Executive Board
Solimar Muñiz Acevedo
President
Hello! My name is Solimar and I am from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. I am currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Chemistry with a certification in Biochemistry at UPRM. I had the privilege of being introduced to iGEM team RUM-UPRM for the first time in 2020. This year, I took on the role of team president, and it has been one of the most fulfilling and demanding experiences of my professional career. I was in charge of interacting directly with our University's major offices, ensuring all deadlines were met, and leading meetings. In the same way, I collaborated with all divisions to fulfill the team's goals.
Keysha N. Resto Bravo
Vice-president
Hello! My name is Keysha N. Resto, and I am currently a fourth-year biology student. During this cycle I had the opportunity to work alongside the rest of the Executive Board on different aspects of our project, such as the organization of our project, the development of fundraising activities and the collaborations with other iGEM teams. Being part of this team has encouraged me to develop leadership skills and critical thinking in different fields outside my major.
Aleysha Vargas Carrero
Treasurer
My name is Aleysha Vargas Carrero, and I’m currently in my last year as an Industrial Microbiology student at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. During this cycle I was part of the Executive Board of Team RUM-UPRM. My role was managing the financial aspects of the team and developing ideas for fundraising and activities. I also collaborated with the biology team doing wet lab protocols. IGEM has been one of the most enriching experiences I’ve had, it has helped me grow and expand myself as a person.
Luis A. Montalvo Rivera
Marketing Director
Hello! My name is Luis A. Montalvo Rivera and I’m a senior undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor's degree in Industrial Microbiology at the UPRM. This year I held the position of Marketing Director, where I was in charge of handling all the social media accounts of the team, as well as organizing several activities. Additionally, I contributed full time with the biology team, where I gained knowledge in various cloning techniques that were carried out in our daily experiments.
Arianna C. Lopez Perez
Research Director
I am Arianna C. López Pérez and I’m a fourth year undergraduate Biology student at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez. I became a member of the Biology Team in January 2022 wanting to learn of an emerging science - Synthetic Biology. I joined the Executive Board serving as Research Director, it made me develop leadership skills, the importance of scientific communication and teamwork. My roles included, revising the past genetic circuits, finding a new inducible promoter for Device 1, and aiding the Engineering Team with the biological knowledge needed to complete the bioreactor. Being part of Team RUM-UPRM has made me a better person and scientist.
Alexandra Rigau Lausell
Secretary
My name is Alexandra Rigau Lausell and I'm currently in my fifth year of Industrial Microbiology. During our cycle I started as part of the Engineering Team and was appointed as secretary, forming part of the Executive Board. As such, my role was to write official letters from the team, keep assistance and answer emails through our iGEM account. As a member of the Engineering Team, I also collaborated with the mathematical modeling of our bioreactor. This experience has allowed me to learn more about Synthetic Biology and its applications in the real world.
Engineering Team
Miguel A. Rullan Fumero
Engineering Team Co-leader
My name is Miguel Antonio Rullán Fumero and currently I am a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering undergraduate student. My role in the team has been Engineering team co-leader since January when this year’s cycle started. I focused on delegating tasks, designing the bioreactor and its decontamination system, as well as preparing a guide on how to develop said system using computer-aided design software.
Claudia L. Delgado García
Engineering Team Co-leader
My name is Claudia L. Delgado García and I am a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering undergraduate student. As RUM-UPRM Engineering Team co-leader, it has been my role to execute project management duties in order to achieve our goals as a team. I was also part of the development of the mathematical model describing our bioreactor system.
Andrea Castelblanco Agostini
Engineering team member
My name is Andrea Sofía Castelblanco Agostini, and I’m a second-year student pursuing a Mechanical Engineering bachelor’s degree. In iGEM team RUM-UPRM, I have learned about Synthetic Biology and how to help others through it. As an Engineering Team member, I collaborated on the design and dimensions of our system, especially our bioreactor’s shaft and blades.
Verónica D. Borrás Serrano
Engineering team member
My name is Verónica Del Mar Borrás Serrano and I’m currently a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Industrial Engineering. My role as an Engineering Team member has been to design a software-based mathematical model aiming to describe the internal process of our bioreactor, while understanding its capabilities and the biological system conditions.
