Northwestern iGEM

We are eight enterprising undergraduates from Northwestern University from a variety of backgrounds coming together to build with biology. Together we are Northwestern iGEM, and individually we are Paul, Sam, Tasfia, Shu, Michelle, Sara, Tyler, and Jordan.

Our lead graduate advisor is Kelly Schwarz. Our three faculty advisors in the Chemical and Biological Engineering department are Josh Leonard, Keith Tyo, and Michael Jewett. We also work with nine other graduate student advisors from their respective labs.

The iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machines) Competition is the premiere student research competition in synthetic biology, with upwards of 300 participating teams. iGEM researchers from across the globe gather annually at the iGEM Jamboree to present new, engineered biological systems.

Jordan Harrison

My family and friends have done a DIY science experiment on every Labor Day since I was born. I am a rising fourth-year biology major with a botany concentration. I first spent a year and a half in the Medill School of Journalism, so predictably I have a passion for science communication. My personal research interests are in sustainability and plant circadian rhythms. I hail from eastern North Carolina but called my residential STEM high school in Durham, NC home for two years and ignited my interest in life sciences there. My dream is to write for National Geographic.

Shu Huang

I am a rising junior majoring in chemical engineering, but I'm not fond of those thermo classes with complicated derivations. After learning about genetics and getting a chance to do some cloning experiments, I fell in love with synthetic biology and decided to pursue a biotechnology minor. (I'm always excited about running gels.) When not in the lab, I'm probably cooking, playing with cats or watching Japanese anime and TV shows.

Sam Davidson

I've been interested in genetic engineering since I was eight, when I read a relevant article in a copy of TIME for Kids in the back of my grandma’s car on the way to go see a movie. Since I never shut up about space and AI technology, my friends often wonder why I'm not pursuing one of those fields instead. If I were pursuing one of those fields, I’d probably never shut up about genetic engineering.

Tasfia Azim

I didn’t learn how to properly pronounce my name (Thushfia) until third grade. But that was a dark time in the past. Today, I am a rising junior studying chemical engineering and pursuing minors in biotechnology and creative writing. You can say that I'm indecisive about my interests. When I'm not in the lab, I'm probably writing stories about mutant flying squirrels and consuming large volumes of apples and hazelnut coffee.

Michelle Cai

I am a rising junior premed and Biomedical Engineering student, and as such I am both bossy and boring, which works out really well in social settings. I have been interested in playing with biology ever since I learned as a child that jellyfish can use their bodies to produce light and poison people, neither of which I could do. I am particularly interested in gerontology, end of life care, and pathopsychology, and on the lighter spectrum of things I enjoy rainy days, soft cookies, and ballet.

Tyler Lazar

My first name is John. The other John Tyler (the tenth president of the United States) died on January 18, which is coincidentally my birthday. As a chemical engineer minoring in biotechnology and sociology, my research interests include antibiotic discovery, medicinal plant biology, and sustainability. Outside of laboratory, I enjoy running in the mountains, sipping tea in San Francisco, and grappling with life’s mysteries.

Paul Perkovich

I am a rising senior chemical engineer pursuing a minor in biotechnology because NU doesn’t offer a core biological engineering major. I have previously been involved in research developing a surface-based microfluidic bioreactor. I love learning new things and frolicking in the cold snow while my friends complain about it. My interests include applying synthetic biology to sustainability, telling bad science jokes, and playing in the marching band.

Sara Boyle

From early childhood, I have always loved knowing exactly how everything works. Around the age of five, I realized that the questions that were the most interesting were the ones my parents didn’t know the answers to, so I gave up on my dream of being an artist-veterinarian-doctor and decided to become a mad scientist. Now I am a rising senior studying neuroscience and cognitive science with a minor in computer science, and am quite content. My interests include violin and reading, but mostly brains.