Team Members

Our Team

Hello! We are the 2018 Stony Brook iGEM Team composed of fourteen undergraduate students from a variety of feilds of study. Our team is a family, and we work well together both at the lab bench and at Toco Bell! We are excited to show you our work with cyanobactera and we can't wait for you to meet our team!

Matthew Mullin

Sophomore
Mechanical Engineering

As the other glorious leader of our team, Matt (aka Elon) always manages to look entirely cool and composed in front of every and any problem we encounter. This is likely due to his lifelong dream of becoming a pirate since pirates need perfect composure out on the sea. However, the ocean is not the only area Matt would love to explore. He also enjoys the more land-based activity of hiking.

Worked On
Construct, Cyanobacteria Group, Wiki Group, Human Practices/Outreach, Protocols, Construct Design Group, Collaborations

*thumbs up* "Cool"

Priya Aggarwal

Sophomore
Human Evolutionary Biology

One of our two lovely team leaders, Priya is always down to go and indulge in her love of Taco Bell. When she is not spending inordinate amounts of time in the lab or studying organic chemistry, Priya enjoys roasting other team members (Lin), watching various anime shows, and practicing for the Stony Brook Bhangra Team.

Worked On
Plasmid, BioBrick, Cyanobacteria Group, Human Practices/Outreach, Construct Design Group, Collaborations

"You know what's annoying?"

Dominika Kwasniak

Junior
Biochemistry

Dominika is the coolest cat of the cool cats (according to Priya). In her free time, she tries to learn to penny board without breaking anything and enjoys arts and crafts. Outside of the lab, she works as an RA, attempting to teach first-year students how to adult while struggling to do the same herself.

Worked On
Construct, Cyanobacteria Group, Human Practices/Outreach, Fundraising

"I don't look at this chat for one day and I find out I'm a father"

Matthew Lee

Sophmore
Biology

Our lab's very own Steph Curry; when not in the lab itself you can find him playing, or talking about, or watching basketball. He claims to lead a simple life which includes working out and playing the Doom Series, though we wouldn't say working out is all that simple.

Worked On
Construct, BioBrick Group, Construct Design Group

"Is it weird that the Elmer's Liquid Glue is making me hungry?"

Sara Vincent

Senior
Biology

Although she may look harmless, Sara is not to be underestimated. As the most badass of us all, Sara is always ready to take anyone on in a game of cards. Besides winning those card games, Sara likes to show off her crafty skills through DIY projects and help run the Synthetic Biology Society on campus.

Worked On
Plasmid, Cyanobacteria Group, Human Practices/Outreach

"You're making me blush <3"

Natalie Lo

Sophomore
Biology

Always smiling, Natalie insists she does nothing but sleep outside of the lab. Admittedly, we are sure the sleep is well deserved as in lab Natalie is an unstoppable force and indispensable asset. However, through thorough investigation, we have discovered that she also enjoys watching Netflix and skillfully folding origami in her free time.

Worked On
Construct, BioBrick, Interlab, Human Practices/Outreach, Cyanobacteria Group

*types hey with an extra 13 y's*

Woody Sea

Senior
Biochemistry and Psychology

The oldest member on our team, Woody hates being reminded of his age. In whatever spare time he can find, Woody enjoys dancing, playing both video and board games, and crying. The crying is a joke...mostly. He is always willing to lend a listening ear and offers amazing advice (we think it's due to his old age).

Worked On
Construct, Night Shift, Cyanobacteria Group

"Look at that perfect suck"

Manvi Shah

Sophomore
Psychology

The Queen of puns herself, Manvi brightened lab with her MANvelous puns and jokes. With her happy spirit and creative mind, she helped design much of our team's logo and other projects. Being apart of the SBU Raaswalas Team, she was always ready to dance and pump the rest of the team up.

Worked On
Plasmid, Human Practices/Outreach, BioBrick, Wiki Group, Collaborations

*rolling on a lab chair* "Guys, I'm on a roll today"

Robert Ruzic

Senior
Biomedical Engineering

Bringing more life to the lab, Rob could be found bopping to a variety of music or ready to try out some face paint on his fellow team members. As the modeling expert for our team, Rob has spent countless hours perfecting his techniques. When not in the lab, you can find Rob juggling class work, research, and extracurriculars with ease.

Worked On
Modeling

"Two times two times two times two - that's eight"

Jennifer Rakhimov

Sophomore
Biology

We can confidently say Jennifer is the most organized and put together member of our team. Motivated and ready to kick our butts into gear at any time, Jennifer always kept us on task. She always brightens up our days, and our outreach events, by bringing Gosha, her parrot (and our honorary iGEM member). When not in lab, Jennifer is an active athlete on the Rowing Team, a member of the Marching Band Color Guard, and the iGEM Photographer.

Worked On
Plasmid Group, Wiki Group, Human Practices/Outreach, Photographer

*someone sharing a crazy story* "Oh that's nothing" *while proceeding to say a crazier story*

Karthik Ledalla

Sophomore
Biomedical Engineering

From Litty City itself (population 1), Karthik was always ready for an adventure. Being one of the few driving members on the team, Karthik would join members on food adventures and iGEM adventures. When not in lab, Karthik enjoys beating Matt Lee in basketball and being an active member of the SBU Raaswala team.

Worked On
Constructs, BioBrick, Human Practices/Outreach, Construct Design Group, Cyanobacteria Group

"Litty City"

Lin Yu Pan

Junior
Health Science

The lab's dedicated night owl, Lin has spent many a spooky night working away in the lab. While his nights are taken, Lin spends his days baking pies (which none of the lab members have tasted quite yet) as well as cooking Korean food. His talents do not only lie in the kitchen as, on occasion, but Lin also treats himself to a quaint game of ping pong.

Worked On
Constructs, Interlab, Night Shift, Construct Design Group

"Do it, you won't"

Stephanie Budhan

Sophomore
Chemistry

Stephanie is always willing to risk her life for iGEM. Whether it be taking a left turn on red or parking in staff parking lots, she does it all with the best messy bun any of our lab members have ever seen. Steph, so lovingly nicknamed by our lab, can take the heat, as seen by her consumption of the BWW hottest wings.

Worked On
Plasmid, BioBrick, Cyanobacteria Group, Human Practices/Outreach

"Do you think I can drink the cyanos?"

Lukas Velikov

Sophomore
Computer Science

Lukas is not a man of many words but most definitely a man of many thoughts. When not sharing dad jokes with the rest of the team, you can find Lukas working diligently on the wiki page. As a "foodie," Lukas was always willing to try new foods with the rest of the team!

Worked On
Wiki Group, Interlab, Modeling, Human Practices/Outreach

"Noice" *best said in Lukas' voice*

Team Bonding

The fourteen members of our iGEM Team came from very different backgrounds and paths here at Stony Brook University. But, these unique and bubbly members became a family very quickly! Scroll through the carousel to watch our adventures both inside and outside lab!

2018 Stony Brook iGEM

The Stony Brook iGEM Team is proud to present to you their sweet and energy filled project! Made with love <3

Contacts

Email: igem.sbu@gmail.com

Links

Meet the Team
Description
Attributions
Parts Overiview

Made with ❤️ at Stony Brook University