Team:Cornell/Team
Xihang Wang - Team Lead
Biological Science + Economics '23
Xihang is as masterful in the lab as he is at sleeping until times that many would consider obscene. But don’t take this as an indication of laziness; he worked diligently to direct the workflow of this season’s project. He just might miss dinner if his alarm doesn’t go off. When he isn’t saucing it up in MATLAB or catching Z’s, Xihang enjoys raising chickens in his backyard and convincing people to join the iGEM team. We are sure that the chickens are very proud of Xihang and his accomplishments, which include befriending a hive of bees and having the guts to not put up the bumpers in a game of bowling, in which he scored a whopping 15. Xihang is an amazing addition to our team and always brings positive energy and creative ideas to our lab meetings and social events.
Margaret Keymakh - Wet Lab Lead
Biological Sciences '23
Margaret is the resident social media queen of our lab. Not only can she analyze gels and perform PCR but she can take the prettiest pictures of all. You’d be lucky if she chose to post a picture of you on Instagram. And while she may be premed, we still like her.
When she’s not grinding for her orgo quizzes or in the lab, Margaret can be found walking around campus talking about all the different buildings and Cornell history. She says she’s a tour guide, but no one ever sees her leading a group. Sometimes it be like that.
At first appearance, Margaret may seem short. And that is because she is short. But on her merits, she stands 6 feet tall.
Deniz Sinar - Wet Lab Lead
Biological Engineering '23
Deniz "Da' Kneez Bees" Şınar is the only bioengineering major who is scared of BLOOD! Her future research interests include building biologically synthesized space elevators.
She joined the team because one day she got something in her eye that was bothering her and she thought iGEM was the eye doctor. 😍 She also joined Cornell SciOly because she thought it was the skateboarding club and wanted to pull off some Scick Ollies. Gnarly!
Her favorite color is 604nm. Her spirit animal is bacteria. (yeah I know, ask her yourself) Her favorite food is pork belly, that's why we bought one.
We would usually say: you can find her at the gym getting those gainz, but you actually just won't because she spendz all her free time cooking eggz and eating the proteinz. Don't worry, she'll still flex on you whenever she gets the chance.
Renee Shen - Product Development Lead
Computer Science '23
Sarah Kenney - Policy and Practices Lead
Biomedical Engineering '22
The S in Sarah stands for Smart. Or Sociable. Or Supportive. Or Sarah. As a dedicated member of the Policy and Practices team, she’s the friendly face conducting interviews with professionals in the field and the writer churning out thoughtful blog posts behind the scenes. When Sarah first applied for iGEM, the moment she mentioned her pet dogs we knew she had to become a part of the team. Her other qualifications - hard working, enthusiastic, welcoming? That’s cool and all, but just a pleasant afterthought. The decision went like so: “Baker? Yes. Dogs? Double yes.” And we’re happy to report that it was the right choice.
Gabby Lee - Business Lead
Applied Economics and Management '22
Sunflower? Nah, GabbyPower
Needless to say she secures us the checks,
A business major somehow in biotech?
She always seems fine—is she actually a wreck?
Never says a curse word, not even what the heck!
Needless to say she secures us the checks!
A business major helping us in biotech!
Never calls it quits, even when she is a wreck
Crashing at 4AM, she only settles for the best
Thinking up solutions, never loses her grip
She’ll gulp down 10 tripleshots, never just a sip…
In the team car she’s the first to wear a belt
When all of us are hammered we can count on her for help!
Oooo oooh ooh oooh! Our Gabby is too good!
She makes our project seem like a cruise!
How can we even ever lose?
Oh you’ll be left in the dust
Unless she sticks by ya!
She has the Gabby Power!
And we could never have too much!
Oh you’ll be left in the dust
Unless she grinds for ya!
It’s the Gabby Power!
It’s the Gabby Power!
