Introducing the Missouri Miners

Our History

The Missouri S&T iGEM team was founded under the guidance of Dr. Katie Shannon in 2006. Dr. Shannon learned about the iGEM program at MIT through research associates from Missouri Western State University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology had pioneered a collaborative research effort to use engineering principles to solve biological problems. Their approach, coined Synthetic Biology, is based on creating a library of interchangeable genetic parts for bacteria and yeast. MIT expanded this project under the International Genetically Engineered Machines banner (iGEM for short). The first competition took place in the summer of 2004 with 5 teams. MIT is expecting 180+ teams in 2010.

The Missouri S&T team began with two simple projects of building a biological clock in Escherichia coli and an ethanol sensor in yeast. The projects acted as a test bed while students learned and perfected lab techniques. The team initially split into two research groups, one pursuing the clock while the other began work on an ethanol sensor and the two projects were presented together at the 2007 iGEM Jamboree. The clock project was retired after the 2007 Jamboree, and the ethanol sensor was continued for 2008 iGEM competitions. After the 2008 competition the sensor was retired and the team began its most ambitious project yet.

As the 2008 iGEM competition was wrapping up, some students on the team proposed a new project. Using genes from Geobacter sulfurreducens that shuttled electrons outside of the cell, the team wanted to construct an aerobic microbial fuel cell by moving the genes from G. sulfurreducens to E. coli.

Dr. Katie Shannon, Advisor
Biological Sciences

Dr. David Westenberg
Advisor

Daniel Roush, President
Biological Sciences

Nichole "Hates Cameras" Hurd, Vice President
Biochemical Engineering

Treasurer, Helen Cardwell
BiochemEng

Erica Shannon, Public Relations
Biological Sciences

Meghan Ray, Secretary
Biochemical Engineering

April Pummel
Biochemical Engineering

Karen Schilli
Biological Sciences

Amanda Foster
Biochemical Engineering/ BioSci

Mike Little
Biological Sciences

Hamilton Vernon
BioSci/ Chemistry

Josh Erickson
BioSci/ PreMed

Brice Curtin
Chemistry