Team:BU Wellesley Software/Team

From 2011.igem.org

BU-Wellesley iGEM Team: Meet the Team Members


Team

Computational Team

Craig LaBoda | Boston University '11

Craig graduated from Boston University last semester with a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering. As a 2010 Lutchen Fellow at BU, Craig studied the use of DNA microarrays for microfluidic disease diagnosis, as well as the capturing and organization of DNA origami. This fall he will enter Duke University’s Electrical Engineering PhD program where he will study DNA self-assembly in Professor Chris Dwyer’s Self-Assembled Systems Group.
Craig loves shredding guitar and watching terrible horror films.

Notebook | LinkedIn

Michael Lintz | Olin College '11

Mikey graduated from Olin College of Engineering last semester with a degree in Electrical Engineering. His background is in data modeling and object-oriented design. He is interested in the usability issues concerning emerging technologies on mobile platforms and the web. Currently he is working for Google in Mountain View, CA.

Notebook

Consuelo Valdes | Wellesley College '11

Consuelo is working full time at the Wellesley College Human-Computer Interaction Lab as a research fellow. She is currently working on Microsoft Surface applications and iPhone applications.
Her favorite Starbucks drinks are Non-Fat Caramel Frappaccinos with 1/2" of caramel sauce at the bottom and Iced coffees with 4 pumps of white mocha.

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Heidi Wang | Wellesley College '12

Heidi is currently a senior majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Economics. Her interests span across multiple disciplines including Computer Science, Art/Design, Social Behavior, and Education. For the past year, she has been working in the Human Computer Interaction lab at Wellesley college on G-nome Surfer 2.0, G-nome Surfer Pro, and GreenTouch.

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Taili Feng | Wellesley College '13

Taili is a junior at Wellesley College, majoring in Computer Science. She is super excited for the opportunity to combine Human-Computer Interaction concepts with Synthetic Biology to create new software designed to aid research in those areas.
Her favorite Starbucks drinks are Green Tea Frappaccino and Unsweetened Iced Green Tea.

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Janoo "Oh boy ..." Fernandes | Boston University '13

Janoo is currently a junior at Boston University majoring in Computer Engineering. He received the UROP Student Research Award this summer to work in the BU-Wellesley iGEM team. He was introduced to iGEM and synthetic biology in Prof. Densmore's Logic Design course. This summer he developed a front-end GUI Clotho App, called PuppetShow, for the Puppeteer Biological Protocol Automation Suite. In the upcoming spring semester, he will be completing a co-op at MITRE in Bedford, MA.
His favorite Starbucks drink is an iced caramel macchiato with hazelnut instead of vanilla.

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Michelle Ferreirae | Wellesley College '13

Michelle is a junior who loves helping people get over their fear of technology. She sees iGEM as a way to connect with a new audience: synthetic biologists who need better software tools to do their jobs correctly.
Her favorite Starbucks drink is an iced chai latte.

Notebook

Chenkai Liu | Boston University '13

Chenkai is currently a junior at Boston University majoring in Computer Science. He has a passion for developing iPhone Apps and putting them up on the App Store. On his spare time, he loves to play pool and Ping Pong. He is planning on studying abroad in Auckland in the Spring.

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Jenhan Tao | UC Berkeley '13

Jenhan is a third year bioengineering student at UC Berkeley. He is interested in the development of software tools that he hopes will accelerate progress in synthetic biology. He hopes that he will have the opportunity to pursue graduate studies related to synthetic biology after he graduates. Jenhan enjoys tennis whenever he finds someone to play with.

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Kelsey Tempel | Wellesley College '13

Kelsey is a junior Computer Science major at Wellesley College currently on-leave for a semester to study at King’s College London. Summer 2011 was Kelsey’s first summer in the Human-Computer Interaction lab and she worked on the Primer Designer for G-nome Surfer Pro and Green Touch. She looks forward to seeing how the projects she worked on can improve user experience.

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Kathy Liu | Wellesley College '13

Kathy is a Wellesley junior who is interested in exploring the interactions between HCI and synthetic biology. This summer she focused on streamlining the GnomeSurfer design and development of the eLabNotebook, as well as contributing a biologist's mindset to software design. Her favorite Starbucks drink is a tall strawberries & creme frappuccino in a grande cup, with extra whipped cream.

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Casey Grote | Wellesley College '14

Casey is a sophomore, Physics/Computer Science double major at Wellesley college. Casey recently joined the HCI lab in summer 2011, and is excited about the intersection between hardware and user experience, open source computing and breaking computers.

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Alex Pan | Framingham High School '12

Alex is a rising senior at Framingham High School and worked as an intern at the HCI lab for the summer. She hopes to expand on her current knowledge of computer science and programming.

