Hi! My name is Addie and I’m from Port Angeles Washington. I’m a rising sophomore at the UW and am intending to major
in biology and human evolutionary anthropology. A fun fact about me is that I dance Lindy hop. This will be my first year
on the team and I joined because I am passionate about using synthetic biology to solve real world problems!
Addie Lomax
Human Practices
I am a rising sophomore at UW planning to major in Biology, and I am from Bellevue, Washington.
I joined Washington iGEM because I wanted to join a community of people who share similar academic interests with me,
and I wanted to use
my interest in biology to contribute to a yearlong project to address a very relevant societal issue.
This is my first year on the team.
Akira Morishita
Human Practices
Hi! I am a senior at University of Washington majoring in Marine
Biology and minoring in Architecture.
I grew up in Edmonds, Washington, and lived in Singapore for 3 years. I love baking, going to the gym,
and being outdoors.
I joined the team to get more experience with research and learn more about the different areas of Biology.
I have done solo research before, but never in a large group, and I
wanted to expose myself to a different type of work environment. This is my first year on the team.
Alessia Simmen
Human Practices
I'm a intended biochemistry major and first year student. This is my first year on the Washington iGEM team.
Andrew Kesapradist
Kinetics
Hello! My name is Anna, I am a second year student at University of Washington.
My major is Biology and this is my first year with UW iGEM. I am on the wet lab and design sub team this
year. I'm excited to explore and learn more about bioengineering!
I'll also tell you a little secret. The profile picture is also drawn by my cat! Here she is:
(=ↀωↀ=)
Feel free to pet her~
Anna Wang
Wet Lab & Design
Third-year at UW from San Ramon, California studying Bioengineering! Fun fact: can't eat broccoli.
I joined so that I could learn how to conduct and present research with people in my age group, help manage a project,
and learn more about biochemistry and bioengineering. I have been on the team for 6 months.
Aryam Chhazal
Kinetics Lead
I am a computer science major who will be a senior at UW this upcoming year.
I'm from Bothell but was born in the Philippines. A fun fact about me is that I am fluent in competitive Pokemon TCG :)
I started on the team last year as a part of both the kinetic modeling subteam and the web development subteam. My career
path is starting to drift away from synthetic biology but I still strongly support the team's mission so I shifted focus towards
web development and was happy to rejoin the team this year as the subteam manager.
Diandre Sabale
Web Development Lead
Busy helping with wetlab!
Durva Patil
Wet Lab
I am an undergraduate student majoring in bioengineering. My reason for joining iGEM was that
it would allow for me to develop skills that may not be emphasized as strongly in other places (design, project management,
etc.) while learning more about applied biology. Also, it's fun.
Elena Baraznenok
Design Lead & Protein Modeling
Hello everyone! I am currently a 2nd year bioengineering student from West Richland, WA. I'm passionate
about all research related to the medical sector, and that is what inspired me to join the Washington iGEM team.
This is currently my first season with the team. A fun fact about me is that I enjoy sneaking memes into every
project I work on. Try to find the meme I hid on this website!
Emily Sperry
Kinetics & Web Development
I am a biochem major starting their second year at UW. I live on Mercer Island
and take the link to school everyday. When I’m not hunting people down in wetlab I’d love it
if you found me at the bouldering gym or sailing in union bay, but you’d probably have a better
chance finding me doing homework or taking a nap. This is my first year on the team! I joined
because nobody warned me not to lol.
Ethan Cheney
Wet Lab & Design
I am an environmental studies major and have just completed my first year at UW.
I am from Corvallis Oregon, and I have a very small cat named Juniper. I joined the team because
I was looking for research experience and a way to get more involved in science. It is my first year on the team.
Iris Miller-Sherman
Human Practices
I'm a senior majoring in microbiology and public health. I'm Singaporean and a
fun fact about me is I once sprained my ankle 6 times in 2 months. I joined the team as a Freshman in 2021 and
have stayed around ever since. I was initially a wetlab member as I wanted to learn more about experimental
synthetic biology but became very interested in protein modeling so now I'm in protein modeling.
Jiachen Lin
Protein Modeling Lead
I am an intended physiology biology major on the pre-med track as a rising second-year at UW!
I was raised in Bellevue, WA and love cafe hopping. Fun fact, I listened to 72 different music genres in
my Spotify wrapped last year! I joined iGEM fascinated by how in-depth they went in their projects, taking
one concept and exploring everything they could about it. I hope to continue with iGEM with the possibility
of exploring different subteams as this is my first year on the team.
