Team

Our Captains

Dilys Cao

Hello, I am Dilys Menglu, and I hold the role of one of our group leaders in our iGEM team. I am actively involved in the wet lab as well as the visual design group. My responsibilities include conducting experiments and designing our team wiki website.

I find synthetic biology to be incredibly fascinating, especially the aspect of finding and editing DNA sequences to enhance the function of the organism. Moreover, I think it is crucial to pay great attention to environmental issues and to use our existing knowledge to solve them. Our team used recombinant expression of PETase enzyme was carried out by E. coli and other prokaryotes, and domestic silk was used as a bioreactor to express protein which can solve the problem of non-degradable plastics on Earth well.

Fun fact about myself: I have a deep affection for spiders and even have a couple of pet spiders - an Avicularia purpurea and a Grammostola pulchripes.

Thomas Zhu

Hello everyone! I'm Yicheng Zhu, with a cheerful and friendly personality.

I have various hobbies. Playing table tennis, tennis and boxing are my favorites, making me energetic.

I'm passionate about synthetic biology. I'm the team captain and a member of the lab and engineering team. I'm good at coordinating and communicating in the team. I keep pursuing progress in this field and expect to achieve something. Let's create a bright future together!

Yue

Hello everyone, I am Yue Zongguang, my English name is Yue. In the igem project, I was one of the team leaders, responsible for communicating with other students, and I was a member of the engineering and outreach teams. After continuously engaging in the project, I think synthetic biology is very interesting, it is composed of different small parts, requires us to have good teamwork and develop the ability of thinking, I like this kind very much. In the team, I think I have strong computing power and layout ability for the development of things. When the team is stuck in a choice, I believe I can make a direct judgment and enable the team to make a good choice.

In my life, I like playing table tennis very much and have won many honors in big competitions. As I have shown in the picture, I think I am good at interpersonal relations and I have many friends who are excellent in study.

Our Talented Explorers

Rachel Gong

Hello! I'm Rachel Gong. I serve as the head of the Visual Design and a member of Wet Lab. My responsibilities included organizing tasks for the team members and leading their participation in various activities. I was involved in the conceptualization and development of the team's wiki, as well as the production of videos and the conduct of experimental practices.

When I was a kid, there was a project in school to raise silkworms and watch them. This involved closely observing their development, dietary habits, and behaviors. My fascination with silkworms thus began at a tender age. Especially after the adult, they grow wings that they did not have when they were young. The prospect of exploring how silk can potentially contribute to environmental enhancement through meticulous experimental procedures imbues me with immense anticipation. Beings are so wonderful that I have been in awe and obsession with them since I was young and grew up. It is a great world, and its existence is a miracle.

Bowen Ye

Hello! I'm Bowen Ye. As a member of the Engineering and Wet Lab teams, I code for the Team Wiki and participate in biological labs and experiments. iGEM is a fantastic competition because it promotes collaboration and highlights the unique skills of each team member. This competition has allowed me to explore the endless possibilities of synthetic biology. I find it amazing that we can use synthetic biology to improve life and solve problems on our planet.

I have a wide variety of hobbies outside of science. During my free time, I enjoy cooking, studying maps, playing video games, and playing mahjong. I also love listening to music and can play two instruments: the piano and the flute. I’m passionate about iGEM and am honored to be part of the team. I hope my skills and experience can help my team succeed!

Sinky Tong

Hello, my name is Sinky, and I am a passionate girl from Shanghai with a deep interest in biomedical research. My MBTI is INFP.During my participation in iGEM, I was in charge of visual design, ensuring our project's concepts were effectively communicated through graphics and presentations.Moreover, I have a strong passion for video editing, which led me to take on the responsibility of producing our team's video. This allowed me to combine my technical skills with my creative side, creating engaging content that showcased our project.

My love for synthetic biology and iGEM stems from the incredible potential these fields have to address some of the most pressing challenges in healthcare and the environment. I am fascinated by the ability to design and construct new biological parts and systems, which can lead to groundbreaking advancements.

