VERONIKA KOUKHARENKO
Veronika is a co-lead of the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team and the president of the Aalto-Helsinki Association, leading the Fundraising, Education and Public Engagement teams, and actively contributing to Human Practices, Writing and Conception. With a background in Political Science and now pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental Change and Global Sustainability at the University of Helsinki, she is fascinated by how the world works and how it can be improved, and hopes to bridge the gap between disciplines and perspectives, by participating in projects like this one.
MIKAEL KALLINEN
Mikael is a co-lead of the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team and the secretary of the Aalto-Helsinki Association, co-leading the Wet Lab team. He’s also actively contributing to Fundraising, Education and Human Practices teams. He is pursuing a Master’s degree in Biotechnology at Aalto University and has a strong interest in protein and fermentation-based bioengineering. Within the team, Mikael draws on his background in association work to support a wide range of project tasks, combining coordination skills with hands-on problem solving.
OSKARI NIEMI
Oskari is the treasurer of the Aalto-Helsinki Association and a co-lead of the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team, serving as the leader of the Programming team while actively contributing to the Fundraising team. organizational efforts, supporting both financial management and project execution.
ELIAS LANKINEN
Elias is a team member of Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team, serving as the leader of the programming team and contributing to the fundraising team. He is studying data science master’s degree at University of Helsinki.
LI TIAN
Li is a team member of Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team, in the programming team. She is studying Theoretical and Computational Methods master’s degree at University of Helsinki. She is particularly excited about building a clear, informative, and hopefully impressive Wiki to showcase our work.
POLINA GAVRILYUK
Polina is a team member of Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team, leading Social Media and Videography teams and contributing to Graphic Design and Public Engagement teams. They are pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biosciences at University of Helsinki and have a passion for immunogenetics and pharmacology. With a background in art and school counselling, they bring creativity, optimism and structure to the team.
KARYA KÖRÜKCÜ
Karya is a team member of the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team, leading the Writing team and contributes to wet lab analysis, project conception, as well as fundraising, education, public engagement, and sustainability-focused human practices. She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Bioproducts Engineering at Aalto University, with a background in Bioengineering. Her research interest is developing functional biomaterials for integration into biosensors and microfluidic systems, aiming to advance their applications in biotechnology. Within the team, she approaches challenges with an engineer’s curiosity, exploring unconventional pathways when systems behave unpredictably.
JASMIN HALTILAHTI
Jasmin is a team member of the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team, leading the Graphic design team and contributing to Human Practices, Videography, and Public Engagement, the Conception Process and Wet lab research. She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Genetics and Molecular Genomics at the University of Helsinki and her passion lies within the intersection of academics and visual arts. With a background as a fine artist, Jasmin brings a rare combination of creative vision and scientific expertise using visual storytelling to make complex ideas accessible, while applying analytical and academic skills to advance the team’s research in these diverse fields.
WENJUN HUANG
Wenjun is the leader of the Dry Lab in the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team, while also actively contributing to Videography, Wet Lab research and the team’s promotional materials. She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Research, Development and Safety at the University of Helsinki and is particularly interested in integrating computational modeling with experimental biology. Within the team, Wenjun combines analytical thinking with hands-on experimentation, bridging simulation and laboratory work to strengthen the project’s technical foundation.
DEBORAH NKANSAH
Deborah is a member of the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM team. She is pursuing a master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Research, Development and Safety with a concentration in Drug Delivery and Development. Her research interests are in developing novel drug delivery systems to overcome complex challenges in modern medicine. Within the team, she contributes to wet lab experiments and human practices work, looking into how the project’s outcomes can address unmet clinical needs.
SAADIA CHOWDHURY
Saadia is a member of the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team, contributing to the Wet Lab experimentation and Human Practices teams. She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Research, Development and Safety at the University of Helsinki and has a strong interest in pharmaceutical innovation and applied biosciences. Within the team, Saadia used her scientific expertise to support experimental progress and Safety.
CAO GONG
Cao is a team member of the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team, actively contributing in the Wet Lab team. She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Research, Development and Safety, University of Helsinki. Within the team, Cao applies her knowledge in pharmaceutical sciences to design and carry out experiments.
JULIA SEVÓN
Julia is a team member of Aalto-Helsinki iGEM 2025 team, leading the Human Practices team and co-leading the Wet Lab team. Additionally, she is contributing to the project conception, public engagement and wiki writing. Julia is pursuing a Master’s degree in Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology at the University of Helsinki, and she is fascinated about the potential of biotechnology in creating a more sustainable future. Within the iGEM project, she is excited about combining human practices and wet lab work to help create a project that has a solid base in synthetic biology and ensures a positive real-world impact.
