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About Us

iGEM, International Genetically Engineered Machine, is a worldwide synthetic biology competition. Canyon Crest Academy, a local Carmel Valley public high school, will be competing in the iGEM competition in November 2017. Our team is composed of rising seniors, juniors, and sophomores who truly enjoy working on STEM-related topics.

T H E   T E A M

 iGEM Summer Camp Staff


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Michelle Zhang is a rising senior at Canyon Crest Academy and the Outreach Director at CCA iGEM. In addition to challenging herself with classes such as AP Biology and AP Chemistry, Michelle is able to further her interest in biology and spread her passion to children through iGEM's summer camps. She thoroughly enjoys working with people of all ages, especially younger children, through experience with her church's children ministry and volunteering at the VA Hospital. Playing her heart out on the flute and fawning over her pet chickens are activities that never fail to bring a smile to her face.

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Allen Huang is a rising junior at Canyon Crest Academy. He was a top 20 scorer and National Finals attendee for the 2017 USA Biology Olympiad, as well as a top 20 scorer and National Finals invitee for the 2017 US National Chemistry Olympiad. In addition, he is a four-time American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME) qualifier. He’s taken science classes up to AP Chemistry and AP Calculus BC in high school, as well as several other college-level courses outside of school. He has conducted research on signal transduction in cancer cells, and his prior teaching experience includes counseling at a childrens' summer camp.

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​Anlin Zhang is a rising senior at Canyon Crest. She is passionate about several STEM topics, her favorite being mathematics. She has received the school winner award (top 1% in the world) for both the AMC 10 and 12 contests, and qualified for the AIME and USA Math Olympiad (USAMO). Selected for the MIT PRIMES-USA program, she has been a research intern in MIT's math department since last year. In addition, Anlin is contributing to ongoing biological research regarding metabolite profiling of different cancers at the UCSD Supercomputer Center. And as a lover of volunteering, she has co-founded and coached local elementary and middle school's Science Olympiad programs for 3 years. When not working in the areas of STEM, she can be found dancing, playing the piano, or travelling.

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Anjali Gopinathan is a rising junior at CCA. When she's not playing soccer or hiking, she enjoys working on STEM related topics, including tutoring others with math of levels up to AP Calculus BC, and programming in various languages such as C, which she learned in depth at a UCSD course. This is her first year participating in iGEM, and she is excited to apply her knowledge to the project.

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Samantha Zhu is a rising junior attending Canyon Crest Academy. Following in the footsteps of her parents, Samantha has always had a passion for biology, chemistry, and environmental science. As an ambitious individual, she has participated in Science Olympiad for two years, both of which she qualified for the state team and placed within the top ten for events involving ecology, microbiology, and experimental design. In addition to striving for academic excellence, Samantha loves teaching kids and inspiring them to participate in STEM-related activities. Over the summer and school year of 2015-2017, she tutored several elementary students in algebra and biology, coached Solana Pacific in ecology for Science Olympiad, and she actively partakes in a prominent volunteer organization. In her free time, Samantha loves ballet and tap dancing, opera singing, and doing photography.

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Yogitha Shastri is a rising sophomore at Canyon Crest Academy and is a member of the CCA iGEM finance team. She has always enjoyed learning through STEM and her favorite subjects are mathematics and science. She has competed in Science Olympiad and Science Field Day, and she has helped coach teams. Outside of learning and helping others understand math and science, she loves dance and tae kwon do.

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Aida Razavilar is a rising junior at Canyon Crest Academy and is the co-head coordinator of CCA iGEM as well as the CCA iGEM Organization Director. Having been in the club for nearly 3 years, Aida has a lot of research experience. She has taken AP Calculus AB/BC and AP Chemistry and continues to further her drive for science research and management with iGEM. She loves teaching driven students and will share her love for science and teaching through the camp.


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Aadil Rehan is a rising junior at Canyon Crest Academy. He is passionate about science. He has received an honorable mention at the California State Science Fair, competing with over 800 participants. He has also taken six AP courses, including AP Chemistry and AP Calculus AB and BC. Aadil loves learning, and he enjoys mentoring and working with younger students.

