Team Members

Meet Our Team

Captains
Aditi Bhat Aditi Bhat
Captain
Aditi is a fourth-year Biomolecular Engineering student interested in the intersection of surgical robotics and assistive technology with sports medicine and rehabilitation therapy. Outside of iGEM, she enjoys go-karting, swimming, making jewelry, and building LEGO sets.
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Bella Meyer Bella Meyer
Captain
Bella is a fifth-year Biomolecular Engineering student with a passion for interdisciplinary teamwork and community-driven science. Outside of iGEM, she enjoys arranging flowers, cooking, rock climbing, soccer, and yoga.
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Team Members
Kunal Amin Kunal Amin
Wiki Head, Dry Lab
Kunal is a fourth-year Bioinformatics student interested in drug discovery through computational methods. Outside of his time in iGEM, Kunal enjoys gardening, hiking, and discovering new music.
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Nishad Chavan Nishad Chavan
Wet Lab
Nishad Chavan is a fourth-year Biomolecular Engineering student and is interested in Phage Therapy. Outside of iGEM he likes to climb, weightlift, and listen to music.
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Amanda Ferguson Amanda Ferguson
Wet Lab Co-Head
Amanda is a fourth-year Biomolecular Engineering student who is interested in the intersection of synthetic biology with medicine and its application in real-world challenges, especially those that address inequities and foster novel approaches to care. Outside of iGEM, she loves to enjoy the outdoors, whether that be rock climbing, hiking, or enjoying a day at the beach.
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Lynn Fonseca-Batalla Lynn Fonseca-Batalla
Wet Lab
Lynn is a third-year Biomolecular Engineering student and is passionate about clinical research and finding ways to connect lab discoveries to real patient care through better drug development, communication, and addressing healthcare inequalities that impact underserved communities. Outside of IGEM, she enjoys ceramics, rock climbing, and spending time outdoors with her friends and family.
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Srishta Hazra Srishta Hazra
Dry Lab + Wet Lab
Srishta is a fourth-year Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics student passionate about working at the intersection of biology and technology to create a more equitable and sustainable future. Beyond iGEM, he enjoys spending time outdoors with friends - whether it's playing soccer, tennis, or simply sharing good music and great food.
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Ally Hoogs Ally Hoogs
Wet Lab
Ally is a third-year Biomolecular Engineering student and is interested in protein engineering for novel drug therapies. Outside of iGEM you can find them playing tennis or watching Netflix.
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Anisha Jaiswal Anisha Jaiswal
Dry Lab Co-Head
Anisha is a fourth-year Bioinformatics and Microbiology double major passionate about bridging clinical medicine and computer science to do things like using predictive code to detect diseases or see the outcome of a drug on a patient’s body. She likes to balance her STEM interests by playing the piano, going to concerts, and spending time with friends and family.
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Christine Lau Christine Lau
Wet Lab
Christine is a fourth-year Biomolecular Engineering student interested in stem cell engineering and science education. Outside of STEM, Christine enjoys playing music and knitting.
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Benjamin Liu Benjamin Liu
Wet Lab
Ben is a fourth-year Biomolecular Engineering student interested in synthetic biology project design, finding novel or improved applications in food, health, and for more accessible medicine. Outside of iGEM, he enjoys being outdoors: playing sports, going camping, and hiking.
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Tejal Oza Tejal Oza
Wet Lab Co-Head
Tejal is a fourth-year Biomolecular Engineering and Education student who is interested in advocating for inclusive access to science and technology for girls and marginalized groups, especially when it comes to lowering the barrier of entry into scientific fields. Outside of iGEM, she loves to go on walks at the beach, craft, and watch movies with her roommate.
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Srushti Patil Srushti Patil
Wet Lab
Srushti is a fourth-year Biomolecular Engineering student with a minor in astrophysics aspiring to be a space biologist. They are passionate about applying their synthetic biology skills to develop new solutions for increasing access to healthcare and food. Outside of iGEM, they love to spend time outdoors and move their body, whether it be running, hiking, or getting lost in the forest.
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Judah Tapert Judah Tapert
Wet Lab
Judah is a fourth-year Biomolecular Engineering student with a keen interest in biosynthesis pathways, RNA-based systems, and harnessing cellular machinery to further human flourishing & reduce impacts on the natural environment. Beyond IGEM, he spends his time with friends in nature, enjoying hiking, diving, & fishing, as well as gardening and studying history.
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Aleek Tekehyan Aleek Tekehyan
Wet Lab
Aleek is a fourth-year Biomolecular Engineering student interested in the uses of regenerative medicine and learning about ways to increase their accessibility and outreach. Outside of iGem, she enjoys antiquing, going to the beach, cooking, and finding a new show to watch.
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Vaishnavi Venuturimilli Vaishnavi Venuturimilli
Dry Lab Co-Head
Vaishnavi is a fourth-year Bioinformatics major, Computer Science minor, who is passionate about making a positive impact on underserved communities using machine learning and its applications in advancing genomics and drug development. In her free time, she enjoys singing, yoga, and hanging out with her friends at the beach.
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Principal Investigator
David Bernick Dr. David Bernick
Principal Investigator
Dr. David Bernick is a professor in the Department of Biomolecular Engineering at UCSC and has served as the UCSC iGEM team’s Principal Investigator for the past decade. His longstanding leadership and mentorship have been integral to the success of this year’s project, providing both technical guidance and invaluable support to the team.
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