Daisy Wei

I'm Ruoyi Wei, Daisy. In the iGEM project, I was responsible for Visual Design and Human Practice, promoted the degradation technology we explored via human practice activities and gave a lot of inspiration for the design of the Wiki interface. For me, synthetic biology is so interesting that I joined the iGEM group to study, explore, and discover with other people who are interested in synthetic biology as much as I am. Since childhood, I have been a curious little girl who loves to explore, and my interests and hobbies are wide. I like exciting things. I have learned skateboarding and have practiced many difficult gestures such as body varial revert,ollie and shovit in my attempts. I will continue to try more and more difficult moves.Discover the true meaning of skateboarding.

Serafina Su

My name is Serafina. I come from China and born in 2008. I am the leader of human practice, and the member of visual art in our iGEM team.

To introduce myself, I'm a risk-taker. I have many hobbies, study is one of these. Moreover my interests are performing and enjoying performances.

Biology is one of my favorite subjects. Synthetic biology is also an area that interest to me. We can use synthetic biology to address many kinds of problems. It breaks through the limitations of the original biological system to create a new biological system that is more in line with industrialization. This will not only help drive innovation, but also enable low-carbon, sustainable and low-cost production methods.

Ara Liu

My Chinese name is Liu Xiaoxiang.My English name is Ara.I am responsible for the Engineering process in the IGEM project.I am very interested in IGEM.First of all, I like biology.Secondly, I want to study some knowledge about biology.I am a boy who is sometimes outtroverted and sometimes introverted.My dream is to become a different doctor.To save some difficult diseases. Maybe it's very painful, but I still have to insist on choosing my own way. I think the road I choose is ridiculous and I have to go on.

Serein Lu

Hello everyone! I'm Serein. I'm 16 years old and I come from Shanghai I consider myself to be a friendly and positive individual. I have an immense love for making friends and I always do my best to offer assistance to others whenever possible.

My passions lie in various activities, particularly ways to learn more, such as reading.And see new things like traveling. Reading has the remarkable ability to broaden my horizons, exposing me to avast array of knowledge and perspectives. Meanwhile, traveling grants me the precious opportunity to immerse myself in different cultures, enabling me to appreciate the diversity and beauty of the world.

In iGEM, I was mainly responsible for communicating with other IGEM teams. My view of synthetic biology is that it can solve major global problems such as energy crisis, environmental protection, health care and provide innovative solutions.

Clara Tao

Hi, everyone. I am a member of the SHSD Team. My full name is Tao Pinjun and my English name is Clara. Next, I would like to talk about my characteristic. I am an optimistic and cheerful girl. I like making new friends, but I’m also a little bit introverted. Then, to talk about my hobby, I like playing ball games and listening music. To talk about the ball games, well, I like playing volleyball, badminton and so on. I like doing sports because it can make me keep healthy and it is also a good way for me to reduce my stress on studies or on my life.

Bruce Wu

My name is Bruce, and I am 16 years old. I enjoy swimming and playing badminton. In my free time, I like to go outside and relax my eyes. As part of iGEM, I have been involved in activities related to the human practices aspect of our project. To me, iGEM is a valuable experience that helps me grow. It improves my English skills, broadens my knowledge of biology, allows me to experience the joy of teamwork, make new friends, and better understand time management and the rewards of hard work.

Mentor

Alison Qin: Hello everyone, this is Alison. As the P.I. of Team SHSD for iGEM 2024, I was honored to collaborate with our talented student members and advisor throughout the project. As both a P.I. and a teacher, the most rewarding part of facilitating an iGEM project is witnessing how much potential our members have and the notable progress they make during the process. It has been a great experience for me. Oh, and as for myself as an individual —I love reading and cats.

Blake Ma: Yo, This is Blake from San Diego, California. I am currently a frshmen majoring in Biochem at UCSD. I have 3 years of experiences in iGem and 4 years in lab research. I am an Undergraduate researcher exploring HSC activation and Liver fibrosis in MASH Diet. Beside academic, I am a distance runner and golfer.

External Supports

Besides the formal members of Team SHSD listed in the team roster, we must give a shoutout to the external advisors who provided significant guidance, instruction, and support for our project:

Dr. Yi Wang and Dr. Guanwang Shen: They provided our team with theoretical knowledge, research insights, and an entrepreneurial vision for the project.

Dr. Guanwang Shen and Dr. Yuancheng Wang: They guided and instructed our team in the wet lab experiments.

Mr. Yunhua Sun: He supported us with the coding of our Team Wiki.