Where we're from
Meet the EPFL! Who are we? To cite our universities' propa information page: "EPFL is Europe’s most cosmopolitan technical university. It receives students, professors and staff from over 120 nationalities. With both a Swiss and international calling, it is therefore guided by a constant wish to open up; its missions of teaching, research and partnership impact various circles: universities and engineering schools, developing and emerging countries, secondary schools and gymnasiums, industry and economy, political circles and the general public. ". Here are a few pictures:
Meet our team!
Advisors
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/9/91/Team-EPF-Lausanne_Team_Placeholder.png)
- ID:
- Bart Deplancke
- Cell line:
- Belgian
- Differentiation:
- EPFL iGEM big boss
- Specific functions:
- Alternatively pressure applier and optimism provider with occasional trolling.
- Productivity increased by:
- Controls controls controls !
- Greatest ambition in life:
- More cloning schemes!
- Special features:
- Founder of the school of "quick and dirty ligations followed by 100 colony PCRs".
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/9/91/Team-EPF-Lausanne_Team_Placeholder.png)
- ID:
- Sebastian Maerkl
- Cell line:
- German
- Differentiation:
- EPFL iGEM big boss
- Specific functions:
- Help desperate iGEMers in need and allow us to spend money for [https://2012.igem.org/Team:EPF-Lausanne/CellCreator our surprise] at Amsterdam!
- Productivity increased by:
- The percentage beer his grad students (i.e. Matt) owe him
- Greatest ambition in life:
- Collect ALL the iGEM trophies/medals and have his lab covered in iGEM stickers and random goodies.
- Special features:
- Replaced his old 2009 iGEM hoodie with a new one!
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/9/91/Team-EPF-Lausanne_Team_Placeholder.png)
- ID:
- Sowmya Balasubramanian
- Cell line:
- India(H-) - Special strain with height gene knocked off
- Differentiation:
- PhD student in Biotechnology and Bioengineering (Wurm Lab)
- Specific functions:
- Teach us the art of mammalian cell culture
- Productivity increased by:
- "Graphs are good, I like graphs! They make me want to work more" ...and Indian street food....and chocolate.....and cakes......
- Greatest ambition in life:
- Special features:
- Master of the falcon tube swirl
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/9/91/Team-EPF-Lausanne_Team_Placeholder.png)
- ID:
- Matthew Blackburn
- Cell line:
- American
- Differentiation:
- PhD student in Biotechnology and Bioengineering (Maerkl Lab)
- Specific functions:
- Teaching us sorcery like PCR, spend tons of money for us.
- Productivity increased by:
- Beer drinking, coffee, cycling
- Greatest ambition in life:
- Go on an adventure in the underground dungeons of the MIT with us
- Special features:
- "Don't kill yourselves! But if you do, call 911."
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/9/91/Team-EPF-Lausanne_Team_Placeholder.png)
- ID:
- Pascal Damian Odermatt
- Cell line:
- Swiss
- Differentiation:
- PhD student in Biotechnology and Bioengineering (Fantner Lab)
- Specific functions:
- Teach us a ghetto way to load a gel
- Productivity increased by:
- C8H10N4O2 (central nervous stimulant)
- Greatest ambition in life:
- Developing an artificial caffeine releasing organ
- Special features:
- "He's the other Matt (Odermatt)" (Diego)
Undergrads
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/9/91/Team-EPF-Lausanne_Team_Placeholder.png)
- ID:
- Mouna Cerra Cheraka
- Cell line:
- F1 generation of a monohybrid Swiss x Algerian cross
- Differentiation:
- Bioengineering
- Specific functions:
- Provider of all sorts of silliness for the wiki, resident artist, PCR adept.
- Productivity increased by:
- Increasing coffee intake beyond vital dosis (i.e. > 5 cups/day)
- Greatest ambitions in life:
- Invent time traveling, regeneration and owning a pet dragon
- Special features:
- Honorary metal viking, which probably explains the bleached out Algerian phenotype...
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/9/91/Team-EPF-Lausanne_Team_Placeholder.png)
- ID:
- Alexandra Iouranova
- Cell line:
- Swiss, I swear! (Actually, 100% Russian in disguise)
- Differentiation:
- Bioengineering
- Specific functions:
- Drew the arrow that sticks on our wiki menu.
- Productivity increased by:
- The smell of LB on agar plates. This might be an addiction, don't tell anyone.
- Greatest ambition in life:
- Being able to clone herself, several times, just in case. The clones would instantly kill each other, though.
- Special features:
- Who needs sleep anyway.
- ID:
- Sander Kromwijk
- Cell line:
- Dutch
- Differentiation:
- Computer Sciences
- Specific functions:
- Productivity increased by:
- Software patch for prefrontal lobe
- Greatest ambition in life:
- Perform all the lab work behind a computer, but still keep the lab coats on. Lab coats are cool.
- Special features:
- Can build a computer from sticks and mud
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/9/91/Team-EPF-Lausanne_Team_Placeholder.png)
- ID:
- Juneseung Lee
- Cell line:
- Korea
- Differentiation:
- Neuroscience!
- Specific functions:
- Making stupid face while listening to French speakers
- Productivity increased by:
- Good results
- Greatest ambition in life:
- Developing mechanical and artificial human brain
- Special features:
- Je ne comprends pas le français, mais je l'aime
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/9/91/Team-EPF-Lausanne_Team_Placeholder.png)
- ID:
- Diego Marcos
- Cell line:
- Español
- Differentiation:
- Engineer differentiated in Mathematics currently doing synthetic biology
- Specific functions:
- Read all the papers and model everything
- Productivity increased by:
- Asking ALL the questions!
- Greatest ambition in life:
- Make a model of a sandwich so accurate, you can eat it.
- Special features:
- ID:
- David Moi
- Cell line:
- WT feral human
- Differentiation:
- Bioengineering
- Specific functions:
- Overly enthusiastic voice from the videos!
- Productivity increased by:
- Redbull for breakfast
- Greatest ambition in life:
- NO FUTURE!
- Special features:
- Hipster (e.g. Had a science mohawk before it was a meme)
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/9/91/Team-EPF-Lausanne_Team_Placeholder.png)
- ID:
- Shreya Narasimhan
- Cell line:
- 100% Swiss and 100% Indian!
- Differentiation:
- Life Sciences
- Specific functions:
- keep track of time and guess which cells farted.. Indian style- Western - blot guru to be and FACS screenshot fabuloso
- Productivity increased by:
- Laughing, Sleeping and eating instant noodles
- Greatest ambition in life:
- creating a robot master of cloning and then command it with my mind. Wouldn't mind creating an automatic programmable western blot machine either...
- Special features:
- Better at stirring up some DNA rather than some food!!!