motivates and excites people.” In her words — “iGEM was the single best part of my Rice experience.” If you ever get the chance to meet Alicia, you might catch her in a state of overthinking — unless she’s speaking, as she is prone to “major underthinking.”

This is Li Chieh Lu, a graduate student studying biochemistry and cell biology. He is one of the grad student advisors on our iGEM team who works closely with the Human Practices subteam, and he has been a part of iGEM for about 73350000 seconds (close to a year and a half). He joined iGEM because he thinks the “human” component is often neglected in synthetic biology projects and appreciates the attention iGEM pays to the interdisciplinary nature of synthetic biology through its Human Practices team. He believes the work done on the human practices side of things is helping synthetic biology gain greater public acceptance, which is necessary for any widespread applications down the line. Since starting on the team, he has most enjoyed listening to the new project ideas each year and seeing the effort undergrads put into creating a functional project, whilst considering the practical implications of their plans. If you ever get to meet Li Chieh in person, make sure you tell him to look where he’s going. He’ll probably be playing Pokemon Go:)

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This is Anh Ngyen, the Human Practices Sub-Team Lead. She is an undergraduate student studying Biosciences and Sociology, with a minor in Medical Humanities, and she has been on the iGEM team for nearly a year now! She first joined iGEM because she was interested in the intersection between human practices and laboratory work, and felt like she hadn’t seen much of that combination in previous experiences. From her time on iGEM, she has enjoyed working with such a diverse and passionate group of individuals because she has learned a lot about different perspectives and synthetic biology, and hopes she can grow closer to everyone on the team. If you ever want to spot her in a crowd, keep an eye out for her 100+ scrunchies, 4’11 stature, passion for social justice and equity, or her amazing narrator voice.

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This is Jayaker Kolli, the Team Lead of Rice iGEM 2021. He is an undergraduate student studying BioSciences and has been involved with iGEM for the past 6 months. He first joined iGEM to “do cool stuff with synthetic biology,” and now values everybody he has met on the team. Through his conversations and work on the team, he feels as though he has gained an understanding of synthetic biology and the ability to plan a project. Also, Jayaker is known for his love of trivia and crosswords, so you’re gonna want him on your team at the next trivia night!

Introducing the 2021 Rice iGEM Project: CytoSolar

For the past few months, Rice iGEM has been working on our next project that will be featured in the 2021 iGEM competition. This cycle, our project will focus on engineering cyanobacteria in pursuit of living photovoltaics to help address some of the limitations of solar energy. We hope this project will contribute to ongoing research about the applications of synthetic biology to renewable energy sources.

Over the next few weeks we will introduce each of our team members and give updates about the state of the project. We’re all really excited for what this year has in store!