The 2014 UT Austin iGEM team featured a mix of new and returning team members. While we had two returning undergraduates, Kate and Jordan, the rest of the team was new. Two of our new students, Ella and Nathan, had never even worked in a molecular biology lab before. The team used our caffeinated coli project in March 2014 to get everyone acquainted with the basic techniques the team would use throughout the coming year.
All five undergraduates worked steadily during the summer on our two main projects and the interlab study, learning a number of techniques and generating some very nice data. During the fall, the team has been wrapping up experiments and finishing up the data assessment, while also making our presentation and team wiki.
-Dennis Mishler, advisor.
Members
Undergraduates
Alejandro "Alex" Gutierrez: I am a third-year undergraduate neurobiology major, and a new member of the iGEM team. Before joining iGEM, I did research in creating metal nanoparticles to use as catalysts. Besides doing research, I also enjoy cooking, reading, and sleeping.
Jordan Monk: I'm a senior cell & molecular biology major returning from last year's iGEM team. I plan to keep doing this molecular biology thing for a living because I haven't figured out yet how little money there is to be made. I'm probably in lab as you're reading this.
Catherine "Kate" Mortensen: A returning member from the 2013 iGEM team and biochemistry major. I believe synthetic biology is truly fascinating and has the potential to make positive impact on society. I'm extremely grateful for my team this year but especially for my advisors who have shown relentless patience. I plan to continue my education in biochemistry and synthetic biology and hope to make a stamp in the world.
Nathan Shin - I'm a third year microbiology major at the greatest university in the entire world. Besides my immense love for all things iGEM, I also enjoy sleeping, playing tennis, and binge watching Netflix. And I also enjoy long walks on the beach.
Ella Watkins - I am third year at the University of Texas, and striving to earn my Bachelors of Science in Biology. This summer has been such a whirlwind of amazing learning and hands on experience. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate on the iGEM team. I remember my first successful PCR as if it was only 5 months ago… oh wait, it was.
Advisors
Dennis Mishler, PhD - Postdoc in the Barrick lab at UT Austin. First year mentoring the iGEM team. Dennis has worked on projects relating to synthetic biology and RNA sequence/structure relationships for an undisclosed number of years. He has also worked with undergraduates in the classroom or at the bench for the past several years.
Professor Jeff Barrick- "He is so handsome!" Quote from his wife.
Michael Hammerling- Graduate Student in Barrick Lab, and previous iGEM advisor, Mike provided time and expertise about non-canonical amino acids and helped field all questions of the iGEM team.
Attributions
Unless otherwise noted, all projects, lab work, and materials were created by the five team members listed above with assistance and oversight from Professor Barrick and Dr. Mishler.
Mike Hammerling provided critical input with regards to working with ncAA and the plasmids containing the tRNA sythetase/tRNA pairs.
In addition to the iGEM 2014 team members, the following individuals participated in the SXSW Create event. Their assistance included gathering samples, performing experiments and training new iGEM team members, evaluating data sets, and presenting at SXSW (a multi-day all-day event).
Razan Alnahhas (2013 iGEM team member, graduated class of 2014)
The team would especially like to thank Razan for taking the time to train the new team members who had never previously worked with bacteria.
Mike Hammerling
Ashley Kessel
The team would also like to thank lab members of the Barrick lab for helpful comments, advice, and suggestions throughout the summer.
In particular, they would like to mention Sean Leonard who showed them how to run an SDS protein gel and gave advice on how to handle the ncAA 4-azidophenylalanine (AzF) and Dr. Colin Brown who assisted with designing the fusion protein and discussed issues related to future mass spec experiments.
FUNDING: We would like to thank our funding sources, including Beacon, the CSSB and ICMB centers at UT AUSTIN, and the UT Austin Chemistry department.
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