top of page

Meet The Team

Alex Ditzel-nobackground.png

Alex Ditzel

Chairman

Founder, Planning, Judging, and Website

I think Gogec can help make synbio accessible to all student researchers. Currently, I'm a postdoc at the US Naval Research Lab studying synthetic bacteriophage development. I'm also interested in topics like geopolitics, artificial intelligence, and psychology!

José Antonio Alonso no background.png

Pepe Alonso

Board Member

Planning and Research Integrity

I joined Gogec because of its openness. I've lectured about bioethics and social issues of SynBio. I am currently finishing a PhD in Social Studies of Science.

Dru_edited2_edited.png

Dru Myerscough

Board Member

Planning and Web Development

I am an undergraduate SynBio researcher interested in scientific outreach and communication. The scientific community is enriched by diversity and open collaboration, and I believe Gogec can help make the field of SynBio more accessible and inclusive.

Gogec Picture_edited.jpg

David Diaz

Treasurer

Sponsorship and Outreach 

I joined Gogec to help its mission of making Synthetic Biology more accessible by connecting people through an online open conference. Having previous outreach experience I hope to make it possible for the conference to reach a wider audience and promote collaboration in this exciting field.

LiChieh no background.png

Li Chieh Lu

Board Member

Founder, Recruiting and Biosecurity 

I hope that Gogec can help increase accessibility to synthetic biology research and science for students around the world. I am PhD student in Biochemistry & Cell Biology and am a lover of science memes

​

georgie - nobckgn.png

Georgie Hau Sorensen

Board Member

Judging, Biosafety and Biosecurity

The pandemic has shown that it's possible to connect scientists online to share open solutions to problems in life sciences and SynBio. I want to ensure that the free and open sharing of data is continued, even after the pandemic.

Evangelos (-Marios) Nikolados no background.png

Evangelos-Marios Nikolados

Sponsorship, Outreach and Computation

I am a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on AI-enabled synthetic biology. I believe in Gogec's mission as a truly inclusive, no fees competition for synthetic biology.

no background alicia.png

Alicia Selvera

Board Member

Web Development and Graphic Design

I joined Gogec because I believe registration fees shouldn't be a barrier to students conducting and presenting their research. I am a second -year medical student and have hopes of continuing to conduct SynBio research 

Caleigh Roleck - transparent.png

Caleigh Roleck

Board Member

Judging, Biosecurity, and Research Integrity

I joined Gogec because, as an undergraduate, I found meeting peers with similar academic interests and sharing our science a rewarding part of the process. Gogec's accessibility helps remove some of the barriers to meeting other scientists from across the globe.

shyamkk.png

Shyam Bhakta

Planning and Judging

Presenting work at an academic conference shouldn't and doesn't require the majority of a project's budget. Yet this is the unreasonable and inequitable reality for many SynBio students and their labs around the world, which motivated me to help form Gogec.

Interested in joining the team?

Join the Discord group and reach out to any of the current members and we can provide you with more information about the next steps  

​

bottom of page