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Philippe Hansen Estruch is a rising senior at Canyon Crest Academy with a passion for engineering and computers. He participated at the Science Fair, receiving 1st place at regionals as well as receiving an environmental award, getting an Honorable Mention from General Atomics, and an Honorable Mention at the State Fair, and Plug-In America first place award. He has worked in many biotech labs doing cloning and protein modeling, and he is currently working with a lab at UCSD on silicon nanotechnology. He also placed 5th in the UCSD Honors Statistics contest. He takes UCSD Calculus 3 and Linear Algebra. Philippe is very excited about teaching kids important subjects in math and physics.

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Maggie Chen is a rising senior at Canyon Crest Academy and the advisor for the CCA San Diego iGEM team. She grew up constructing stick houses for the snails in her backyard, and that curiosity for biological mechanisms and the desire to build later translated into her passion for biomedical engineering research. For her research work in drug delivery systems and nano devices, she has been recognized as a 1st and 3rd Place Grand Award Winner at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Maggie has won numerous awards at the regional and state level science fairs, and she has been sponsored by organizations including Marvel Studios, the Society for Science and the Public, and the Walt Disney Corporation. Maggie was a founding member and the 2015-16 team leader for the CCA San Diego team. She is the chair for the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair’s Student Advisory Board, has taught classes in mathematics at the San Diego Chinese Institute, and has tutored in STEM subjects at Solana Ranch Elementary School. Maggie is excited to share her passions with younger students and to explore the far reaching implications of synthetic biology with the CCA San Diego team.

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Jennifer Yang is a rising senior at CCA who really loves science and hopes to share her enthusiasm for the subject through teaching younger students. Having taken AP Chemistry and AP Physics 1 (she is currently in AP Physics 2), Jennifer is excited to bring her knowledge to the camp. Besides participating in iGEM, she is a member of the Science Olympiad team and Chemistry Club at CCA.

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Martin Holmes is a rising junior at Canyon Crest Academy and is the co-head coordinator of CCA iGEM as well as the CCA iGEM Lab Director. He has studied chemistry (even taking AP Chemistry in ninth grade), molecular biology, and metallic operons in e-coli and hydraulic bioremediation methods. In addition, he will be a Science Olympiad Committee Member in 2018 (he has previously competed at the State level) and co-head coordinator of National (Energy) Science Bowl and National Ocean Science Bowl. Martin loves to play the piano and explore math and science, especially earth, environmental, and biological sciences. He has taught and coached many students in different science competitions and events.

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George Cheng will be a senior next year at Canyon Crest Academy. He's been an avid member of science and biology related activities for many years, including Science Olympiad, in which he has participated for 5 years, and USABO, in which he qualified for semifinals. George is a captain in the CCA speech and debate club and a frequent member of the Quizbowl and Academic teams at CCA. George interned at the Scripps research institute last summer and has since been acutely interested in laboratory science and biology.

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Andy Zhu is a rising junior at Canyon Crest Academy and a member of the iGEM Finance Team. He has always had a deep interest in STEM, specifically math and physics. Andy has qualified for AIME four times in addition to being invited to San Diego ARML five times. Andy also received an honorable mention on the USAPHO exam. He is a member of CCA Science Olympiad and has competed at the state competition for two years, focusing on physics events. In addition, he will be a Science Olympiad Committee Member in 2018. He enjoys working with younger children by coaching Science Olympiad. Outside of math and science, he enjoys playing ultimate frisbee and card games.

CCA Staff Supervisors: 

Mrs. Fisher, Mrs. Adams, Mr. Gilbert, ​Dr. Gerstin 

Our Workshop

 The genetics and environmental science camp will provide an engaging environment where students will learn about biology, the ecosystem, and more topics that will put your child ahead. It should be a very fun experience, and we encourage students to ask their friends to register, too!

Our Physics and Physical Sciences Camp will teach key principles such as fluid dynamics, applications to physical biology, and more.
See the Physics and Physical Sciences Camp page for more details!

Our Genetics and Environmental Sciences Camp not only teaches advanced lab technique including PCR, but also chemical bonding of DNA and structures of protein and environmental genetics.
​See the Genetics and Environmental Sciences Camp page for more details!

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