James Anderson

James Anderson is a rising senior studying Biology and Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. He is excited to be participating in iGEM because he is interested in the potential applications of Synthetic Biology; an organism's genes are the product of billions of years of evolutionary design, and the opportunity to re-engineer this ancient blueprint for novel functions is something James finds pretty cool. When he's not tooling away at PSets James enjoys backpacking the Appalachian Trail, writing haiku, and creating music. He sometimes makes outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he accuses chestnuts of being lazy.

Lyla Atta

Lyla Atta is a rising sophomore who has declared Chemistry as her major, even though she has no idea what she really wants to major in. She is currently considering anything from Courses 20, 3, 5 or 10 to 2 or 6. She is very interested in cellular biology and biochemistry, and especially interested in applications of these areas to neurobiology. At some point in the far (or near?) future she wishes to find science-based answers to questions that were previously thought to be philosophical: what is thinking, understanding and learning? How do all these processes occur in systems that are made up of mere chemicals. MIT iGEM presented a great opportunity for Lyla to get some laboratory experience (which she was in dire need of, having never worked in a lab before) while working on a project she was passionate about with a team of hilariously fun people that she enjoys spending time with. Outside science-related things, Lyla is very interested in education policy and enjoys outdoor activities.

Kathryn Brink

Kathryn Brink is a rising junior at MIT majoring in Biological Engineering. She is excited to be participating in this year’s iGEM competition since she thinks that synthetic biology is a really interesting field with a lot of great applications to medicine, agriculture, and the environment. Kathryn was first introduced to Synthetic Biology through a project-based class where, as part of a team, she designed a genetic circuit to regulate iron absorption in the small intestine, with the goal of helping patients with iron-deficiency anemia. Kathryn was previously an undergraduate researcher in the Ploegh Lab at Whitehead Institute, studying the effects of nanobodies on the activity of glycolytic enzymes from S. cerevisiae. Outside of iGEM, Kathryn is treasurer of Stop Our Silence (a student group concerned with sexual assault awareness), mentors high school girls in science and engineering through the Society of Women Engineers, and is a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority.

Gary Burnett

Gary Burnett is a rising sophomore at MIT majoring in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and minoring in Brain and Cognitive Science. He is extremely interested in studying the mechanisms behind how the brain performs computations and applying these techniques to the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Inspired by the technology of science fiction, he hopes that synthetic biology can someday be used to improve the speed and efficiency of traditional hardware systems. iGEM will show him what it is currently possible to achieve using biological engineering, thus laying the foundation for his future research opportunities. Outside of iGEM he is a member of MIT’s Track and Field team, competing in the 400m hurdles. In addition he enjoys playing violin, piano, and guitar in impromptu jam sessions with his friends.

Andrew Chen

Christian Richardson

Christian Richardson is a rising sophomore majoring in Biological Engineering and minoring in Mechanical Engineering. He has done research in high school using Dictyostelium as a model organism to screen drugs with potential in treating cancer and developmental diseases, but his research with the iGEM team will be his first experience working in a high end lab on a project of his own choosing. Synthetic biology attracted his interest because it is an exciting emerging field that holds a lot of promise for future therapeutics. He wants to pursue a career in research and development for synthetic biology related therapeutics and believes iGEM is a great way to get a sample of what this career would be like. He enjoys rowing, skiing, kayaking, climbing, backpacking, and generally being outdoors. As a kid he loved building things out of his dad's leftover electrical and carpentry supplies and managed to build, among other things, a 200 meter ranged super soaker, a watermelon trebuchet, and a functioning hover car which was suddenly and mysteriously swallowed by a neighbor's swimming pool. He originally planned not to attend college in favor of a career in emergency medicine, but realized that he can impact many more people with a career developing medical treatments rather than administering them.