Team:British Columbia/Team

Undergraduate Team Members

Fisal Elstone

5th Year Integrated Science

I fell in love with iGEM two years ago when I stumbled upon a Terry Talk by a past iGEM member. My fascination and curiosity spiraled out of control and the next thing I knew, I was giving a presentation to students in my program about the potentials of synthetic biology. However, much to my dismay I was unable to join the iGEM team that summer due to commitments with my Co-op program. This year I am very excited to be a part of the UBC 2013 team. I have no idea where our project will take us but I'm sure it will be a thrilling ride. A little about myself: I am a self proclaimed outdoors man and I have the beard to prove it! In particular, I enjoy backcountry skiing, rock climbing, and backpacking, but I am always keen to try new things. When I am in the city I enjoy dancing, music, and eating. My spirit animal is a ferret and I cant think of a favorite piece of lab equipment; I love all my children equally.

Liz Geum

3rd Year Microbiology and Immunology

During my first year, a former iGEM member came in to give a class talk about his work on the team. Probably the entire class was fascinated by E. coli that light up green, amber and red like traffic signals. What was even more fascinating, though, was how the simplest bio-constructs so named "biobricks" could be used to solve problems that were much greater in scale. The bringing together of different disciplines was a key component of the project as well as the freedom to explore different topics and see an entire project through. I am excited to be working in the wet lab with a great mix of unique talents on the team this year. To tell you a bit about myself, I enjoy photography, following the MLB rooting for Texas Rangers, and eating mochi.

Joe Ho

5th year Integrated Science

I joined iGEM because of a Terry Talk by a past iGEM member, who described the elegance of synthetic biology and the need to create standardized parts. That moment on, I was hooked into iGEM and its limitless potential. Outside from lab work and reading "binders full of journal articles", I enjoy watching hockey and maintaining my vegetable garden. Occasionally, I enjoy swimming and hiking.

Dan Korvin

5th year Microbiology and Immunology Major, Minor in Biochemistry

Oh hi, didn't see you there. Come, take a seat, and let us speak of biology. I first heard of iGEM, through a friend back in 2009. However, at the the time I thought he was crazy. "E. Coli cultures lighting up like traffic lights!?" I said, "bro, you been at the giggle-water again?" And he had been. Two years later, in 2011, I stumbled across the openwetware wiki while doing research for a project, and this led me to the iGEM page. After seeing the kinds of incredible projects that had been attempted over the years, I was hooked, and knew that I had to join the UBC team at the next available opportunity. As the only member of the iGEM team with a stylish goatee, It's important to remember that I will inevitably be seen as the "leader" because of it, and as such how the other members of the team look up to me, and how my actions reflect upon the team as a whole.

Joel Kumlin

3rd year Chemical Engineering, Minor in Honours Mathematics

One of the most interesting things I've gained from school is an understanding of how to model physical systems. I am excited for iGEM because it provides an interesting opportunity to create models as well as learn more about biological systems. When not sitting in front of a computer screen, I enjoy golfing, playing tennis, skiing, hiking, and pretty much most things outside.

Anna Müller

3rd year Microbiology and Immunology

I first heard about iGEM when I was in high school and ever since I wanted to be part of it. For me this is a very exciting opportunity. I can’t wait to make some awesome bacteria! I moved to Canada two years ago from Germany. Now I am really enjoying Vancouver. My favourite thing to do here is skiing in winter; I can’t wait for next season. Aside from microbiology I am interested in marine biology. Through scuba diving I fell in love with the beautiful underwater world. On campus you can find me either in the lab, at the gallery, or at the pool napping. But if there is something you should know about me is that I love travelling and living in different places around the world, so this is definitely not my last stop.

Michael Peters

4th year Chemical and Biological Engineering, Bioprocess option

I became interested in iGEM during a class presentation, but what really caught my attention is the opportunity for student driven innovative research. I was heavily involved in science fair during middle school and high school, and look forward to pursing team-lead innovative research again. A bit about myself: I love almost any water-sport, and would happily spend the rest of my life lounging about beaches and cottages, sailing and waterskiing in the sun until I develop arthritis or skin cancer, or both. A few random facts about myself: I hate bananas, I love the smell of incubators, I've been known to make super-heroes out of lab gloves, and I biked across North America two summers ago. My favourite piece of lab equipment is the vortex mixer; my goodness I could spend days playing with those things...

