Team:METUHS-Ankara/team.html

 Hey, I'm Almira and I'm a third grader in the METU High School. Along with my science studies I also play cello professionally in the Presidential Symphony Orchestra and I study as a private student in the Music Pedagogy department of Gazi University. When it comes to my personal interests a little, I've been drawing and painting since I was very little and I also write all kinds of fictional stories. After I graduate from METU H.S, my plan is to move to Sweden to study university. Since I've always been a creative person in my own ways I'm interested in creating, designing and developing all kinds of things, which makes me interested in genetics and biology so much, because it's a study and an effort to understand the very first creation on this earth, and our roots. Additionally, this idea sucked me into this department. And the reason I volunteered to join IGEM is, I thought it's a very good opportunity for me to dig a little deeper into it beforehand and get a little experience.

My name is Batuhan. I'm 16 years old and I go to METU High School. I like working as a team and I'm interested in biology. I have a lot of hobbies that I don't regularly do, however I play basketball and I have been doing Wing Tsun, which is known as 'Kung Fu', for years. I like being part of projects, and that's why I joined the iGEM team.

Hi I’m Bengisu Birer and I am a 10th grade student at METU High School. I noticed my interest in molecular biology last year. That’s why I decided to be a part of the IGEM team.  With the help of IGEM I learnt lots of thing about bacteria which I can’t learn at school. IGEM has many benefits like helping us to think more deeply and faster. Thanks to IGEM, I have improved myself in synthetic biology. Also, it helps evolve your creativity and this affects other classes, too.

Hi everyone, I’m Can Soygür. I’m 16 now and a 10th grade student in METU Development Foundation High School. At school, I've found out I have a special interest in biology, particularly in molecular biology. Therefore, I joined our school’s iGEM HS team to improve my biology and have fun with my friends. In my free times I often chat with my friends or play PC games, mostly first person shooter. I also spend time doing my new interest: archery. By the way, my favourite hobby is reading a lot, especially humorous magazines, political books and some interesting novels.

My name is Cem Anıl and I am a senior in METU Development Foundation High School. I have a great passion for science and this is the primary reason why I'm here in the IGEM High School Team of my school. I am planning to pursue an academic career in computational neuroscience in the future. Though I find each branch of science extremely intriguing, the areas that attract my interest most are physics, neuroscience and molecular biology. My biggest intention is to contribute to the research aiming to reach artificial intelligence. Besides science, I am also extremely involved in music. I play the piano, compose classical music and jazz pieces and perform in several school and regional concerts. I take great pleasure from discussing science, philosophy, arts, mathematics, music and cinema with people who have interest in those areas. As for sports, I used to play tennis a lot a few years ago and participated in numerous tournaments; now I only continue playing tennis as a hobby. I am grateful to be a part of this great science organization which gave me the chance to acquire a lot of theoretical and practical knowledge in synthetic biology.

I am Deniz Siso and I'm a senior at METU Development Foundation High School. This is our first iGEM experience as a team. I joined the team because I really want to do something good for the world and the people such as solving environmental problems. Also, I want to study biological sciences in college. This also encourages me to participate in iGEM which will enrich my biological knowledge and give me lab experience. In addition, I learn to work as a team thanks to iGEM and I believe that this will be very useful for me in the future, especially in college. I am very happy and excited to be a part of this amazing team.

Hi, I am Ece Özmen, a 10th grade student at METU High Scool. iGEM is all new to our school and to us, this is the first year of the team. iGEM helps us discover the world of synthetic biology and it is a huge opportunity for our future careers. Besides learning about synthetic biology, we also learn how to work as a team. Also I believe that to enjoy every single moment of this competition is very important. This is what I tell people when they ask the question "What is iGEM?".

Hey there!  I am Umut, and a 11th grade student at METU High School. I have had a lot of fields of interest in my life but I have never been a very great student. My grades are just a tad bit over average. To me, academic success is its own thing. You should be able to move along and still be able to work on your interests. In my free times I write some code (Java, Python, C/C++) and make some fun applications and/or games. I also really enjoy solving the Rubik's Cube, playing jazz piano improvisation, listening to technology podcasts, discussing quantum physics with my father and creating origami models. The iGEM club helped me get over my laziness and made me remember how much I enjoyed learning in the first place.

Hey there, I'm Öykü Deniz. I'm 17 years old and a junior in METU Development Foundation Private High School. :) I enjoy playing guitar and singing, even if not professional at all. I'm all over biology, specifically biotechnology. IGEM is a very important competition for learning and improving lab skills; I'm trying my best. :)

My name is Safa Taflan. I am a tenth grader in Metu High School. As my favorite subject is Biology, I wanted to take part in iGEM. I believe that iGEM will help us improve our lab skills and make us more interested in biology. As a student who has grown up with science fiction films about biology, it is exhilarating to even take part in iGEM.

Hi, I am Selin and I am an eleventh grade student. It is our first year in iGEM as a team and I am pretty excited about the idea of genetically engineered machines. Examples of what could be done by synthetic biology seemed so crazy that I immediately decided on joining the newly forming iGEM team in our school. I learned about so much that I didn’t even know existed. I also deeply love chemistry and electronics. I play volleyball and have practice almost every day. Volleyball has become a big part of my life.

Hi, I'm Umay Eren Ertekin. I'm 15 and currently at 10th grade in METU High School. Science has always been one of my biggest interests, most of all chemistry and biology- so iGEM has been an amazing opportunity for me to learn about and get some practice with synthetic biology. I'm extremely glad I joined :) . I hope to continue doing what I love and have a scientific career in the future. I also really enjoy reading, writing, learning new things and playing the piano. My favourite genres in books are fantasy and science fiction, though I have many favourite books of other types as well, and my favourite sport is badminton.