Alumni Stories

Hi, I’m Cecilia Trivellin, currently a postdoctoral researcher supported by a VR grant at the University of Gothenburg and Harvard University. My research explores the physiological limits of yeast through genomics and evolution. iGEM was an incredible experience for me! It taught me how to approach synthetic biology, collaborate effectively, communicate science, and integrate multiple disciplines into a single cohesive project. I enjoyed it so much that I went on to supervise students embarking on the same journey! It’s truly rewarding to build lasting connections, with your teammates and the global synthetic biology community, and that, to me, is what iGEM is all about.

iGEM was the first time I really understood what it meant to be a researcher. During my university studies I conducted numerous laboratory experiments, but always under strict supervision and with a clear goal of what to achieve. iGEM is different, where you have to work together with your team to create your own idea of what to achieve and how you’ll get there, and think outside the box when things don’t go as planned. What I also found interesting is that the soft skills are equally important as the research. To me, the best science is the one you can clearly communicate, and that is helpful in the society as a whole.

I am currently working with drug development as a pharmacometrician within Clinical pharmacology & pharmacometrics at AstraZeneca, supporting dose selection in clinical studies. I’m doing this using data analysis and mathematical modeling, always in close collaboration with a cross-functional team. In my role I feel my research has a clear purpose that can be put into context, and I have the innovative freedom to solve any challenges along the way. If science was straightforward, it wouldn’t be any fun.

Being involved in iGEM was a great learning experience in many ways. Perhaps most importantly, the iGEM project was the first time that you were both given the opportunity to design your own research project, but also the responsibility to see it through. This meant that you had to learn how to plan a project from start to finish, but also to think on your feet and develop solutions to problems that present themselves along the course of the project. Moreover, working in the context of a team was a great experience, as you got to develop as researchers together and identify how to make effective use of your collective skills. Finally, iGEM also allowed me to develop my practical skills in several areas, such as wet lab experiments, computational analysis, and even web design, which allowed me to further identify my research interests.

Today, I am working as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Chalmers, where I do research on antibiotic resistance using bioinformatics and AI. This role allows me to both develop and conduct my own research projects in active collaboration with other members of my research group. The ability to drive research projects independently and as part of a team, which I first developed in iGEM, are, thus, highly relevant even years later.

Being part of iGEM gave me hands-on lab experience. I developed skills in project planning and working within a larger team. It was rewarding to see the bigger picture, beyond just the lab work. I also made new friends whom I still keep in touch with today. I currently work as a Clinical Laboratory Geneticist at Karolinska University Hospital.

I was part of the Chalmers-Gothenburg iGEM team in 2018, during the last year of my master’s, and it was a great experience! I got to collaborate on an open scientific problem together with people who were also keen on making the project work. We had a lot of fun, both working on the project and when taking part in several of the travelling opportunities that showed up in connection to iGEM.

An iGEM project includes many different components, and it is possible to adapt each team members engagement to their interests. I, for example, spent a large part of the time on developing mathematical models, as this was where my interests lie. Of course, it is a team effort, and everyone needs to ensure that all components of the project move forward (but this only contributes to the fun!).

While I did study Biotechnology at Chalmers, after my master’s in Complex Adaptive Systems, I went on to a PhD at Linköping University, focusing purely on statistics and machine learning. Today, I’m a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, applying statistical analysis and machine learning to cardiometabolic disease. I’m really happy where I’m currently at, combining what I learned during my PhD with my background in biotechnology. Did being part of iGEM help me get here? I cannot say for sure. What I can say is that it was a great opportunity for working on a cool project together with amazing people!

iGEM was an amazing and exciting experience. It was an opportunity to aim high together with other driven students, to build a strong sense of community through all the challenges, and to meet new like-minded friends. I loved the freedom to brainstorm and discuss a wide range of ideas, and to develop them all the way from concept to dry-lab models and, finally, actual lab plans.

iGEM was incredibly educational, both within and beyond the field of biotech, since it’s such a challenging and multifaceted competition. I also learned that wet lab work wasn’t really for me, haha. That was an important insight that helped me find my direction; today, I work at AnyoLabs, developing and applying AI models to discover new drugs.

So if you’re interested in iGEM, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Participating in iGEM was an eye-opening experience. It brought lecture concepts to life, especially through endless PCRs (if you know, you know..), and taught me the value of creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. Even now, as a postdoc, the spirit of iGEM continues to influence how I approach science: with curiosity, innovation, and teamwork.

I was part of the Chalmers-Gothenburg iGEM team of year 2018, at the end of my third Chalmers year and beginning of my masters. It was the first time I partook in the development of a project and the first time I worked (somewhat) independently in the lab. I learned so much during those few months, both in terms of working in a research environment and of working in a team. My participation enabled me to better understand the technologies we had previously only learnt about in theory, and thereby of the possibilities of their application, which is what initially sparked my interest in a scientific career. I also met key people that have been important for my choice of career path, both though inspiration and provided opportunities, and many friends I still cherish today.

For me, iGEM was the start of my scientific journey, creating an interest in pursuing the limits of synthetic biology and its application in health and disease. It is a topic that further attracted me in my masters, my PhD, and that I want to continue pursuit of going forward as well. So if you have the chance to, all I can say is join! No matter whether you find out that research is for you or not, you will experience immense growth in a short period of time, and gain memories for a lifetime.