Anish Navada - Wiki Lead
Computer Science '22
A Day in the Life of Anish Navada:
9:30 AM: Wake up
10:00 AM: Eat Honey Bunches of Oats
!0:20 AM: Do Algo + ML
12:00 PM: Scroll on Reddit
12:20 PM: Do Algo + ML
1:30 PM: Eat Chobani
1:45 PM: Do Algo + ML
4:30 PM: Eat a large dinner
5:30 PM: Do Algo + ML
6:30: PM: Do Algo + ML
7:00 PM: Scroll on Reddit
7:30 PM: Do Algo + ML
9:30 PM: Work on wiki
10:30 PM: Scroll on Reddit
11:00 PM: Do Algo + ML
12:30 AM: Taco Bell Run
1:30 AM: Sleep
Lucas Evans
Biological Sciences & Psychology '22
Lucas is the former Supreme Leader™ of iGEM and has declared himself Emperor of Bacteria, which he has exploited for many years. His leadership has bestowed iGEM with the Gilded Age, the richest iGEM has been in history. Though Lucas is built like mini Ganondorf, Lucas possesses big brain power. In fact, his body could not handle his immense intellect during the Orgo II prelim, and he almost bled out on his desk. Lucas is also a man of culture, as he is fluent in Japanese (uwu) and Roman dissing. Outside of his classes, Lucas has achieved great things. Along with his many self-awarded military medals, he has achieved Elite Smash status and boasts a YouTube channel at Lucasso Games (Lucasso).
Brian Li
Biology and Society '22
Who’s single and ready to mingle? THIS GUYYY~ !! Born and raised in Queens, NYC 🗽and fresh out of a TOXIC ☣️ long-term relationship with the one and only, Miss Can’t Afford Therapy--aka MCAT--this man is in need of some serious TLC 🥺 But no worries, she may have taken a lot out of him, but there’s still plenty of big brain BRIAN 🧠 moves to go around!! This man is loyal, intelligent, dependable, and did I mention, over 6 feet tall??🤩 Man also loves the outdoors 🌳 so he’ll take you on the camping trip then serenade you to sleep with his ANGELIC 😇voice. Only con is that he is part man, part social butterfly🦋 so you’ll have to share 😜 So what are you waiting for?? Time to scoop him up!
Benedict Ho
Biological Sciences '22
Benedict Ho is a member of the Business subteam on Cornell iGEM, but he has also earned the honorary title of team memelord. Though he likes to joke around, he is diligent and consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to work. Benedict finds the perfect balance between being a premed workaholic and a dude who just likes to chill. When he’s not taking honors classes for the heck of it, you can find him pwning n00bs in various games online, such as Town of Salem, PUBG, Among Us, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Game and Watch mains rise up). Oh, did I mention he’s a beatmaker too? Check out his spotify 😤
Daniel Morgan
Biological Engineering '23
The day that Daniel Morgan was born, he told the nurse that he dreamed that one day he would meet his full potential- needless to say that day has yet to come. But he’s still pretty chill and always has a decent playlist. He enjoys working out (pilates and living in a third floor walk up) and recently fostered a chunky, Garfield-esque cat. With his passion for Biological Engineering he has helped the team with him time and looks forward to help others with his skills.
Ishmat Hoque
Biological Sciences '22
Ishmat Hoque is a member of iGem’s Wet Lab subteam. The “ish” in her name serves as a proficient suffix whenever trying to find an adjective to describe her. For instance, “weird-ish,” “scary-ish,” “friendly-ish,” and so on. When she isn’t in lab or the library, she can usually be found trotting about C-town in the search of cake or other glucose-ridden substances. She describes this as a noble pursuit; others, however, would call it an addiction. It should be noted that when her sugar stocks are depleted, she ceases being just ‘scary-ish’ and assumes her final form. Please don’t let this happen. It is advised that when interacting with her, one should offer their companionship in the form of snacks and walks to Mango-Mango.
Jackson Bauer
Biomedical Engineering '22
Jackson is a multidisciplinary team member, having mastered both the art of Product Development and Wet Lab during his time in iGEM. These skills will be put to good use as Jackson plans to launch his own biotechnology company in the near future (invest now—it will for sure yield a better return than Tesla). When he’s not sampling a vast variety of culinary dishes during iGEM meetings, Jackson can be found out in the open field, dishing out paintballs to any opponent who dares to approach him.
Jackson always takes extreme precautions when entering and exiting his apartment because of a furry critter that has taken up residence under his front porch. Steve, who is of the genus Mephitis, does not pay his share of the rent, yet Jackson cannot evict him for fear of rather pungent retaliation.
Kaitlyn Beiler
Electrical or Biomedical Engineering '23
Kaitlyn Beiler is probably the most mysterious member of Product Development. In a way, this blurb is a lens into her relationship with her roommate, Kayla, who deserves a shout out as a great source of Kaitlyn-related tidbits. Although Kaitlyn seems to subsist only on a diet of coffee and chocolate, and doesn’t quite understand what “yeet” and “sus” mean, she is one of the hardest working and sweetest people on the team. You can always count on her to call a late night uber and escort (drag) you back to your dorm. While she sometimes stresses over iGEM, her final work is never short of amazing, and she is always there to support her teammates. In her spare time, find Kaitlyn obsessing over her tiny dog and bidding on random (?) items on Ebay
Rocky An
Mechanical Engineering and Biological Engineering '23
The essence of Rocky (l’essence de Roquíe, if you will), summed up in a few haikus:
His name’s not RICK(y)!!!
