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Undergrad Team

Andres Carbonell

Born in the tropical paradisiac lands of Panama in Central America, Andres a Biotechnology major is going into his junior year of college, and as a gentleman in the pursuit of knowledge and mankind's well being, has dedicated his short academic life to science and research. His goals and dreams involve a good balance of medical research and a life of invaluable doctor-patient relationships. Andres has found in iGEM a shortcut in the long and rewarding path of mastering knowledge and happiness

Casey Hall

Casey’s passion for agriculture has led her to pursuing a major in Biological Engineering with a Food and Biological Engineering Emphasis. She is currently in her junior year and after college, she desires to attend graduate school focusing on production agriculture and genetically modified plants. It has always been her dream to help feed the world and iGEM provided a great opportunity for her to see what genetic modification is all about. Casey was our team lead this year and has also worked specifically with the CesA project from start to finish as well as the plant promoter project design and wet lab procedures. Outside of iGEM, Casey enjoys hunting, fishing, and spending time in the great outdoors.

Kevin Thyne

Kevin is a senior in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. He joined iGEM for the opportunity to work in a lab and do new, exciting research. He worked on last year’s iGEM project and enjoyed it so much that he’s back for more! Kevin definitely adds experience and eons of knowledge to the team and is the go-to person when anyone has questions. When he’s not being a wealth of knowledge, he is involved in the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS).

Lars Berg

Lars has just finished his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma Honors College, but will begin his sophomore year at Wesleyan University in the fall. Being a part of Penn State’s iGEM team has helped him explore genomics, botany, education, and web design, which have all been helpful experiences for someone undecided on his major. Lars worked on the butanol project, the outreach presentation to teachers and students, and the website. In addition to exploring fields of study to figure out what to do with his life, he enjoys ultimate frisbee, traveling, and walking his corgi.

Laura Hoover

Entering her junior year, Laura is a Biology major focusing in vertebrate physiology. As a trained EMT, Laura plans to pursue a career in the medical field. However, her academic interests vary greatly. After learning about synthetic biology in a molecular biology course, Laura joined the Penn State iGEM team eager to learn more about the emerging field. Beyond being able to participate in undergraduate research, the experience offered her an in depth education in the planning and execution of research projects. Laura worked on both the CesA and promoter projects. In addition, Laura is heavily involved in Penn State’s IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon as her sorority’s THON chair for the past two years.

Michael Easterbrook

Michael is a Penn State junior, studying Chemical Engineering with intended minors in Entrepreneurship and Molecular Biology. He has had a passion to work with genetic engineering since high school and he has been involved in genetics research since his freshman year of college. iGEM was an exciting next step for developing his skills in synthetic biology research. He was heavily involved with the design and construction of the cellulose synthase, cas9, and plant promoter projects. He also learned html/CSS this summer and was responsible for a majority of the coding for the team wiki. In his free time, he enjoys discussing philosophy, playing soccer, playing video games, and visiting family and friends.

Michael Stokes

Michael is a Penn State Senior in the field of Biotechnology. He has had a longstanding fascination with synthetic biology and biofuels, and other biotech applications such as organ cloning. His plans for the future to include research in biotechnology to develop these things for use in everyday life. He joined iGEM in order to gain experience working with biotechnology. At the start he primarily worked on the butanol project, though he became more involved in website design later on, learning html/CSS programming language, and using his previous experience with Photoshop and attention to detail to help in its construction.

Nayab Gill

Nayab recently graduated with her bachelors in Biology from Penn State. With the goal of becoming a high school Biology teacher, her next step is to pursue a masters degree in Science education. Since her undergraduate studies focused on vertebrae physiology; iGEM served as a crash course in plant and synthetic biology. Although difficult at first, it has proven to be a rewarding experience for her. As part of the iGEM team she worked on the vanillin project and human practices. Outside of iGEM, she is a home body that enjoys reading, the cinema and spending time with family and friends.

Phillip Cygan

As a man of intelligence and drive, Philip joined iGEM this year for the first time. Going into his Senior year at Penn State, Phil is a Mathematics Education Major, planning to educate high school students in the complex ideas of mathematics and all it has to offer. Philip is involved in Penn State through many organizations and sports, leading a very active lifestyle. As an active student, he decided to try iGEM, even with a very small background, and is working on the Cas9 project and learning more than he imagined he could. He has become a lab rat, spending nearly everyday in lab, working on this project. Phil, not just a student in Math and Education, but a student in synthetic biology now too!

Sam Ewell

Sam just finished his third year of Biomedical Engineering at Penn State. His studies have focused on human biology, so iGEM has been a good opportunity for him to explore plant biology as well. During the summer he helped with the website and the butanol project, but his main focus was running our plant nursery. In order to test all these different ideas we needed a small army of plants and he made sure they grew up to be strong little soldiers. When not studying or caring for plants, he enjoys being the best.

Stephanie Everhart

Stephanie, going into her junior year at Penn State, is a Secondary Education Major in the chemistry option. She hopes to one day become a high school chemistry teacher that can inspire more students to pursue a future in science. iGEM has given her the opportunity to explore different facets of science, which has proved very rewarding. As part of the iGEM team, Stephanie has focused her efforts on the education outreach aspect of the Human Practices component. Outside of iGEM, Stephanie enjoys running, hiking and indulging in a good movie. In addition, she is a strong advocate for military appreciation as the president of the Dear Hero Program, a student run group on campus that sends letters and care packages to troops overseas.

Advisers

Tom Richard, Ph.D.

Penn State Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department

Howard Salis, Ph.D.

Penn State Biological and Chemical Engineering Department

Charlie Anderson, Ph.D.

Penn State Biology Department

Manish Kushwaha, Post Doc.

Penn State Biology Department

Jyotsna Lavanya, Graduate Assistant, Ph.D.

Penn State Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department

Thomas McCarthy, Ph.D. Student

Penn State Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department

Nikki Kapp, Master's Student

Penn State Biology Department