Team:Technion/Team

We are very excited to be the first Israeli iGEM team. Though we are newbies in iGEM competition, we hope to represent our country with honor and probably grab a medal or two... (Hmm, no pressure at all (-: )

You are welcome to contact us at any time via our group email: igem.technion@gmail.com or browse our site: Team Technion

Dr Amit received his undergraduate degree in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University in 1994. After a short a stint in the IDF, he carried out his graduate studies on the interactions of proteins and DNA at the single molecule level in the Weizmann Institute of Science under the supervision of Prof. Joel Stavans, completing his Ph.D in 2004. In 2006, he moved to Caltech, where he specialized in Synthetic Biology working as a post-doctoral scholar in collaboration with Prof. Scott Fraser, Frances Arnold, and Rob Phillips. In 2011, Dr Amit returned to Israel with a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) appointment to start the Technion's first Synthetic Biology research lab. Dr Amit's group is focused on constructing "Synthetic Enhancer Circuits" for a variety of applications and research objectives. The group's primary purpose is to decipher basic enhancer design principles using a variety of microscopy, molecular engineering, and theoretical approaches, including new synthetic biology tools developed in the lab.

Orna Atar is the lab manager in the synthetic biology laboratory of Prof. Roee Amit at the department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel.

Orna received her Bachelor’s degree (1999) in life sciences from Tel Aviv University and her Master’s degree (2005) in the Interdisciplinary Program for Biotechnology in the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering from the Technion, Haifa. Orna received her Ph.D. (2010) from the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry from Tel Aviv University, working on rescuing genetic hearing loss in a mouse model for human deafness.

In my spare time, I like to be with my family, enjoy good music and watch movies.

Sharon Levi-Tal is currently the manager of the Laboratory of Chemistry of Foods and Bioactives in the Dept. of Biotechnology & Food Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Sharon obtained her B.Sc. in Life Sciences from the Ben Gurion University (Beer-Sheva, Israel) in 2004. She joined the Technion in 2005 and completed her PhD on the morphological characterization and structure–function relationship of different biological colloids in 2011.

I am a fourth (and final) year student in the Faculty of Biotechnology & Food Engineering in the Technion university. I first heard about synthetic biology during my third year studies as part of a lecture in a molecular biotechnology course. Since then, I was hooked. I am thrilled to learn more about the subject and to gain valuable experience in the field. Although I don't have previous experience in research I hope to be a valuable member of the team. I hope to contribute as much as possible to both the wet and dry lab as well as to the administrative department of the project.

On my free time I enjoy spending time with my wife, creating digital art using both 2d and 3d tools and watching TV series.

Hi folks! I'm a fourth year student in the Faculty of Biotechnology & Food Engineering in the Technion university. Like Ilya I've heard about synthetic biology as part of a lecture in a molecular biotechnology course. I was thrilled about the possibilities that synthetic biology openes before researches and when I had a chance to participate in such a research myself as a part of iGEM experience, I said "yes" without hesitation.

By participating in iGEM competition I see a chance to gain valuable experience in the field that can help me a lot during my M. Sc. studies in the future. Though I don't have much experience in research, I hope to help our team as much as I can and become valuable team member.

On my spare time I like read books, watch movies and play video games. Also I like to go hiking when I have enough spare time.

I am a senior in the Faculty of Biotechnology & Food Engineering in the Technion.

My first acquaintance with synthetic biology was during an introduction lecture in molecular biotechnology course, when it seemed a bit like science fiction. My biggest expectation from the iGEM project is to learn how this science fiction can be put in action. In addition, the execution of a research project from start to end is exciting to me, and I hope to get as much experience from it as I can.

Outside iGEM I enjoy playing the flout at the Technion symphonic orchestra, I am the chairman of the faculty student board and a member in the board of directors of the Technion student association. I Also love to go on hiking trips with my husband, family and friends.

Hi everybody!

My name is Inbal Vaknin. I'm in the end of my third year in the faculty of Biotechnology and Food engineering. I was first introduced to synthetic biology by my friend Hila, who is also on the team. She suggested I join the iGEM competition and take a part in a unique experience - of course I was enthusiastic. During the last semester, I've learnt synthetic biology profoundly - and loved it. I was inspired by it and thought about different issues we encounter during our lives and how synthetic biology could be a great solution for them.

In my spare time, I love spending time with my boyfriend, friends and family. My hobbies are riding the bicycle and watching comedy shows like Friends, The big bang theory, How I met your mother etc.

During this adventure I hope to obtain laboratory skills and understand synthetic biology, but mainly have fun and a great time.

I am a third year student at the Faculty of Biotechonology and Food Engineering in the Technion. The first time I had heard about Synthetic Biology was when I received an invitation to participate in the competition. I believe that a field that combines the enormous knowledge we have gained in the field of molecular biology with the approach and technicality that the field of Engineering has to offer, allows us to obtain much greater achievements than with those two fields studied separately.

iGEM had appealed to me greatly since both the research idea and its execution is made by us - first degree students. I thank iGEM for the opportunity to be a part of something that is so close to the real world, in terms of research, lab work and problem solving.

Apart from my educational interests, I like to play chess, meet with friends, and play computer games.

I'm a senior year student in the Faculty of Biotechnology & Food Engineering in the Technion.

I first heard about synthetic biology during molecular biology course. It was one of the most interesting lectures during the course that left a lot of impression on me. So when I had a chance to participate in an iGEM competition, I said 'yes' immediately.

In my spare time I like listening to music, drawing, hiking or just hanging out with friends.

I just finished my third year in the Faculty of Biotechnology & Food Engineering in the Technion.

I first heard about synthetic biology when I’ve heard about the IGEM competition. The connection between biology and programming intrigues me and there was no doubt that this new field is something that I would like to learn more about and experience with.

In my free time I work as a PhD student assistant in the field of tissue engineering at the faculty. Moreover, one of my hobbies is to dub cartoons and to narrate almost everything I hear.

I had finished my third year in the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering in the Technion. I first became acquainted with synthetic biology when I heard about IGEM, and it had intrigued me. I hope to learn a lot from this project, and get a lot of experience.

On my free time I enjoy playing computer games,spending time with friends and debating them about pretty much everything.

I am a third year student at the faculty of Biotechnology and Food engineering at the Technion. I have been interested in biology and in computers since high school. I see synthetic biology as a field that combines both, so naturally it was very appealing to me.

I believe that participation in the iGEM project can give me a lot of experience and knowledge in the interesting new field of synthetic biology.

Apart from my studies, I enjoy reading everything I can put my hands of, listening to good music and watching movies.

Technion - Israel Institute of Technology is one of the oldest universities in Israel. It had been founded in 1912 and opened it's gates to the students in 1924.

Today Technion campus sprawls on the territory of 1325 dunam. In addition to different faculties and research buildings, Technion includes everything needed for students' welfare - dorms, small shopping center, sports center, bank, post office and more.

Technion has a proud history of being a home to most Israeli Nobel prize laureates, latest of them is Dan Shechtman who got Nobel prize in Chemistry in 2011 for discovery of quasi-crystals.