Gabriel A. Espinet Declet
Engineering team member
My name is Gabriel Antonio Espinet Declet and I’m currently in my fifth year studying a Pre-Medical bachelor's degree. The experience I have received at team RUM-UPRM has been very rewarding. My primary focus in the group was working with the design of the bioreactor and the system as a whole.
Iviana C. Sostre Viana
Engineering team member
My name is Iviana C. Sostre Viana and I am currently majoring in Chemical Engineering as a fourth-year student. My main focus in the team was to start the research for modeling, and I also did extensive research on possible plants that could denitrify and remove formaldehyde.
Biology Team
Shante Perez Nieto
Biology Team Leader
My name is Shante Pérez Nieto, I am currently in my third year of my bachelor’s degree in Industrial Microbiology. I joined iGEM in January 2022 as the Biology Team leader. I have grown both personally and professionally as a scientist. I have improved my leadership skills, teamwork appreciation, expressing myself scientifically, and most importantly in my wet lab skills. My primary role in this team has been optimizing DNA sequences, performing bacterial transformation, and communicating scientific data for us to make decisions for the biology aspects of our project.
Lyan E. Lugo Collado
Biology team member
Hi! My name is Lyan E. Lugo Collado and I’m currently in my fourth year as an undergraduate student majoring in Industrial Biotechnology at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus. I joined RUM-UPRM as a member of the Biology Team in January 2022. As a biotechnology student, being part of this team has permitted me to not only have multiple learning opportunities, but also apply my knowledge to perform well during the analysis part of the project as well as the wet lab process.
Lina Blanco Rodríguez
Biology team member
My name is Lina Blanco Rodriguez, and I am currently in my fourth year as an undergraduate in Industrial Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus. I have been a member of the Biology Team since January 2022. I have contributed to the analysis of scientific literature related to the functionality and development of our genetic circuit and lab work. Aside from showing me the importance of teamwork in a scientific environment, being a part of this team has helped develop my critical thinking skills.
Amanda C. Rivera Morales
Biology team member
My name is Amanda Carolina Rivera Morales and I’m a second-year undergrad student studying Industrial Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. As a member of the Biology team, I was mainly responsible for carrying out wet lab protocols with my other teammates to build and test our prototype. Being part of team RUM-UPRM has allowed me to improve my teamwork skills and helped me reassert the enthusiasm I have for the biological field and how I can see myself pursuing it as a career.
Débora D. Bermonty Carlo
Biology team member
My name is Débora D. Bermonty Carlo and I’m a fourth year Biology student at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus. I joined team RUM-UPRM in January 2022 as a member of the Biology Team looking to expand my knowledge in Synthetic Biology and laboratory experience. I ended up gaining leadership skills and the ability to solve complex issues. I worked with colleagues on digestion and ligation calculations, developing the cloning plan and other wet lab protocols.
Airinés González Velázquez
Biology team member
My name is Airinés González Velázquez and I am a third year Industrial Microbiology undergraduate student at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez Campus. I joined team RUM-UPRM team in January, 2022 as a member of the Biology Team. I was involved in the editing and revising of the detection and biodegradation devices created by the 2021 cycle. Additionally, I worked alongside the rest of the biology team in performing wet lab protocols and assisting weekly lab meetings.
Valeria A. Ramirez Rivera
Biology team member
My name is Valeria A. Ramirez Rivera, and I am currently in my third year of Industrial Microbiology. Throughout this whole cycle in team RUM-UPRM, I have learned countless information, gained experience in research, and had a glimpse of how to work in the laboratory. Additionally, I was able to improve skills such as teamwork making it a very positive and enriching experience. My role on the team was as an member of the Biology Team. There, my primary focus was on the research aspect of the project helping to find information that would further improve it.
Enoelis Viera Ortiz
Biology team member
I’m Enoelis Viera and I am in my second year undergraduate student of Industrial Microbiology. I joined team RUM-UPRM in January 2022, as a biology intern. My primary role in the team was in searching papers and analyzing them for the theoretical part of our project.
