Undergraduate Members

---

Katherine is a third year Chemical Biology student. Along with a passion for organic and analytical chemistry, she is deeply interested in genetics and how they can be manipulated to effectively solve biological problems. She enjoys problem solving and is always ready to learn about a new lab technique or field of study. She is interested in science education, and is involved in teaching outreach programs outside of academics. 

Ryan is a third year student double majoring in Biology and Sociology. He is constantly inspired by the impact of state-of-the-art molecular and computational tools in addressing complex problems. Ryan is especially interested in approaching problems pertaining to health and immunology using translational and evidence-based approaches. He is looking forward to an enjoyable and inspiring year with the UBC iGEM team.

Madina is an undergraduate student in the Biology program at UBC. She is passionate about novel genetic engineering techniques and the ethics underlying their usage and implementation. Madina loves inspiring other people to be more involved in science, so in her free time she volunteers at the museums and holds online seminars, where she explains genetics in a “digestible” way for the general public. 

 Ariel is a 4th year student in the Honours Cellular, Anatomical and Physiological Sciences. She is fascinated by a wide range of topics from human physiology to genetics and synthetic biology. Ariel strives to engage the public with scientific knowledge through various projects in Human Practices. Outside of school, she enjoys volunteering with children and working as part of the UBC First Aid Student Team.   

Taylor is a 4th year honours biology student who is passionate about genetics, and specifically interested in the application to medicine. She is attentive to the rhetoric used by the scientific community and the general population to discuss genetics, and would like to help bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and public understanding/action. Outside of science, Taylor volunteers as an outreach peer for UBC’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office and enjoys hikes with her three-year-old husky, Boe. 

Tylo is a third year student taking a Combined Hon. degree in Microbiology & Immunology and Computer Science at UBC.  He is driven by the extensive impact interdisciplinary research can have on solving the modern problems of today’s complex world. Tylo is interested in approaching biological problems at both a molecular level as well as employing data-driven approaches and harnessing the power of computational tools. 

Kimia is a first year science student who strives to create positive impacts through scientific research and technology. She is especially interested in the applications of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics, in other fields like biology and healthcare, which is what initially attracted her to synbio and iGEM. Outside of academia, she enjoys engaging with her community by volunteering at hospitals and leading coding workshops for kids. 

Paarsa is a 4th-year undergraduate student in the Biology program at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests focus on understanding how synthetic biology can be integrated into processes of human physiology.  Improving scientific communication through accessibility, public engagement and passion, is especially important to Paarsa, and she hopes that this project will foster curiosity in interpreting viral evolution.

Janella is a third year Applied Animal Biology student whose curiosity is sparked by the parallels between the natural and human worlds and how synthetic biology can narrow that gap. She is keen on inspiring this admiration for biological systems in others, especially those outside the scientific community. Outside academia she spends all the time she can hiking around her home country Peru and second home Vancouver, and is always looking to learn something new.

Parneet is a third year student majoring in Microbiology and Immunology. She is intrigued by a myriad of research fields such as synthetic biology, human physiology and genetics. Aside from academics, Parneet has discovered a newfound passion and interest for long distance running, however she is also committed to volunteering in her community through hospitals and campus resources like the UBC Wellness Centre. She is an avid paddler and loves being out on the water with her dragon boating team. 

Dr. Steven Hallam is a professor with the Microbiology and Immunology department at the University of British Columbia. He is also the director of the Ecosystem Services, Commercialization Platforms and Entrepreneurship (ECOSCOPE) program. His main research areas include microbial metagenomics, construction of environmental genomic libraries, and the generations of computational tools for taxonomic and functional binning, population genome assembly, and comparative community analysis.