The people behind EUSynBioS
Get to know the steering committee of the society: from their favorite lab equipment to their hobbies!
As anticipated in the last introductory blog post, we are going to present who is behind EUSynBioS. Our members are from different parts of Europe, have a wide variety of expertise and (SynBio) interests! Here we present both the old and the new members, along with their research focus and what they like to do besides SynBio! But, before getting started with our members, we have an important question: what is your favorite cloning strategy? Here what’s our members think:
Favorite cloning strategies of the member of the steering committee.
Louis (he/him)
joined EUSynBioS in 2022 and has been Chair of the association for the year 2023. His PhD research focuses on the production of high value chemicals from waterstream using SynBio! His favorite (lab) bug is S. cerevisiae but his experiments with fermentation are not just limited to the laboratory. At home his kitchen fridge is full of bubbling jars of kimchi, sauerkraut and pickles. The living room walls still remember the ginger beer explosion of 2020.
Joana (she/her)
She joined the society this year and she is the new Secretary of EUSynBioS. She is a Post-Doc at the Centre of Biological Engineering and an Invited Professor at University of Minho. Her main topic of research is using synthetic biology tools to produce industrially relevant chemicals. As a true synthetic biologist her favorite instrument in the lab is the thermocycler! When not working you can find Joana running, dining out, watching Netflix or traveling.
Paola (she/her)
Paola has been Vice-Chair of the association since 2022 and currently promoted to Chair! She discovered SynBio in a summer internship during her Undergraduate studies and she continued by pursuing her phD in polymerase engineering for synthetic nucleic acid (XNA) synthesis. In her view, the scariest equipment in the lab is the Ultrasonicator, so after a long and scary day the best way for Paola to relax is to listen to some music and eat something nice!
Santiago (he/him)
Santiago is also one of the newest members in the association and his main contribution is the organization and hosting of our seminars. He is currently doing a phD in nucleic acid and aptamer technologies, and, of course, his favorite bioinformatic tool is Aptasuite! After a long day in the lab he likes to have a nice belgian beer.
Içvara (he/him)
He joined EUSynBioS in 2020 and has been the treasurer since 2022. His PhD research topic focused on making spatiotemporal patterns with genetic engineering. He is now doing a Post-Doc on domestication of skin bacteria. His lab pet peeve is when consumables run out and the last people using them didn't take care of it. After a long day in the lab, he likes to do some stretching and eat some nice food!
Jose (he/him)
Jose has been part of the steering committee since this year and he is the new Vice-Chair of the society. He is mainly involved in the entrepreneurship matter at the association. His research focuses on genetic engineering and cellular control and we are not surprised that his favorite bioinformatic tool is Benchling! Besides SynBio he likes to travel, relax at the gym and learn about history.
Stefano (he/him)
Stefano has been in the society since 2021 and he has been the Secreatry of the society durign 2023. He focuses on Informatic tools (both technical and scientific) to improve SynBio development. His favorite lab equipment is the centrifuge, because it usually means to have a break! When he is not working and has time for longer breaks he still likes spending time with bacteria since he likes fermenting..And cooking in general!
Rosa (she/her)
Rosa joined EUSynBioS in 2023 and her main role in the association is communication and social media. In her PhD she develops synthetic biology tools to harness non-model microorganisms. Her favorite lab equipment is the multichannel pipette, an instrument that makes PhD life easier! After a long day in the lab she likes listening to music and going on a long walk with her dogs.
Uriel (he/him)
He joined the steering committee during this year and he is mainly involved in Outreach as he is interested in education and communication aspects of science and SynBio! In his PhD he is working with bacterial electrophysiology and biosensors made with the tools of synthetic biology. His favorite song to listen in the lab is Back in black by AC/DC or anything that gives Tony Stark vibes! After a long day in the lab you can usually find him outdoors (hiking,camping) or having a nice beer.
Stephen (he/him)
Stephen joined the society this year but he discovered SynBio already during his bachelor studies by joining iGEM! In EUSynBioS his main role is in the project SynBioBrewery. His SynBio interest is in applying synthetic biology tools for bioproduction. While outside the lab he likes to read (even after a tiring and long day in the lab!), cook and meet his friends.
Guillermo (he/him) is one of the newest members of the association as he just joined! In the society he is interested in policy and regulations in the SynBio field, while in his research he focuses on microbiome-based synthetic biology therapies and diagnostics. In his view the scariest equipment in the lab is Anaerobic hood, do you relate?? After a long day in the lab he likes to go for a swim or read a book!
Sonia (she/her)
She has recently joined EUSynBio this year and she is the one writing this blog! (and taking care of blogs in general). In her Master studies she focused on microbiota engineering. Her pet peeve in the lab is using the same PCR machine (as it brings good luck!). While she is outside the lab she likes to play volleyball, do vintage shopping and check the newest art exhibitions.
Here we presented our members with different SynBio and non-SynBio interests. If you want to know more or get in touch check out our members and alumni in our webpage and get in touch with them with the contact form. Moreover, our members are really fond of (SynBio) wet and dry lab, but still have a wide variety of hobbies and we listed the most popular in the pie chart below!
Popular activietes after a long day in the lab within the members of the steering committee of EUSynBioS.
And don’t forget to stay tuned for our next blog posts!