Human Practices Team
Nashra C. Andújar Báez
Human Practices Team Co-leader
My name is Nashra C. Andújar-Báez and I’m a third year Industrial Microbiology student at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. I joined the team RUM-UPRM in January 2022 as one of the leaders of the Human Practices Team. My role as part of this team has been to prepare the logistics and lead the different educational activities of the project. Among these activities was the Synbio 101 Summer Program, the Research Showcase and the Interns Program.
Laura C. Báez Nieves
Human Practices Team Co-leader
My name is Laura C. Báez Nieves and I’m currently in my last year as a Psychology major at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus. I joined team RUM-UPRM in January 2022 as one of the leaders for the Human Practices Team. My role as part of this team was to take care of different outreach and human practices activities as well as to prepare logistics for the weekly meetings. Some of these activities include reaching out to medical schools to help carry out a health fair and create connections among Vieques residents.
Jose G. Ayala Cintrón
Human Practices team member
My name is José G. Ayala Cintrón and I'm in my fifth year as a Biology major at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus. In my experience with team RUM-UPRM, since the beginning of 2022, I've had the opportunity to get to know a hard-working group of people that believe Synthetic Biology is a great tool for our community. As a member of the Human Practices team, I helped coordinate educational talks for high school students related to Synthetic Biology and have collaborated with team members on various education and outreach initiatives such as the Synbio 101 Summer Program.
Morelia Durán Quintana
Human Practices team member
My name is Morelia Duran Quintana and I am a fourth year biology major in the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. I joined the RUM-UPRM team in January 2022 as a member of the Human Practices team. My role as part of this team has been to inform about the importance of Synthetic Biology and the use of it through our project. My experience at this team has been very rewarding, learning about Synthetic Biology and how beneficial our project can be for Vieques and its residents.
Caleb Badillo Crespo
Human Practices team member
My name is Caleb Badillo Crespo and I’m a fourth year Biology student at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez Campus. I joined team RUM-UPRM in January 2022 as one of the interns for the Human Practices team. Outreach and human practices on my part included making contact with Vieques residents, work activities during the SynBio 101 Summer Program and making activities to expand the knowledge about Synthetic Biology and our team.
Andrea L. Acevedo González
Human Practices team member
My name is Andrea L. Acevedo González, I am currently in my third year of Industrial Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus and I am part of the Human Practices Team. Synthetic Biology and iGEM caught my attention when I was still in high school. As a member I had the opportunity to establish communication between our team RUM-UPRM, and the Municipal Secretary and the Mayor of Vieques. In addition, I collaborated in the activities of the SynBio 101 Summer Camp, showing enthusiasm for this emerging science.
Fabiana A. García Cruz
Human Practices team member
I'm Fabiana A. Garcia Cruz, a fourth-year biology student at the University of Puerto Rico's Mayaguez campus. In January 2022, I joined the RUM-UPRM team as a member of the Human Practices team. My role in the team was to assist the team leaders in the organization and execution of the educational and outreach activities.
Genesis Jusino Ramos
Human Practices team member
My name is Génesis Jusino Ramos, I am a second-year Industrial Microbiology student in the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. I joined the RUM-UPRM team in January 2022 as a member of the Human Practices Team. My role has been to collaborate with the team members on education, outreach opportunities and human practices. I also worked on education opportunities for high school students like the SynBio 101 Summer Program.
Paola J. Maldonado Martínez
Human Practices team member
My name is Paola J. Maldonado Martinez, and I am currently a second-year Industrial Microbiology student at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. I joined team RUM-UPRM in January 2022 as an intern of the Human Practices Team. My focus on the group has been helping our team leaders and the rest of the team with outreach and human practices activities as well as educational activities to expand the knowledge of Synthetic Biology in the island.
Principal Investigators, Instructors & Advisors
Dr. Clara E. Isaza Brando
Primary Principal Investigator
My name is Clara E. Isaza and I am an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department and the Bioengineering Program at University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez. Since August 2022, I have been the Principal Investigator (PI) for IGEM RUM-UPRM. It has been a great experience to work with such a committed transdisciplinary team. My role has been of collaborator with the Biology and Engineering teams, discussing ideas and providing support in technical issues. Collaborating with young scientists from different fields aiming to help communities affected by RDX contamination through the development of a bioremediation sustainable system is an experience that makes me feel optimistic about the future.