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Wet Lab Team

Margaux Canevari | Boston University '11

Margaux recently graduated Boston University with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. In the fall, she will begin pursuing her Masters in Applied Anatomy and Physiology at Boston University and working in the Stepp lab on research involving the rehabilitation of patients with disordered sensorimotor function. Her previous research includes neural auditory and neural visual studies. She was very excited to change gears for a bit and work on a synthetic biology project and expand her horizons.
She loves reading about the Tudors and cooking.

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Shannon Harrington | Suffolk University '15

Shannon Harrington is currently a freshman at Suffolk University. She discovered iGEM through her high school and, because of her love of science, decided to apply. Shannon performed her science fair project at Biogen Idec in Cambridge, MA her sophmore, junior, and senior year. The topics she studied included the prevention of rheumatoid arthritis and neuronal differentiation. She plans to major in Biology with a concentration in Biotechnology and minor in Criminal Justice. She loves to travel and has a passion for cooking!

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Kyle Jones | Boston University '13

Kyle will be a junior this fall studying Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. This summer he was awarded the Dean Lutchen Fellowship to work on the iGEM team. In the fall he will be studying abroad at Dublin City University in Dublin, Ireland. Kyle is also a member of the Boston University Men's Varsity Crew team and enjoys doing community service.

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Evelyn Orozco | Boston University '12

Evelyn is a senior at Boston University majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a concentration in Nanotechnology. She received UROP funding this summer to work in the BU-Wellesley iGEM team. She also heard about iGEM when she met her mentor, Douglas Densmore, at the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Zone Conference. Her main project was automating bench protocols onto a liquid handling robot. Evelyn plans on continuing to work on genetic circuits but will be doing her senior project on paper microfluidics for HAART Drug Adherence Monitoring in Klapperich Laboratory for Appropriate Health Technologies. Evelyn really enjoys long walks around the Charles and having fun with her fellow housemates at the Harriet E Richards Cooperative house.

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Alberto Purwada | Boston University '13

Alberto is a junior majoring in Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. He received STARS funding to participate in the BU-Wellesley iGEM team. He was very passionate about loading DNA samples for gel electrophoresis and using the UV machine. In the fall, he will continue working in the Wong Lab and his research will involve studying the interaction between biomaterials and cells. He is very interested in learning more about synthetic biology, tissue engineering, and drug development. While he is outside the lab, he enjoys watching thriller films with friends and trying out new eating places.

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Vanessa Yanez | Boston University '12

Vanessa is a senior in Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. She learned about the BU & Wellesley iGEM team through Doug Densmore’s guest lecture at the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) conference. Because she is interested in developing new and more elaborate genetic circuits, her senior project will be using permutation principle to create reconfigurable plasmid architecture. Some of her other interests include tissue engineering and personalized medicine. She also really enjoys smoothies and french fries!

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Advisers and Mentors

Douglas Densmore | Boston University

Doug is the Richard and Minda Reidy Family Career Development Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boston University. His research focuses on the development of tools for the Specification, Design, and Assembly of Synthetic Biological Systems. These tools and methodologies borrow techniques from embedded system design and electronic design automation. He led the award winning UC Berkeley Software iGEM teams in 2008 and 2009 . He is currently remodeling his "new" 1880 Victorian home...help!!!

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Orit Shaer | Wellesley College

Orit Shaer is the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Wellesley College. She also serves as a co-director of the Media Arts and Sciences program. Her research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), focuses on developing interaction techniques and software tools for next generation user interfaces.

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Traci Haddock | Boston University

Traci is a postdoctoral research associate in the Densmore laboratory at Boston University. She has been the primary mentor to the wet lab team members this summer and became very accustomed to hearing "Traci, I have a question...". Her nerdy hobby is collecting X-Men comic books and her favorite band is U2.

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Swapnil Bhatia | Boston University

Half human, half postdoctoral ninja---Swapnil likes clever algorithms and neat analogies more than a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. His favorite pastime is graph multiplication and his favorite color is indigo.

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Suma Jaini | Boston University

Suma is a 3rd year PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering and a mentor for iGEM wet lab team. Her life is primarily occupied by Mycobacteria and fluorescent proteins! Her favorite past time while she has to wait for the bacteria grow is to watch TV show 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S'.

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Megan Strait | Tufts University

Megan is a 2nd year PhD student in the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at Tufts University and mentor to the Wellesley squints. Her research focus is in next-generation interaction techniques, including brain-computer interaction, adaptive interfaces, and multi-touch surfaces. In her spare time, she cultivates plants to combat zombies from eating her brainzzz. @Starbucks: tall iced white chocolate mocha non-fat no-whip.

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