Nan
WHO ARE YOU?
Hi! I am Nan Ya, a master student in the field of biochemistry.
WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?
Music: I like listening to band music and watching people play music instruments
Movies and TV series: watching them are relaxing and inspirational sometimes
Photography: I am a newbie, but this is a great way to be creative and saving memories
WHY ARE YOU PARTICIPATING IN IGEM?
There are two reasons. Firstly, synthetic biology is only a subject I learned in class before joining the iGEM. I want to have actual lab experience in this area. Also, solving real-life problems with your ability/knowledge is interesting. Secondly, I want to train myself in working in a team.
EDUCATION
I completed my undergraduate study here in Edinburgh with a degree in Molecular biology.
WHAT PERSON DO YOU WANT TO BE/ASPIRE?
Do something meaningful, brave, be happy and bring joy to others.
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS
Patient, open minded,dedicated
WHY DO YOU LIKE BIOLOGY?
Learning something about life and nature is always fascinating.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO STUDY BIOLOGY?
Because I like biology.
HOW YOUR PROJECT/DISSERTATION INTEGRATES WITH THE OTHER TEAM
MEMBERS PROJECTS?
My dissertation is a literature review focusing on bacteria transcription factors with the ability to sense small molecules, which can also be integrated into our system. The output of my part can either be a fluorescent aptamer to give fluorescent signal directly, or a short oligonucleotide to take part in the downstream logic gate.
WHY IS YOUR PROJECT USEFUL?
Several features of our system make it outstanding. 1) GMO-free, less controversial and could be widely accepted by the public. 2) Flexible, each stage of our system is modular, which can be designed and switched as you want. 3) Fast responding, speed is sometimes important for the point of care usage, the system could give a result within 5 mins.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY?
When using frontier technology to solve real-life problems, things learned is more than just biology anymore.
WHY DO YOU THINK A UNIVERSAL BIOSENSOR IS USEFUL?
Because ideally it could be used by anyone anywhere in the whole universe to solve any biosensing problems…
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THIS TEAM?
三人行必有我师。We have 11 here. Everyone is different, responsible and easygoing. Many things can be learnt from them.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW SUPERVISOR HELPED THE TEAM?
They have provided plenty of professional guidance, advices and helped in every aspect of the project. I want to send my especial appreciations to Dr.Mengxi Li for provideing tremendous help in the lab. And to Prof. Chris French for the insightful guidance.
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