Dr. Mauricio Cabrera-Ríos
Secondary Principal Investigator
Hello! My name is Mauricio Cabrera-Ríos, and I am a Professor in Industrial Engineering and Bioengineering at University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez. This year, I am the Secondary PI of the 2022 IGEM RUM-UPRM Team. My role was that of supporting both the Biology and Engineering teams in project management and modeling. I am happy to have accepted the invitation of such a special group of students working in a technically challenging endeavor.
Dr. Carlos Ríos Velázquez
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Carlos Ríos Velázquez obtained his PhD in Bacteriology at University of Wisconsin-Madison during 2000. His Microbial Biotechnology and Bioprospecting (MBB) laboratory was developed in 2001 at University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, where they focus on the detection of activities with biomedical and biotechnological application from microorganisms in different environments using functional genomics and combinatorial chemistry technology.
Dr. Patricia Ortiz Bermúdez
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Patricia Ortiz Bermúdez obtained her PhD at University of Wisconsin-Madison during 2005, followed by Postdoctoral training in Biomolecular Chemistry under the same university during 2007. Currently serves as a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. She also works under the Food Science and Technology program at the same university. She also works as the coordinator of the Industrial Biotechnology Program and serves as a Chemical Engineering Liaison.
Víctor O. López Ramírez
Graduate Student Advisor
Hey there, my name is Víctor O. López Ramírez. After finishing my Bachelors in Industrial Biotechnology at University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez. I decided to continue my studies with a Masters degree in Microbiology under the same university. I aspire to further my studies in Synthetic Biology, with emphasis on Environmental and Biomanufacturing applications.
Marieli Ruiz Cortés
Graduate Student Advisor
Hello! My name is Marieli Ruiz Cortés. I obtained my bachelor's degree in Industrial Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez. Currently, I am pursuing my Doctorates degree in Pharmacy at Recinto de Ciencias Medicas. As an iGEM instructor I offered tools and resources to smooth the transitioning process of the new iGEM 2022 Team and I mentored students with regards to genetic sequences and laboratory workshops.
Edwin Rivera López
Graduate Student Advisor
My name is Edwin O. Rivera López, I obtained my bachelor's degree in biology with a focus on microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez. Subsequently, I began my graduate studies in the Food Science and Technology Program with an emphasis on microbiology and molecular biology in the Microbial Biotechnology and Bioprospecting (MBB) laboratory and in the Bioprocess Laboratory. Leading me to want to continue graduate studies in food microbiology focused on knowing the mechanism of pathogenicity involved in food borne pathogens.
Flavio C. Rodríguez Polanco
Graduate Student Advisor
My name is Flavio C. Rodríguez Polanco, I did my bachelor’s degree in Industrial Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez Campus. I decided to continue my graduate studies in Biology at UPRM at the Microbial Biotechnology and Bioprospecting Laboratory. My master thesis consists of Isolation and Characterization of Anthrax Toxin Lethal Factor Specific Interacting Partners using combinatorial chemistry approaches, specifically, T7 Phage Display, using cDNA human Libraries. My next goal is to do a PhD in biomedical sciences at the molecular level.
Angélica M. González Martínez
Graduate Student Advisor
My name is Angélica M. González Martínez, I did my bachelor's degree in Industrial Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico at the Mayagüez Campus. I am doing a master's degree in Biology with an emphasis on microbiology in the Microbial Biotechnology and Bioprospecting Laboratory (MBB). My master's thesis consists of Isolation and Characterization of Specific Bacteriophages for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus from a Wastewater Treatment Plant in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. I aspire to complete a PhD in biomedical sciences with a focus on virology.
Luis García Cruz
Instructor
Hi! My name is Luis García Cruz and I obtained my bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. I am currently a first year medical student at Universidad Central del Caribe. As an iGEM instructor, I primarily helped the team discuss the devices’ sequences & also gave feedback on cloning protocols.
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The repository used to create this website is available at gitlab.igem.org/2022/rum-uprm.