Greetings! We are the 2022 UiOslo team from the University of Oslo, Norway. We are a truly interdisciplinary team from different scientific backgrounds. We hope you enjoy this wiki as much as we enjoyed working on this year's project.
The team at the Natural Science Museum ready to shoot our promotional video.
B.Sc. Toxicology, specializing in human toxicology. Currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Molecular Biology.
His main contribution to the iGEM team was through the lab and through working on the molecular constructs and later the analysis of results as we got them. Andreas worked tirelessly on Parts and helped explain the detailed technicalities to the rest of the team.
His fondest memory of the iGEM project was about finding the balance between stress and fun. Although we encountered many problems, a positive attitude and the flow of ideas kept us afloat and working.
Andreas enjoyed the lab the most, where he learned a lot more about synthetic biology and molecular biology. He was not exactly expecting to learn so much about how yeast works, but after iGEM he is glad he did! Andreas is more interested in science, rather than space.
B.Sc. Mathematics with Informatics. Currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Computational Science.
Frida's background has taken her through medical studies, psychology and then mathematics and computational science. Frida was the first member of the 2022 team, so she got to see people coming and leaving, and when the team settled she was very glad it did.
She is the team's webmaster, she put the wiki together and in turn got to learn a lot about web design, web programming, Javascript and even how to use a pipette at the lab among other useful lab techniques that involved working with cells. Her claims that her cells died after she touched them are completely false.
Frida has always called herself a “space nerd”, so it was a happy surprise when the team settled for a space exploration project! She collects valuable space memorabilia and enjoys science camps and activities to live and promote science.
B.Sc. in Biology (thesis on zebrafish genotype). Currently pursuing an M.Sc. Bioscience in Molecular Biology.
Alonso, as he prefers to be called, is the most business-oriented team member of 2022. His organizational skills and presentations were very well received by both student audiences as well as other iGEM teams. He travelled to Linköping with Solomon, where they represented our team and our project. He contributed mostly to the lab and because of his extensive experience, he was able to help bring the team's ideas to the ground.
The making of the promotional video is one of his fondest memories, as it was one of the few times when the whole team was together outside of meetings. During the project, he learned a lot about how to work with bacteria and microbiology in general. Our project made him interested in space, and he became more excited about space exploration.
B.Sc. Materials Science for Energy and Nanotechnology and BA European Languages. Currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Nanotechnology.
Liza joined the team expecting to work on a project with medical applications, so she was very glad about a project that encompasses both space exploration and a product that can be used in healthcare and food.
She helped the team land on a project after many ideas were considered and discarded and was responsible for the design of merchandise used to raise awareness and data collection, as well as the text editor.
Liza's fondest memory of iGEM is about the friends she made along the way. She loves troubleshooting and for her, it was always about finding solutions. She learned the most at the lab where she practiced valuable techniques that will enrich her professional life. She has always been fascinated with space, and it is a hobby for her to analyze the science on space films.
B.Sc. in Biosciences, fourth-year student of Biosciences at the University of A Coruña, Spain. In Norway, fourth year is equivalent to a first-year master student.
Manu spent a year in Norway as exchange student at the University of Oslo, where he joined the iGEM team. Most of his time at iGEM was spent at the lab as well as the planning sessions with the rest of the team.
His fondest memories of iGEM are about the meetings where we all agreed on the path we should focus our project, and how to name our product. He helped coin with the name CELLULALT after a long afternoon. He remembers working as a team was fun, because it motivated us further when we thought things were not working out exactly how we were expecting. He never thought the team would get so many ideas!
For Manu, iGEM became a middle step between academic life and the working environment. iGEM allowed him to have a good overview of what he wants to do later in his career.
B.Sc. in Bioscience. Currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.
Sarah always took as many tasks as she could and sometimes even more. Her main contributions included getting funding, planning, and executing lab work, as well as keeping track of the deadlines. She was always able to recall what had to be delivered when.
Her fondest memory of the iGEM project, was getting to know people from different nationalities, disciplines, and cultural backgrounds, she was always eager to learn about other countries and she became an advocate for inclusion by translating all the many infographics that reached her hands.
She believes she learned a lot about innovation. iGEM became for her a taste of working life as well as teamwork. She learned that human skills can be as important as technical skills. Space fascinates Sarah, because she wants to learn more about the mysteries of the universe.
