geekStarter 2019 aGEM workshop

At this event, Alberta’s collegiate and high-school iGEM teams will come together to present their projects and receive feedback from a panel of experienced judges. The teams will have the opportunity to gain new insights and connections for a successful project experience, and to receive special awards in recognition of their progress and accomplishments.

Alberta’s collegiate and high-school teams will present STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) based solutions to real-world challenges. Join us to watch teams pitch their projects to a panel of international judges from Canada and the United States, who are experts in the fields of Synthetic Biology, BioTech & other STEM fields, in preparation for the International Genetic Engineered Machine(iGEM) competition in Boston, MA.

Competition day: Saturday, Sept. 21, 10 am – 4:30 pm. Each team will have a 35-min window for a presentation and a Q&A with a panel of judges.

WHO

Alberta’s collegiate and high-school teams will present STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) based solutions to real-world challenges. Join us to watch teams pitch their projects to a panel of international judges from Canada and the United States, who are experts in the fields of Synthetic Biology, BioTech & other STEM fields, in preparation for the International Genetic Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in Boston, MA.
  • University of Alberta (U of A) team Project: Epiculture - Solving bees’ diseases through targeting parasites that affect bees.
  • University of Lethbridge (U of L) team Project: An oral insulin alternative for diabetics - Developing a recombinant algae strain called “Algulin”.
  • University of Calgary (U of C) team Project: Tackling the green seed problem – How to prevent the reduction in the quality of canola oil produced by green seed.
  • Lethbridge High School team Project: Finding alternative ways to fight antibiotic resistance while detecting and treating bacterial infections.

JUDGES

MindFuel is happy to announce and host the following judges at the 2019 aGEM competition:
Ishan Goyal, Business Analyst, Roche/Genentech, San Francisco
  • Completed his undergraduate studies at UC San Diego in 2018, with a B.S. in Bioengineering with a focus in Bioinformatics and Minor in Management Science, and has since been working as a business analyst in the personalized healthcare space at Roche/Genentech working primarily on portfolio and operational analytics.
Janie Brennan, Lecturer of Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering at Washington University, St. Louis
  • Has been involved in iGEM since 2006, when she joined the Purdue University iGEM team as an undergraduate team member. Since 2014, Janie has been a member of the iGEM Executive Judging Committee, which helps to improve and clarify assessment in iGEM.
Kenza Samlali, PhD Candidate, Center of Applied Synthetic Biology at Concordia University, Montreal
  • An M.Sc. in Bioengineering from KU Leuven (Belgium), she is currently focused on developing novel microfluidic devices for single-cell engineering and analysis. Kenza mentors the 2019 local Concordia iGEM team, and you will see her returning to the Giant Jamboree as a judge for the second time.
Patrick Wu, Life Science and Synthetic Biology Marketing Consultant, Calgary
  • Has a Masters of Biomedical Technology from the University of Calgary and was a former member of the Calgary iGEM team from 2010 to 2013. He currently works as a freelance graphic designer, writer, and consultant for life science organizations.
Stefan Tekel, Strain Engineer at Sustainable Conversion Ventures, Phoenix, Arizona
  • Received his B.S. in Biotechnology from James Madison University in Virginia, and his PhD from Arizona State University where he worked on projects that focused on protein and genome engineering in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. He is currently a strain engineer for a venture capitalist company based in Phoenix, Arizona.