Team:St Andrews/team/members

Meet the Team

Contents 1 Rachael Blackburn 2 Lukas Ly 3 Alasdair Morton 4 Patrick Olden 5 David Owen 6 Fatemeh Salimi 7 Sarah Shapiro 8 James Taylor 9 Jonathan Ward

Rachael Blackburn

Carbonated water, Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Citric Acid, Taurine(0.4%), Natural Flavourings (including Caffeine (0.03%)), Acidity Regulator (Trisodium Citrate), Fruit and Vegetable Extracts (Apple, Hibiscus), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Inositol, Vitamins (Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12).

Lukas Ly

"There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false." (Harold Pinter 1958)

Alasdair Morton

I like ordinary differential equation, but I am in fact exceptional. I breathe stochastically and I eat rate constants for breakfast, also green berets. As a physicist I am disappointed that we are not making BioBricks out of the individual protons, neutrons and electrons. They would work much better as standard parts and can easily be captured from the wild without PCR. New parts could be generated automatically by colliding technical and legal standards at Cern, I will therefore be known to as the Collider in Chief.

Patrick Olden

My love is like a red red rose that newly springs in June, if you don’t see that is an allusion to the modelling of quorum sensing then there is no hope for you. Because we all know that it springs at 0.008 arbitrary units per mouse intestine on up regulation and at a somewhat smaller but quantitatively unknown value on down regulation. That is enough about me since I must now leave to play that funky music. Peace out.

David Owen

I am a cell biologist with a focus on neuroscience. I was attracted to the interdisciplinary nature of iGem and also by the opportunity to do novel research in a fairly independent manner. In my opinion I bring: a general understanding of lab procedure; a try anything once attitude and an appreciation of malt whisky to the team. I am hoping that this project will lead to me being more skilled and comfortable in the lab, it will also provide me with exposure to an area of science that would have been unavailable otherwise.

Fatemeh Salimi

I am a first year medical student with a passion for research. I entered medicine from the other side of the science spectrum, with a background in engineering. I was always involved in mathematics and physics field at high school. The interdisciplinary character of iGEM fascinated me. Being involved in the first iGEM team of St Andrews University was challenging and an excellent learning experience. iGEM was first experience analyzing papers and planning biological experiments and it was very rewarding for me. Last but not least, I like playing water polo, archery and travelling.

Sarah Shapiro

I am a fourth year Biologist and hope to bring to the team my fun filled knowlege of all things Biology. My main hope is that iGEM will give me the oppertunity to spend more time in the lab and become more experienced in lab procedures and techniques.

James Taylor

I’m a second year chemistry student who gets enthusiastic about good spectra, chelation and names of organic molecules. Getting to contribute this to an interdisciplinary project this summer is a definite win. On getting used to working in the biology lab, I began to express myself through the miniprep and nanodrop dance. Aside from general enthusiasm for science, technology and the community of innovation, I enjoy kayaking, playing the guitar, barbeques and real ale.

Jonathan Ward

I'm a final year Computer Scientist and am looking foward to working in a new field and gaining hands on research experience. As a CS student I feel it is easy to become distanced from thinking and working like a scientist. Through iGEM I hope I can get involved in 'hard' science and apply my CS background in a new way.