B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Zoology. Currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Toxicology and Environmental Science (effects of microplastics).
Solomon managed to bring the project through many twists and adventures. He was responsible for making the project feasible and his ideas were always the heart of the project, except his teammates almost tied him up in the end because he would not stop getting new ideas even after we had landed on a final product.
He will always remember all the struggles we faced together as a team, because solving each problem was fun. However, his core memory belongs to his trip to Linköping for the iGEM Nordics, and how he found out 6 hours before that he would be attending and subsequently remembers not sleeping so we could wait for his flight.
Solomon says he learned a lot of new techniques of molecular biology that will help him in his future professional career. He became interested in space exploration by watching documentaries as a child, and looking at the science in space fascinated him because of all the possibilities space can bring.
Athanasios Saragliadis is our Principal Investigator and main supervisor. He has worked with iGEM teams at the University of Oslo for several years, bringing his experience and expertise to master students since 2014. He currently does research on the structure-function relationship in bacterial adhesins.
He is fascinated by the world of microbiology, molecular biology, protein biochemistry and biotechnology in general. Particularly, he wants to see what more can be done with the help of genetically engineered microorganisms!
He has supervised the team in the lab work and during team round-table discussions. His fondest memory of this year's team is about the endless attempts of the team to achieve their goals in and outside of the lab. The team's narration and concluding remarks on the short trial videos were definitely fun! This year, he learned many interesting things about kombucha and even got to try it for the first time. Athanasios got interested in space through Star Wars.
Dirk Linke is our Principal Investigator at the Section for Genetics and Evolutionary Biology. His research group focusses on the structure and function of the bacterial cell surface.
Kirsten Borse Haraldsen is our co-supervisor, she is kind and fun to be around. She likes planning and structure on our meetings, as well as teamwork and comradery. She took care of all the practical paperwork that had to be done at the University of Oslo, and always encouraged the team even when it seemed we had reached an impasse. She has worked with Population Genetics in Plant Evolutionary Biology using molecular methods, so her expertise is of great value to the team. She has long experience at the Science Library at the University of Oslo.
Although we come from different countries and have different academic backgrounds, we have all come together to work on the University of Oslo iGEM team for 2022. We are most of the time located at the Science Library and the EVOGENE lab at the Department of Biosciences.
Officially known as the Kingdom of Norway is located in northern Europe. In Norway, you will find beautiful mountains, deep fjords, and one of the world's longest coastlines. Did you know that Norway also has the world's most remote island? It is called Bouvet Island, located on the other side of the world, between South Africa and Antarctica! And did you know that Norway has engaged in space activities since the 1960s, and in 1962 the Andøya rocket facility launched its first rocket? That means Norway has been using space for 60 years!
The capital of Norway is on the southern coast at the head of the Oslofjord. Mostly known for all its green spaces and museums. Many people get surprised over how easy it is to get around the city center; most tourist attractions are within walking distance! Oslo is also where the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held each year. Did you know that every year, as gratitude for their help during World War II, the city of Oslo sends London a tree every Christmas?
The University of Oslo is Norway's oldest institution for research and higher education and one of two universities located in Oslo. The University has eight faculties, two museums, and several centers.
Fun fact: did you know that the University's Astronomical Observatory is one of the oldest buildings built for the University? It was built in 1833, only 20 years after the University opened.
Located mainly in Vilhelm Bjerknes' hus and partly in Niels Henrik Abels hus (hus means house in Norwegian) at the Blindern campus at the University of Oslo, we find the Science Library. The Science Library is part of the University Library Oslo and has meant a lot to iGEM teams over the years. Thanks to the fantastic collaboration with the Science Library, iGEM teams had good support, excellent co-supervisors, and great locations to work. By the way, did you know that the Science Library has the biggest science fiction collection in Norway?
Close to the Science Library, we find the Department of Biosciences, which is located in Kristine Bonnevies hus. There you can find five research sections where scientists and students try to understand the fundamental biological processes from the molecular and cellular levels to population and ecosystems. Most dear to iGEM teams, it is where we find the Section for Genetics and Evolutionary Biology (EVOGENE). Here they research a broad range of bioscience disciplines, based on genetics and evolution. This is also where we find the Linke Group with our hard-working Principal Investigators.
