Zamorano team 2014

Students

I am Ana, but at my university people call me Winnie. I am an environmental and development engineering student. I love what I study! After finishing university, I will specialize myself in water sciences and synthetic biology. I would like to become a scientist; I love to do research and discover new things. Not because of money, but to help society. I also like to work with people in social development projects, especially with kids. I enjoy sharing my time with crazy people and I don´t care about making mistakes because I learn from them every day.

I am Ediner, a 20 years old Panamanian student of environmental sciences. I am that kind of guy that is always doing something. I am passionate about dancing folkloric Panamanian music (for almost 14 years!); almost as much as bioremediation and ecological restoration. I truly believe that the conservation of our planet should walk hand by hand with synthetic biology to efficiently address the damage done by humanity. I consider myself a dreamer; I dream of something that is reachable only to those who desire a better future for human kind. I dream of a Latin America that is open to scientific development and synthetic biology; so that with them we can contribute something to our world

My name is Fernando and I am the most recent member of the team. After returning from an internship at IFC, the financial branch of the World Bank Group, I was recommended to join the team by my previous coworker. Although I am almost 2 months from obtaining my title as Engineer in Agribusiness Administration, I have always been fascinated by Biotechnology. I am also the geek of the group; I like everything that has to do with computers, electronic gadgets and the sort. And above all, I absolutely love videogames! I love them so much, that I naturally leaned English so that I could understand what was going on in the game! Now I have the second highest TOEFL grade of my class. In my free time (which is currently nonexistent), I like to search for interesting to learn, watch TED talks, sing along with friends and (of course) play videogames.

I grew up in La Paz city at 3600 meters above the sea level, with almost no oxygen but in a very cultural atmosphere (particular from Bolivia). I love playing and composing music. As a matter of fact, I recorded an album with my band in 2010. I really like traveling and meeting new people and learn about their cultures. My professional interests are renewable energy, wastewater treatment and the development of sustainable ways of living. On the other hand, I want to finish my musical studies after getting my bachelor’s degree and I plan to enter a Master’s Program in Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois in 2016. My creed? “The one that strives, achieves”.

My name is Oliver and I am 20 years old. I was born in the city of Concepción, where I grew and studied until I finished high school. I was member of several student centers, I play the piano since I was five years old, I like reading about history and politics, going out with friends and seeing a good soccer match of the club of one of my loves: Cerro Porteño. I aspire to be a political leader and be an influential scientist; so that I can contribute positively in the sustained development of my country and give something back to the society that gave me the chance to be here today. I currently have a complete scholarship and am in my second year of stury; and I plan to get my major in food science. In my team, I work in the risk assessment section, looking for coherent regulations that allow access of the people to science and technology.

I’m currently a senior majoring in Biology in the UNAH. I enjoy learning about everything related to the environment. My hobbies include going to the cinema, listening to music, going to art galleries; but one of my main interests is genetics. Being a student, I was always participating in every genetics project I could; I even worked as an instructor for the Genetics Laboratory! In 2012, I represented Honduras in the Central American Course of Genetics and Human Genomes in the University of Costa Rica (UCR). Attending the course presented new opportunities to me; I became a member of the team when my professor Carolina Alduvín introduced me to the team leader. The leader saw my interest and hard work and accepted me in the genetics team, where I’ve mostly work in the Bioterrorism section of the project.

My name is Rene, I’m a junior year student of the Food Science and technology department at Zamorano University. Since I was a little kid I’ve always been inspired by nature and technology, during high school I focused my specialty in electronics and developed a taste for creative ways to use new knowledge. My life’s motto its “Work hard, then play hard.” Because I surely enjoy partying and having fun talking with people and making new friends as much as I enjoy learning. In the future I look forward to become a researcher focusing on application of genetically modified organism on food agroindustry in behalf of the economy of developing countries.

My name is Sergio and I am an undergraduate student in Environmental and Development Engineering at Zamorano University. I am an enthusiastic student from Bolivia who is deeply interested in the interaction between synthetic biology and society. I enjoys playing soccer and going out with his friends. I love to travel around the world and want to visit as many places as I can. I consider iGEM a big opportunity for me because I’m interested in pursuing a postgraduate program to do research about synthetic biology. I also want to share my experiences and know people from all over the world.

Hello everybody! My name is Valeria and I am the youngest integrant of the team. I was born in Ecuador, in the middle of the Andes mountain range. I really love two things: animals and the biology synthetic. I came to Zamorano almost two years ago, and now, I am proud to be on the first iGEM Zamorano team! I worked with Oliver developing the risk evaluation of the E. zamofordi, a copper biosensor that the team developed. I like to listen the ideas of the other people and I am very friendly; I won the “best friend of the class” last year, a special award of my school. My dream is to incorporate synthetic biology in the regeneration of eroded soil and the reduction of wastes (turning it into a usable resources).

Instructors

M.Sc. Development Economics, Wageningen University, Netherland. Associate professor of Statistics and Development fundamentals. Subjects include: Development Economics, Statistics, and Land Use Planning.		Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Rouen University, France. Associate professor of general and organic chemistry in Zamorano University. Major research interests focus on sustainable chemistry, adaptive science, lo-tech nanotechnology and filling the gaps between sciences.		M.Cs. Information Systems, Universidad Latina, Costa Rica. Technical Coordinator of Zamorano e-learning Center. Subject include: Instructional design systems and implementation of ICT in educational environments.