I’m going into my second year of biomedical sciences. It’s my first year of iGEM, and this year I’ll be helping with designing circuits for our project and creating it in the wet-lab. Also, I’ll be heading up our community outreach, by contacting media outlets and organizing events to help promote iGEM awareness. My hobbies include hockey, mixed martial arts, and eating gluten-free food. I also enjoy going to alternative rock and dubstep shows.

I just completed my second year in the Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary. I am planning to specialize in the field of Cellular, Molecular and Microbiology which deals primarily with investigation of bacteria. This year, I will be helping to promote iGEM with the Marketing and Finance team as well as assisting with the wetlab components. I joined the iGEM team because of the new and exciting field as well as the opportunity to work hands-on with a group of people.  Synthetic biology is a very new field with massive amounts of potential and I am excited to be a part of this team. I love sports and am a huge Calgary Flames and New England Patriots fan. In my spare time, I like to play sports, play video games, read, and help out at my church.

I have just completed my first year in Biomedical Sciences working towards my degree in the Bachelor of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine. I have a strong interest in the field of synthetic Biology and therefore am very excited to be a part of the 2010 University of Calgary iGEM team. As this will be my first research opportunity at the university level, the only experience I have is that obtained from first year Biology labs and Medical Science courses. I believe that one of the major characteristics of iGEM, interdisciplinary cooperation, allows the team to bring together top student talents from faculties ranging from engineering to medicine. I am also a huge soccer fan especially Manchester United and Leicester City!

I’ve just finished my second year as a Biomedical Science student in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program. I have taken Medical Science and biology courses as well as ethics and Health in Society. I joined the iGEM team because I’m really excited to have the opportunity to work on something that’s novel and part of a very diverse team. I think synthetic biology is an interesting and powerful field that will only grow in the near future and it’s exciting to be a part of something that may be able to come up with solutions to global problems. This summer I’m going to be working on the outreach team as well as in the lab and the iGEM wiki. I will be helping to present our project to high school students to try to build more interest in synthetic biology in Alberta. In my spare time I compete in highland dancing, play the oboe in the University of Calgary Symphonic band and participate in plays with Storybook theatre.

My name is Himika Dastidar and I am a Biomedical Sciences student in the University of Calgary. I am going into my 3rd year in fall of 2010. As a student of Biomedical Sciences, I have a background in cell biology, basic biochemistry and basic genetics. I am involved in iGEM because I think that iGEM would provide me an interdisciplinary exposure to molecular biology. The additional challenge of engineering circuits in molecular biology is rather new and interesting. iGEM also allows me to gain hands on experience about concepts learnt in class such as PCR, restriction digest etc. Other than academic involvement, I am involved in extracurricular activities such as volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters Calgary, LinkAges. I am also involved in activities like singing, playing the guitar, martial arts etc. I think this summer is going to be a fantastic learning experience. I look forward to presenting University of Calgary’s team project at MIT and meeting other teams that share similar interest in synthetic biology.

I am a second year biological science student at the University of Calgary. My main interests include microbial biology so I intend to specialize in Cellular Microbial Molecular Biology. I am interested in iGEM because of the overall concept of biology. The idea of using DNA as biobricks is still very strange and deceptively simple. I am definitely prepared for some major challenges along the way and in the process learn a lot about bacterial conjugation, competence, gene expression, etc. I am extremely interested in constructing genes using the biobrick method. Wet labs will definitely be one of the highlights of the project. My contributions to the iGEM team including working primarily on the translation transcription circuit and working with periplasmic RFP. Outside the wet lab my roles include t-shirt designs and working on the team wiki. When not doing academic related work I am either playing squash, running, attending martial arts, volunteering, tutoring or watching movies.

I’m a First Year Student in Biomedical Science in the Bachelors of Health Sciences Program in the Faculty of Medicine. My interest in research has emerged from my participation in Sanofi Aventis Bio Talent Challenge in 2008 through a self-initiated research project involving the behaviour of pharyngeal pumping of C.elegans upon various exposures. iGEM has given me another opportunity to increase my knowledge on the various aspects of research, with an exclusive focus on Microbiology, with hands-on experience with technologies like PCR, Gel Electrophoresis and Chromatography to name a few. This year, I will be working in the Wet Lab to construct the circuit of our toolkit which will detect Periplasmic Protein Misfolding in E.coli bacteria as well as the Ethics of Synthetic Biology. In my spare time, I like to write poetry and enjoy the scenic beauty of Calgary.

I am currently entering my second year of Bioinformatics in the Bachelor of Health Sciences Program at the University of Calgary. I was interested in becoming a part of iGEM because its interdisciplinary approach to biology and engineering. This year, I will be contributing to the construction of the team wiki, as well as contributing to the modelling and animation projects. I believe iGEM will be an exciting and unique experience, since this gives undergraduate students first-hand experience in wet-lab and dry-lab work that they design and direct themselves. I'm a bit of a gamer at heart, though I do some writing on the side. I also like karate, drawing, and sleeping. Especially sleeping.