Double major engineer
He is way too smart.
He has spiky hair
Rides bikes, lifts, does mouse research
But can’t cook eggs though.
Favorite food is
Olives, coffee, kimchi… yea
All of them combined.
A man of few words
But says intelligent things
Like “Fish Tube Car Wash.”
Another good one:
“Wait, what are they called again?
oh… antibodies.”
In conclusion:
Rocky An, Rocky
An, All he wanna do is
party all night. (yea!)
Truman Tse
Biological Engineering '22
This summer, I had the gracious opportunity to stalk Truman at his internship in Westfield, New Jersey with L’Oréal (That’s why his hair is so luscious and blond). Here are the essential facts on Truman:
In decreasing importance, he’s literally —
- 🔥🚒the HOTTEST man on PnP
- 🧘♂️Yoga lover
- ❤️🔥PASSIONATE to the max for biotech: other than IGEM he’s involved in Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW), busy creating a human powered bicycle charger), a bio-fluids lab simulating bat🦇 sonar imaging, and a corn 🌽 genetics lab managing a rover.
- A senior from Queens 👸 (god i love Queens), about to graduate in Biological Engineering with a minor in Computer Science and is really bad at Mario Kart, but he tries his best.
- You’d be blessed to be interviewed by Truman. His aura makes you want to tell him everything about yourself and more, if PnP could make him interview everyone, we would.
Abraham Sinfort
Biological Sciences
I am a sophomore Biological Sciences in CALS. I joined iGEM because I an very interested in the many ways that synthetic biology can be used to address many problems in the world today. On campus I am a part of freshman orientation as an OL and am a course assistant for CHEM 2070.
Meera Ramesh
Computer Science
Meera aka meeraculous wet lab goddess is a CS major from Boston, MA. Not only does she look fabulous doing pcr and making gels, but she is also a master personal photographer. When she isn’t working hard in the lab, she can often be found in Duffield until 5 am, probably trying to hold onto her last two brain cells. She is super friendly and hardworking, although she does enjoy living on the edge (aka studying for an exam the day of *gasp*).
Jacob Novozhenets
Biological Engineering '23
Hi, my name is Jacob and I'm a freshman biological engineering major in CALS. I joined iGEM because I wanted to gain some experience with synthetic biology, meet new people, and work as part of a creative and collaborative team. Outside of iGEM, I love hiking, swimming, reading and having too many plants.
Mingyang Xu
Biology and Society
A mysterious biological force from the far east. ADC in the team with strong continuous output, wide attack range, strong explosive ability, flexible displacement.
Q： Utilizing software to gene modeling, circuit design, and 3-D structure simulation
W: Mastering at PCR, Gibson Assembly, CRISPR, and Directed Evolution
E： Skillful at complex biological and biological modeling and data analysis
R： Always support, love, and devote all blood to the Cornell iGEM Team
Daniel Bilezikian
Material Science and Engineering
I joined IGEM because I am interested in taking complex systems from biology and exploiting them for engineering purposes. Currently passions include trying to understand how mushrooms think, what quantum vibrations are up to in microtubules and the retina, and researching the self assembly of nanoscale structures in biology. Outside of biology I'm interested in what we can learn from our ancient history, building impossible objects out of wood, saucing up delicious meals from foraged mushrooms, and camping in the great outdoors.
Sun Lee
AEP
This is Sun (like the sun!). Please laugh at her joke this will make her happy. Unlike the s*n, Sun is ready to lend a hand at any time because she loves iGEM very much – as she describes it: “this is like one of the lowest points in my life” (Lee 2021). Sun is pee dee’s circuitry guru, creating beautiful amazing soldering work at a moment’s notice and making all of our machines🏃🏃. Outside of oversharing via Spotify playlists - you could make a rupi kaur out of the titles - you can find Sun “running” (debatable) between her iGEM and AEP work or drawing smiley faces on her exams :)
Athena Borca
Biomedical Engineering
Athena Borca is the Greek goddess of wisdom and war (minus the Greek part). She can usually be found running around campus going from one commitment to the next! As a pre-med in the College of Engineering, Athena truly sets the bar high for all us iGEM folk. A queen of fluid dynamics modeling and hugs, she can do it all. Her favorite flavor of ice cream is rainbow sherbet, which accurately represents the vibes she gives off. In her free time you might find her watching a Bucks basketball game and knowing nothing about basketball :D Athena has also been to almost every continent (planning on hitting Antarctica in December :o).
