From 2012.igem.org

Revision as of 12:19, 18 September 2012

The NRP UEA iGEM Team 2012

The iGEM 2012 team for the Norwich Research Park and University of East Anglia (NRP UEA) are a close knit group of seven biology-based undergraduate students working in the labs within UEA’s BIO building. They are the second iGEM team that the NRP has produced and truly relish the opportunity to compete in a competition that has placed itself in such an innovative and exciting field of biology.

The NRP is one of Europe's largest concentrations of researchers in the life sciences and the environment, the UEA being a core constituent of the park. Known for its abundance of rabbits, its Ziggurats (as seen in various album covers) and its world-leading research. Despite having a olympic sized swimming pool on campus, the team prefer taking leisurely swimming in the river Yare that flows through our campus, a site of special scientific interest. It is frequented by cuckoos, sedge warblers, great crested grebes and, if you're lucky, you will see the odd flock of students too!

The iGEM team really are spoiled by both the natural beauty of their surroundings and the teaching excellence. Despite only having two main official academic advisers, practically everyone in the UEA School of Biology has very kindly imparted some of their wisdom to the student participance, as well as members of the John Innes Centre and the rest of the NRP, making the project a real representation of UEAs best and brightest!

Joy Edwards-Hicks Biomedicine Undergraduate Joy is going into her third year and is looking forward to a future career working within cell biology; preferably working in a lab out in the jungle somewhere! She has done a fantastic job of managing the human practices side of the NRP UEA iGEM team, liasing with places such as STAR Radio and the Norwich Forum to score the team some brilliant opportunities to present the project. In her spare time Joy is normally found in the shops, until they close, when she can be found surfing eBay adding to her already-impressive clothes and shoes collection.
Khadija Ouadi Molecular Biology & Genetics Undergraduate Khadija anticipates beginning her third year of studies in September, and as someone that finds the intricacy of molecular biology amazing, she hopes to earn a living in academic research. iGEM has proved to be an experience she has relished, educating her both in what life in academia entails and in her own skill sets. Currently, her interests include tricking Rebecca into pegging herself in the lab groups many Peg Wars, failing to teach herself to play the guitar and using OligoAnalyser to make pretty shapes out of DNA constructs!
Lukas Harnisch Biomedicine Undergraduate Lukas is entering his 3rd year of studying Biomedicine. For him iGEM is a great opportunity to dive into the world of synthetic biology, the possibility to learn new skills and broaden his understanding of this field of research, and to meet and collaborate with students from all over the world. This summer he is looking forward to spending lots of time with his team members both inside the lab and outside. In his free time he enjoys photography, cooking and cycling, as well as travelling, and is therefore especially excited to go to this years jamboree in Amsterdam.
Pascoe Harvey Biological Sciences Undergraduate Pascoe is a Biological Sciences undergraduate, about to enter his final year. The iGEM experience has been invaluable to him and he is now strongly considering a future in academia specialising in synthetic biology. The project has fortified his presentational skills and blue sky thinking. It has also further developed his research skills within a team environment from his previous work experience involving research into curculionoidea in the Natural History Museum. He has a diverse range of interests from sports to the arts to politics. He is the only member who can ride a unicycle and is currently teaching his fellow iGEMers his self taught circus skills.
Rachel Dobson Molecular Biology & Genetics Undergraduate Rachel is a smiley, enthusiastic second year student, studying Molecular Biology and Genetics at UEA. Over the last two years at UEA, she has also developed an interest in cell biology and is keen to continue further studies in this area. She has really enjoyed her summer, from getting to know the other iGEMers while chilling and playing games by the lake, to listening to a wide variety of music while carrying out aspects of wet lab. Rachel likes the variation of tasks that she has been able to undertake as a consequence of participating in this rewarding competition, both the practical and research side, as well as taking part with the elements of human outreach. When Rachel is not in the lab she is usually filling her time being very active, for example she supervises a weekly cooking class for a local charity, and more recently she has been improving her badminton skills.
Rebecca Lo Molecular Biology & Genetics Undergraduate Rebecca is about to enter her final year at UEA. After university she plans to pursue a career in academia with a particular interest in plant genetics. She greatly anticipates an iGEM filled summer. Applying for iGEM was an easy decision for her as it brought about the opportunity to meet students with similar interests to her, gain research experience, and of course have 10 weeks of awesomeness! Currently, her greatest joy would be to get revenge on Khadija in Peg Wars. She loves KPop, especially songs that blows your brains out, only difference is you do you the shooting. She also loves playing team sports but can be rather competitive; someone always gets hurt! She has a long list of accidental injuries, of which none are to herself, so you have been warned…
Russell Gritton Biomedicine Undergraduate Russell is a third-year Biomedicine student looking forward to a career in cell biology research. He sees iGEM as a fantastic opportunity to become a part of a new, innovative branch of science with many real-world applications for the future, and is therefore excited to be a part of this year’s NRP UEA team. He particularly likes the creative side of the project and is the main user of the team’s Twitter, as well as having designed the Wiki and EyeGEM videos. In his free time Russell enjoys good music and good company, and is currently trying to learn the ukulele.
Richard Bowater Advisor - Senior Lectuer Richard is a senior lecturer at the University of East Anglia, in the School of Biological Sciences. He specialises in Biochemistry, and is currently leading a research team at UEA. The work carried out within his lab studies the macromolecular interactions of DNA repair mechanisms in bacteria, in particular focusing on DNA ligases. Not only is he the founder of the team, but he also the spiritual and academic advisor of the team, therefore consistently keeping the team and their project on track.
Richard Kelwick Advisor - PhD Student Richard Kelwick is a doctoral Student at UEA, focusing his studies in Cancer Research. His research is centered around understanding the role of proteases in breast cancer and is interested in elucidating the tumour suppressor functions of several metalloproteinases, particularly ADAMTS15. Richard is THE KING of all things technological. Among the iGEM team he is renowned for his tweeting as he tweets more than Stephen Fry, as well as introducing google hangout to the UK team meet up. Richard is fueled by Twix's, giving him the energy that makes him super efficient and always the guy to save the day. It is Richards great advice, organisation of events and elevating the team spirit higher than a giraffe on stilts makes the NRP-UEA iGEM team the team that it is- #Thank you Richard and thank god for Twix's.
Amy Congdon NRP UEA iGEM Artist Amy Congdon completed her BA in Contemporary Textile Practices, at Norwich University College of Arts, and then went on to do her masters in Textile Futures, based at Central Saint Martins in London. Amy has played an important role as the team’s artist, since she got in touch with the team a few months before they started on their project. She is fascinated between the links of design, craft and science, and has used her interest to help the team to engage with the public. The team are very thankful to have her on board for her creative input, as well as her dedication and time to the team’s project. Amy has been very active within our human outreach program; from designing the team’s eye catching logo, to directing and editing their film.