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Team:Braunschweig/Team-content
From 2014.igem.org
Our Team
Dr. Torsten Meyer
Age: 35
Occupation: Advisor
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
As a research fellow at the institute of biochemistry, biotechnology and bioinformatics I am usually in charge of research projects in the field of antibody selection. The work and mentoring for this years iGEM team is an interesting diversion from the daily routine in the lab. It´s a lot of fun to work out an ambitious project with highly motivated students and help them with words and deeds in the lab. Particularly the combination of students from all semesters renders the work especially interesting.
Nils Birkholz
Age: 24
Occupation: Bachelor student of Biology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
In contrast to the routine I am used to in the course of my curriculum where I am mostly exposed to established experiments with forseeable results, iGEM offers the possibility to plan and carry out an own research project with a team –including all the accompaniments and imponderabilities. Thus, by being part of this year’s iGEM team, I expect to get a taste of the thrill hopefully awaiting me in my future work life.
Rüdiger Frederik Busche
Age: 19
Occupation: Bachelor student of Biology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
Synthetic biology is a fascinating field which has intrigued me for a long time and which I am considering as a possible future occupation. Furthermore, iGEM offers great opportunities into broaden my horizon beyond factual academic learning and to get to know other students with whom I can share my ideas and interest in biology and biotechnology.
Oliver Konzock
Age: 23
Occupation: Bachelor student of Biotechnology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
Apart from the various experiences you can gain in the field of project planning and applied science, I am especially looking forward to meeting iGEM teams and their projects from all over the world at the Giant Jamboree. What impresses me most about iGEM is to see that nearly every problem can be solved with the help of synthetic biology.
Steffen Lippold
Age: 22
Occupation: Bachelor student of Biology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
The competition offers a unique opportunity to both apply and enlarge the knowledge already gained in biosciences in an interdisciplinary project. Apart from the experimental challenge, the collaboration with scientifically dedicated students is a main aspect of my motivation.
Carsten Ludwig
Age: 22
Occupation: Bachelor student of Biotechnology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
Although the daily routine of academic studies facilitates some practical experiences as a student I am bound to the strictly arranged practicals. Under the conditions of the iGEM competition I hope to gain more practical knowledge which exceeds the “standard university knowledge” and which is distinctly closer to actual research. Furthermore I´m excited to work with ambitious colleagues and realize an entire project in all its facets (development, funding, conversion and presentation) and discuss and exchange about all that with students from around the world.
Melanie Philippi
Age: 21
Occupation: Bachelor student of Biotechnology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
iGEM gives you the opportunity to create your own ideas and to put them into a great project. To try out so much by yourself together with such a great team is simply awesome!
Lukas Platz
Age: 19
Occupation: Bachelor student of Biology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
At first I was really skeptical about the iGEM program because as a first semester there are so many new things to learn and to think about. However I decided to learn more about iGEM and on our first briefing I was so impressed about the engagement and courage of the members of last year´s team that I decided to join. Furthermore there was also another aspect which guided me to the iGEM-Team. It was the idea of being creative, meeting new people and learning about synthetic biology all at once.
Christian Sigismund
Age: 35
Occupation: Bachelor student of Biology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
iGEM offers me the opportunity to test and expand my knowledge und experience in bio science. Therefor I look forward to working on a self-organized research project with other motivated students parallel to studies. The cooperation in a team to work out a suitable project, the work in the wet lab and finally the presentation of our results allows a realistic look into the daily routine of scientific research.
Maren Wehrs
Age: 23
Occupation: Master student of Biotechnology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
This competition provides the opportunity to develop an own idea from the very beginning in a young, diverse team. One has to come up with a finance plan, the implementation and finally the presentation. I think that we’ll have a lot of fun working on our project and especially on exchanging experiences with other teams.
Niels Werchau
Age: 24
Occupation: Bachelor student of Biology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
iGEM offers the possibility to apply the academic knowledge gained during our studies. Besides the knowledge in science the competition demands social commitment. This interdisciplinary approach in combination with the competetive situation renders the participation very attractive.
Anna Wronska
Age: 21
Occupation: Bachelor student of Biotechnology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
Last year, I already participated in the iGEM competition and I had so much fun. Working in a self-organized team having other motivated students with innovative ideas, leads to many intense discussions. However one of the greatest springs of joy in teamwork like this and the reason for partcipating again is the time we spend together laughing.
