Current team

Team members

Milou Meulendijks – Team Manager & Entrepreneurship Captain

Program: MSc. Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Biology

As I am currently pursuing the first year of my Master in Biomedical Engineering, with a specialization in Chemical Biology, Materials and Nanomedicine,I felt a pull towards iGEM. Participating in this competition is not only about applying and developing my knowledge on professional and personal level; it is about making a genuine impact in healthcare. I believe in the power of collaboration, especially with industry partners, to translate our ideas into innovative solutions. As the team manager, I will keep track of all parts of the project and keep the bigger picture in mind, making sure that all parts are connected. With this role, combined with my entrepreneurial interests, I look forward to combat real-life health challenges!

Luna Rašković – Secretary & Public Relations

Program: BSc. Biomedical Engineering

Hi, my name is Luna and I am in my third year of biomedical engineering. From the time I was young I have always envisioned myself to be working in a laboratory when I was older. However, the usual courses taken in my bachelor lack in hands on experience, so I wanted to do something extracurricular where I could gain knowledge whether I really liked lab work or just the idea. Inspired by my friends, who had previously done a student team, I started searching for a student team that peaked my interests. This is where I stumbled upon iGEM. iGEM gave me the perfect opportunity to develop my soft and lab skills. I will be this year’s public relations captain & secretary. This means that I will be mainly responsible for organizing events, taking care of the social media and staying in contact with stakeholders outside of our team. I look forward to see how our project will develop and a great year with the team! 

Christy Fredrix – Human Practices Co-Captain & Education Captain

Program: BSc. Medical Sciences & Technology

Hi everyone! My name is Christy, 21 years old and currently I am in my third year of my bachelor Medical Sciences and Technology. Next to that, I have also followed a minor at the Eindhoven School of Education, where I was trained to become a chemistry teacher. Even though I enjoy studying here and have already learned a lot, I still felt something was missing. I wanted to get more out of my studies then just following courses and further develop myself professionally, intellectually and as a person. I think a year of iGEM will bring me this. Within the team of 2024 I will be responsible for Human Practices and Education. These functions are about building and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders and about making the world more familiar with synthetic biology. I am looking forward to an exciting experience with an amazing team and I am curious about what we are able to deliver this year! 

Lucas van Osenbruggen – Modelling captain and Finances & Sponsoring captain

Program: MSc. Data Science & Artificial Intelligence and MSc. Computer Science & Engineering

I believe that AI working in collaboration with humans will have an enormous impact on the field of healthcare. I joined the iGEM team in order to explore the state-of-the-art research as well as creating a practical application that can actually make a difference. In this team I will function as the modeler, making computer models that will inform our experiments. I am excited to be working in a team of enthusiastic students and I am looking forward to collaborating with industry partners as well as teams throughout the world! 

Simon Rose – Lab Co-Captain

Program: MSc. Biomedical Engineering, Biomaterials

Since the start of my bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering, I have always been interested in the concept of Synthetic Biology. However, during my bachelor’s, there was limited opportunity to apply my theoretical knowledge in a lab setting. As I progressed through my master’s, I discovered how fulfilling it is to translate my accumulating knowledge into a physical product. Serving as the Lab Captain within the iGEM team at TU/e has proven to be the perfect opportunity for this. 

As Lab Captain, I engage in a wide range of lab-related tasks, including designing experiments, developing protocols, mentoring team members, and analysing results. It’s incredibly rewarding to feel that my own knowledge can contribute to the success of our research. For this reason, I am greatly looking forward to this challenge! 

Marijn ter Weeme – Wiki & Website Captain

Program: BSc. Biomedical Engineering

Hi! My name is Marijn and I am a third year bachelor student Biomedical Engineering. During my second year I felt like I was missing out on something during my studies; I wanted something more tangible that made me feel connected to both my studies and the world. For me, iGEM presented the right opportunity for this! I am really looking forward to developing myself further, both professionally and intellectually. I am the wiki & website captain this year, giving me the responsibility to keep this website updated and build the wiki for the competition. I’m looking forward to a great year together with my team! 

Joyce Mendes Pols – Human Practices Co-Captain & Design Captain

Program: BSc. Medical Sciences and Technology

Hi, I’m Joyce and I’m a third year Medical Sciences and Technology student. As a Medical Sciences and Technology student looking for an extra challenge, iGEM caught my eye for its interesting themes. I am very excited to get to work and immerse myself in my field, by joining iGEM I don’t have to wait till after my studies. iGEM teams have the opportunity to make a significant impact with their innovative ideas. So, it’s exciting to work on human practises and find out how our project impacts different stakeholders. I am looking forward to learning more on synthetic biology and developing skills in different areas within the project. 

Lizette Sun – Lab Co-Captain

Program: MSc. Biomedical Engineering

Hey! My name is Lizette and I am doing a master’s in biomedical engineering, with a specialization in protein engineering. The great thing about joining iGEM to me is that I get to dive deep into a subject I love and – for the first time in my studies – execute our own idea. It’s an amazing opportunity and challenge to design a complete project, from brainstorming about what problem to solve to the detailed research of how to realize our product. As lab captains, Simon and I organize the development of our product in the lab from start to finish, researching every step and guiding our fellow team members in the execution. At the same time, I am learning to reach out to professionals for advice and collaborate effectively with my team. This is a really exciting challenge to me! 

Principal Investigators

Prof. dr. ir. L. (Luc) Brunsveld

Prof. dr. ir. Luc Brunsveld is a professor at TU Eindhoven. His main research interests lie in the field of chemical biology, like biochemistry or molecular cell biology. Besides lecturing students, he conducts research concerning protein-protein interactions. 

Prof. dr. M. (Maarten) Merkx

Prof. dr. Maarten Merkx is a professor at the TU Eindhoven. He is an expert on protein sensors and leads the research group Protein Engineering operating at the interface of chemical biology and synthetic biology.

Prof. dr. ir. T.F.A. (Tom) de Greef

Dr.ir. Tom de Greef is an Associate Professor of Synthetic Biology in the department of Biomedical engineering. He is an expert at modelling dynamic systems and synthetic circuits.

Instructors & Supervisors

Asst. Prof. dr. Roy van der Meel

Roy van der Meel is Assistant Professor of Precision Medicine at the TU/e’s Biomedical Engineering department. His research is focused on developing RNA-based nanotherapeutics to regulate the immune response in a highly precise manner.

Prof. dr. ir. Willem Mulder

Willem Mulder is a professor of Precision Medicine at both Radboudumc / Radboud University and the TU/e Department of Biomedical Engineering. His research focuses on precision immunotherapy and innovative molecular imaging approaches.

Post-Doc Anna-Maria Makri Pistikou

Anna-Mari Makri Pistikou is a Post-Doc researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology at the department of Biomedical Engineering with a focus on nanomedicine, who has just finished her doctorate on engineering synthetic receptor systems for mammalian cell-based therapeutics.

PhD Candidate Ayla Hokke

Ayla Hokke is a PhD candidate at the TU/e in the Precision Medicine group, working on apolipoprotein-based nanoparticles. She uses protein engineering to directly target certain immunecells to improve immune-based therapies.

Post-Doc Chiara Tramontano

Chiara Tramontano is an Azrieli Post-doctoral researcher at Technion, Haifa, with a focus on targeted brain delivery for neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders in Avi Schroeder’s Lab (Laboratory for targeted drug delivery and personalized medicine).