Frances Russell

3rd year Combined Honours in Computer Science and Biology

I started a combined honours degree after discovering computer science in my first year at UBC. Ever since, I have been exploring where the two subjects intersect in bioinformatics. I joined the iGEM team after hearing about it through my Co-op job at the Hallam Lab, and I hope to contribute to the modelling and wiki while also learning microbiology concepts and lab technique. In my spare time, I enjoy baking, cooking, camping, and knitting.

Cameron Strachan

I recently finished my undergraduate degree in Honours Microbiology and I am currently doing research in the Hallam lab at UBC. I have interests in metabolic engineering and environmental genomics.

Negin Tousi

4th year Chemical and Biological Engineering, Bioprocess option

Having heard about iGEM from a former team member in my program, I quickly became interested in taking part in the team and hopefully bringing an engineering mindset to the team! With the various disciplines represented on the iGEM team, it is needless to say that I am extremely enthused to see how all these scientific minds will work together to come up with something (hopefully) magnificent! I began my education as a process option student in the department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and very quickly realized that my true passion geared more towards the biological applications which lead me to switch to the bioprocess option. On my (minimal) free time outside of school and work, I enjoy playing rugby and taking lots of hikes and enjoying the outdoors!

Dave VanInsberghe

I received my BSc in Microbiology and Immunology from UBC where I worked in the Mohn Lab on topics in microbial ecology. My primary research interests are in understanding the fundamental ecological processes that drive the evolution of interactions between microbial lineages in the environment.

Grace Yi

3rd year Pharmacology

Having experienced being part of iGEM last year, I was inspired by the calibre of projects iGEM teams produced. I am excited to see what amazing things a new group of minds can accomplish at UBC. In the lab, I am working on moving the caffeine biosynthetic pathway into E.coli. Through this portion of the project, we are attempting to "improve" BioBrick parts of the TU Munich 2012 team. In addition to labwork, I hope to contribute to the human practices portion of the project - looking forward to creative paths down this road! My guilty pleasures include reading bad novels and baking large batches of cookies (and eating them).

Tony Zhao

2nd year Pharmacology

One of the opportunities that I look forward to the most in university is being able to conduct research. While high school afforded the opportunity to learn the general principles of biology and chemistry, there was little to no individual exploration. As a result, when Grace from iGEM last year came to present at a SciCon conference I was attending, I became immediately captivated by the learning and exploratory opportunities provided by iGEM and the myriad of projects that are possible. As a greenhorn to the research field, I hope to learn the many basic lab protocols this year and primarily help with human practices. I also hope to gain some experience in mathematical modeling later on. My hobbies include swimming early in the morning, being a foodie (especially Thai food … yum yum), and watching Game of Thrones.

Graduate Student Advisors

Christopher Lawson

2nd year MASc Student in Civil (Environmental) Engineering

I am a Masters student in the Pollution Control and Waste Management group here at UBC, working in the Hallam Lab. My research lies at the intersection of environmental engineering and microbiology, where we study the microbial ecology of biological phosphorus removal using metagenomic and functional genomic approaches. In my free time, I enjoy hockey, martial arts, and pretty much anything outdoors.

Ray Socha

Michael VanInsberghe

3rd year PhD Student in Genome Science and Technology

I'm a PhD student in the Genome Science and Technology graduate program at the University of British Columbia. I'm working in the Hansen group to develop methods in single-cell genomics by exploiting recent advances in microfluidics. When not stuck in a cleanroom, I can usually be found out in the mountains surrounding the Lower Mainland.

James Round

2rd year PhD Student in Microbiology and Immunology

I'm a PhD student in the Eltis lab at the University of British Columbia. My project involves the identification and characterization of bacteria and bacterial enzymes that can degrade and modify lignin. Our goal is to use the aromatic portion of biomass to replace products made traditionally with fossil fuels with green alternatives.

Faculty Advisors

Joanne Fox

Michael Smith Laboratories and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia

Steven Hallam

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia

Hallam Lab website