Zen-Zen Yen
Age: 24
Occupation: Master student of Biotechnology
Why I take part in the iGEM competition:
Having been on exchange to the University of Waterloo, I learned how important it is to have own ideas and to talk about the realization of those. Hence I believe the IGEM competition gives us science students not only the opportunity to do so, but moreover allows us to get in contact with other people who are on the same page. By being part of an IGEM team I hope that I’ll gain some knowledge, get to know other science junkies and make some amazing experiences.
Attributions
Naturally, this project would not have been possible without the help and the great support of several people. Our best thanks we would give to…
General Support
Prof. Dr. Stefan Dübel (Department of Biotechnology, TU Braunschweig) for giving us the possibility to work in his lab, for the lab materials and the support of our ideas and our work
Dr. Torsten Meyer (Department of Biotechnology, TU Braunschweig)
for supervising us during the whole project, for the instructions and various practical tips
the Department of Biotechnology at the TU Braunschweig
for their willingness to help us through the daily lab and their patience
Tobias Unkauf and Jonas Zantow (Department of Biotechnology, TU Braunschweig)
for the enduring support of our Team and our project, for various suggestions and several tips during the whole project
Technical Support
Wolfgang Graßl (Department of Biotechnology, TU Braunschweig)
for the technical know-how and for helping us with the construction of our methane device
Dr. Ulf Prüße (Department of Agricultural Technology, Thünen-Institut Braunschweig)
for giving us advice on planning the practical realisation of our project (barn filter system and supplemental pill)
Prof. Dr. André Fleißner and the Department of Genetics at the TU Braunschweig
for the guidance and their suggestions in cloning strategies
Dipl. -Ing. FH Dennis Jäger (Department of Agricultural Technology, Thünen-Institut Braunschweig)
for the measurements with the GC-TCD (thermal conductivity detector)
Jana Tillack (Department of Bioinformatics and Biochemistry, TU Braunschweig)
for supporting us in our modeling efforts
Dr. Dirk von Soosten (Institute of Animal Nutrition, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI), Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Braunschweig)
for equipping us with fresh rumen fluid and therefore giving us the opportunity to accomplish our experiments under more realistic conditions. Furthermore we would like to thank him for providing insight into the work of the FLI and comprehensive knowledge
Prof. Dr. Robert Hänsch and the Department of Plant Biology at the TU Braunschweig
for supporting the Interlab Study and the measurement at their cLSM
the Department of Microbiology at the TU Braunschweig
for providing us with a cell counter for determining cell densities
PR and Financial Support
Stephan Nachtigall (Department of Public Relations, TU Braunschweig)
for the pleasant cooperation with press releases and public work
Sabine Stegner (Braunschweigerischer Hochschulbund) and Henning Carsten (TU Braunschweig)
for enabling the financial support and the pleasant coorperation
Collaborations
Collaborations with institutions or other iGEM Teams promote exchange of experiences and know-how and lead to a benefit for both sites. Therefore, we got in contact with two local research institutions. They supported us with advice, materials and helpful methods for our experiments. One of the supporters was the Thünen Institute in Braunschweig with a research focus on economy, ecology and technologies of rural regions, seas and forests. Dr. Ulf Prüße, an expert for renewables conversion technology, gave us professional advice for our experiments with beads and biofiltration. Furthermore we received lots of material from the institute and had the possibility to measure the methane degradation at their gas chromatograph with a thermal conductivity detector.
An important part of the iGEM competition is the cooperation between the teams. In order to get in contact with other iGEM Teams from Germany, we joined the iGEM Meet Ups in Munich and Aachen. We numerously represented the iGEM Team Braunschweig at both events and drew attention to this year’s project. We used these opportunities to give presentations and obtained encouraging feedback and helpful ideas during the follow-up discussions. At the Munich meet-up we made contact with the iGEM teams from Aachen and Hanover, followed by some nice barbecue evenings with the team from Hanover. We also met a few iGEMers from Aachen at the “Maker Faire” in Hanover and spent the day together. Team Aachen provided us with a self-engineered methane sensor which we would later put to good use in our experiments. Such collaborations were strengthened at the second meet-up which was held in Aachen in September. However, we did not only get in contact with teams nearby, but also with teams overseas. We had a skype video chat with the iGEM Team Waterloo and discussed our projects, and exchanged our experiences concerning the competition.
The iGEM Team from Virginia created a survey about synthetic biology which was also to be conducted by teams from other parts of the world. Therefore, we translated the survey into German and conducted it at our university’s open house. The survey dealt with the public awareness towards and acceptance of synthetic biology and the aim was to get an impression of how people from all ages, origins and professions think about this. We do not know the results yet, but we still hope we could make a contribution for this survey to become more representative with regard to the control sample.