Emma Taigounov
Biomedical Engineering
The queen of STEM herself, Emma Taigounov, can really do it all. Ladies and gentlemen, she can code💻, she can bob the build🛠, and she can do everything in between❤️🔥🧬💉🦠. She’s a very inquisitive biomedical engineer who has a knack for iGEM and pharmaceuticals . Born and raised in New Jersey (with a brief 3-year stint in Switzerland in between), this woman can be found saucing it up on the ice 🏒🥇 or indulging in her favorite cuisines: ice cream and Mexican food. She does love that cold of all sorts 🧊❄️. Can also be found passive aggressively complimenting Renee or trying to fix some STEM queen bioreactor modeling code in Matlab.
Tram Huynh
Science and Technology Studies
Where’s Tram? She’s at Mann! But when she’s not busy hosting events, conducting interviews, or captivating our stakeholders, you might find her:
- Destroying the tennis field 🎾
- Embarrassing you in ping pong 🏓
- Cooking 🍳 up a storm (cherry tomatoes 🍅🙅♀️ NOT included)
Elizabeth Becker
Biological Sciences
Hi! I'm Elizabeth and I'm a sophomore studying biological sciences in CALS. I joined iGEM because I wanted to be part of a student led research team with projects that have a positive influence on both a local and global scale. My hobbies include hiking and skiing, and I am also part of Food Recovery Network and Beekeeping club!
Grace Gentner
Chemical Engineering
Grace always looks snazzy and has the vintage clothing collection to rival both Grace Kelly and many of her deceased relatives. In her free time, when she’s not bedazzling her french curve, she spends her time mysteriously drinking london fogs at a coffee shop while mysteriously reading her tombe of a chem textbook. She aspires to become a role model for young women in science, specifically the next Ms. Frizzle. Her favorite game is making her friends guess what flavor of Bang energy drink she’s enjoying today.
Multiple choice question:
b) 180 mg
c) 300 mg
Correct answer: none of the above (hahaha), it's actually >300 mg :)
Tarun Vallabhaneni
Biology and Society
Hey, my name is Tarun and I'm a sophomore studying Biology and Society. As someone hoping to explore the intersection of business and healthcare, IGEM offered me the perfect opportunity to create innovations in the field of synthetic biology, and create an actual plan to enter the market, while also giving me a network of peers in various fields. Outside of IGEM, I love listening to new music, playing basketball and watching standup.
Andrew Pei
ILR
Hi! My name is Andrew and I'm a sophomore studying Industrial and Labor Relations. I joined iGEM because I wanted to contribute entrepreneurial and marketing ideas to allow the rest of the team to focus on the technical aspects and make the best project possible. Outside of iGEM, I love to play sports, spend time outside, play board games, and eat fast food (Chick-fil-A #1).
Maggie Wan
Computer Science
Struggling to make a website? Out of ideas on how to design your desktop? Need help picking a color scheme for your room? Don’t worry, Maggie, the queen of wiki, is here! Maggie is a sophomore in CS from Canada. Maggie’s elegant taste in design and display transforms the ideas from the lab to beautiful, accessible, innovative content for the world to see. Apart from wiki, Maggie is the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful person you will meet, and always there when you need to vent. Browse through this wiki to see more of Maggie’s incredible work!
Amber Zheng
Information Science & Biological Sciences
This is Amber! A biologist who found her passion in interactive technologies and user experience design! She is current a junior on the Cornell iGEM’s wiki team. She has a unique perception to colors and shapes and how to make everything look better, and she wants to make biologists proud to present their own work! Outside of iGEM, you could also catch Amber either singing the high C with her A Cappella members, marveling at how adorable her fruit flies are in genetics lab, or waiting in line for boba at Collegetown🧋. Have a peek at the homepage banner on this wiki to see Amber's very own design 🦴!
Hrishika Gogenini
Human Biology, Health, and Society.
Sometimes I am think
But school has broken my brain
no do interview
A literary master and biology major, Hrishka’s main goal in life is to find a rich husband to fuel her shoe addiction. Outside of class, she likes to move it, move it (and has the amazing Mort impression to go along with it). She is great at making herself laugh, especially in situations where she should not, and is the funniest person she knows. An avid reader, Hrishika firmly applies to the “read, laugh, love” philosophy. Her biggest dream is to become a mad scientist...she's already halfway there, she's even got the hair.