Katherine Lai
Human Practices
I am a student at the University of Washington, majoring in Computer Science and minoring in
Leadership and Real Estate. I grew up in Washington and enjoy being in the outdoors, exploring its beautiful
scenery and various natural systems. I also enjoy reading an absurd amount of fiction, attempting to cook and bake,
and doodling to-be-masterpieces. I joined the team since I was interested in learning other avenues of where computer
science can be applied and what's synthetic biology about. I joined the Kinetics Team just this year.
Liana Wu
Kinetics
I'm a MCD Biology major and a rising junior at UW! I was born in Canada but I grew up
mostly in WA. A fun fact about me is that Gilmore Girls is my comfort TV show, currently on my third
time watching it! I joined the team this year and I joined because I wanted to get more of a holistic
view of the process of biology research, especially since most student assistant positions in labs
can be repetitive and it's hard to explore what you enjoy doing.
Liyana Shah
Human Practices
I'm a rising sophomore and bioengineering major from the Bay Area, CA. This is my first year in iGEM,
though I've done both independent research and led research groups when I was in high school. I joined
as a subteam lead because I really love both doing and mentoring others in research, as well as exploring
different areas of bioengineering. When I'm not in the lab, dying of homework, or chasing elusive team members,
I also enjoy badminton, bouldering, nerding out about linguistics, creative writing, and being outdoors.
Maddie Ho
Wet Lab Lead
I am a rising third-year student majoring in MCD
Biology and potentially Economics. I am interested in Public Policy and hope to somehow combine
the medical, economic, and policy fields in the future! My hometown is Pullman, WA. A fun fact
about me is that I have a identical twin brother! Some of
my hobbies are playing soccer and tennis, reading, and playing the violin. I joined the Washington
iGEM team because
I thought it would be cool to apply multiple perspectives to a biological issue. I joined the team
in 2023.
Om Sahaym
Human Practices
Hello! I am a junior and a Biochemistry major. I'm curious about the applications of genetically
modified organism's to address environmental issues and also the policy/economic incentives effecting
what is brought to market. I've lived all around Washington State and really enjoy our trail and snow
sports system! I joined the Washington iGEM team my freshman year.
I have been on the team for two season's now. I really enjoy our team's chance to review in depth one
topic over the long term- in particular the Human Practices process.
Owen Knight
Human Practices Lead
I'm an third-year Informatics major at UW with concentrations in Data Science & Human-Computer Interaction!
I'm from Sammamish, WA but I now live in Bothell, WA. In my free time I love dancing, baking, and attempting to learn
new languages! I joined the team last year and was a Human Practices sub-team manager. I'm so excited to explore other
areas within iGEM by being on both the Web Development & Design team this year!
Pournami Varma
Web Development & Design
Sanjana is a senior from Washington majoring in MCD Biology. She is a podcaster for The Daily of
the University of Washington and a coordinator for Camp Kesem. She is also a student researcher at the Wood
Lab in the UW Department of Medicine where she works on infectious disease research. In her free time, she
enjoys jogging and riding her bike on the trail, playing the piano and experimenting new food combinations.
Sanjana Chava
Wet Lab Lead & Human Practices
I’m a second year biochemistry major at UW. My home town is Bellevue, Washington.
A fun fact about me is that I have double jointed thumbs (hitchhiker thumbs). This is my first year
with the iGEM team and I joined the team to learn more about the research process in a more casual setting
with fellow undergrads. I wanted to be able to see all the factors and steps that came together to finish
with a successful project.
Simon Du
Kinetics
I'm a rising sophomore pursuing biology major. Fun facts: Sacabambaspis is an extinct
fish in Ordovician period. It looks like this: (◉▼◉ )3
I joined Washington iGEM in order to find others
with a similar goal in biology. I joined in February, 2023.
Siyu (Bobby) Wang
Wet Lab & Web Development
I am in Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology major and I have been at UW for two years.
I am from Hangzhou, China. I am interested in genetics and neurobiology. I like music, dogs, novels, movies
and pizza. A fun fact about me is that I have been attending choir for about 10 years! I just joined
iGEM this year. I joined the team because I am interested in genetic engineering project, and I was also
in iGEM in high school, I think it would be fun to join the competition again.
Wenyu Shi
Wet Lab
