Home » iGEM at UCSC

iGEM at UCSC

Celebrating 10 years of iGEM at UCSC!

International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) is an international competition dedicated to education and the advancement of synthetic biology. Each year, we assemble an interdisciplinary group of undergraduates with the common goal of creating a better world through science and engineering. The annual competition draws together student teams from around the globe to present their synthetic biology projects that aim to address 21st century grand challenges.

These projects present an unparalleled opportunity for talented students to gain hands-on experience, as well as learn to collaborate and communicate effectively in large team environments. The students lead, design, and build the project themselves, and in doing so, develop the critical analytical and independent problem-solving skills that are difficult to cultivate within the classroom. The project also calls upon a wide array of disciplines, such as microbial engineering, bioinformatics, bioreactor design, and finance, which grant students a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to complete ambitious projects in a real-world environment.

Lastly, we are not just completing a project—we’re building a team. The dedicated students of the iGEM team are working 40+ hours each week, and are developing their project management and teamwork skills all the while. We believe that through the ambitious projects of today, we are building the leaders and scientific innovators of tomorrow.

Modern alchemy

An iGEM student works in the lab wearing a white coat and gloves

iGEM at UCSC is educating the next generation of scientists on the responsible use of synthetic biology — turning student potential into gold.

Read More

10 years of iGEM at UC Santa Cruz


iGEM in the News


Alumni Spotlight

Portrait of Stephen Hwang
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Stephen Hwang

Portrait of Melody Azimi
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Melody Azimi

Portrait of Emily Mount
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Emily Mount

Portrait of Aren Pageler
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Aren Pageler

Portrait of Nina Sardesh
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Nina Sardesh

Portrait of Alonzo Lee
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Alonzo Lee

Portrait of Claire Bispo
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Claire Bispo

Pavle Jeremic
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Pavle Jeremić

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Stephen Hwang

Double Baskin Engineering alumnus Stephen Hwang (B.S., Biomolecular Engineering, ‘21; M.S., Biomolecular Engineering, ‘22) was co-captain of the 2021 UC Santa Cruz iGEM team, called Progenie. He now attends Johns Hopkins University to pursue a Ph.D. in Computational Genomics.

“Putting some people without much experience into roles that were maybe a little uncomfortable and seeing them grow was satisfying.”

Read more about Stephen »

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Melody Azimi

Baskin Engineering alumna Melody Azimi (B.S., Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics, ‘21) was a co-captain of the 2020 UC Santa Cruz iGEM team, called Komaplastics. She is now pursuing an M.S. in Health Informatics at Northeastern University.

“We did fun things to make the experience feel like a team rather than an individual experience.”

Read more about Melody » 

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Emily Mount

Baskin Engineering alumna Emily Mount (B.S. Biomolecular Engineering, ‘19) was captain of the 2018 UC Santa Cruz iGEM team, called Poppy. Now, she works as Senior Scientist at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research.

“I learned that I’m capable of doing a lot, actually, and that I’m not bad at science and I’m not a bad leader. [iGEM] really helped me become more confident and trust myself.”

Read more about Emily » 

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Aren Pageler

Baskin Engineering alumnus Aren Pageler (B.S., Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics, ‘19) played a key role on the 2019 UC Santa Cruz iGEM team, called Vitrium. After graduating, Pageler worked as a Data Analyst and is now a full stack engineer with Rubicon Carbon.

“Part of iGEM is learning how to roll with things and make do the best you can while coming up with the best project possible.”

 Read more about Aren » 

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Nina Sardesh

As a Baskin Engineering student, Nina Sardesh (B.S., Bioengineering, ‘16) was one of two team leads for the 2016 UC Santa Cruz iGEM team, called Sugar Slugs. Building on her iGEM project management experience, Sardesh is now the Lead Product Manager at Brightside Health.

“Knowing how to talk about finances, how to manage a team, all sorts of basic things that started with iGEM really did shape a lot of what my next years looked like.”

Read more about Nina » 

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Alonzo Lee

Baskin Engineering alumnus Alonzo Lee (B.S., Bioengineering, ‘16) was co-captain of the 2015 UC Santa Cruz iGEM team, called Cellulose to Butanol. After graduating, Lee interned at the NASA Ames Research Center and is now a product manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific. 

“I still think about how I can use my scientific knowledge for good and how I can help a lot of people with it.”

Read more about Alonzo » 

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Claire Bispo

Baskin Engineering alumna Claire Bispo (B.S., Biomolecular Engineering, ‘19) was a part of the 2018 UC Santa Cruz iGEM team, called Poppy. She now attends UC Law San Francisco with the goal of practicing intellectual property litigation — an area that fascinated her while researching patents for iGEM.

“iGEM taught me a lot about not discounting yourself and what can be achieved with hard work and teamwork.”

Read more about Claire » 

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Pavle Jeremić

Baskin Engineering alumnus Pavel Jeremic (B.S., Biomolecular Engineering, ‘17) led the 2017 UC Santa Cruz iGEM team, called Bugs Without Borders. Jeremic went on to found Aether Biomachines, which uses machine learning and automation to manufacture industrially useful enzymes.

“I knew that I wanted to form a startup, and iGEM seemed like the best way to get some practice. In a team like iGEM, unlike a class project or some theoretical exercise, you’re actually building something, and seeing it built is immensely satisfying.” 

Read more about Pavle » 

Two iGEM students in lab with overlayed text: Make an impact on the future of engineering