Mr Mihails Delmans

Mihails is a PhD student in the Haseloff Lab, with an Engineering background as an undegraduate. His research topic is the regulation of cell proliferation in Marchantia gemmae. In collaboration with Bernardo Pollak, he has developed an open source gene-centric database platform for managing genome data and synthetic DNA parts for Marchantia. He maintains a strong interest in enginnering approaches to biological problems, and explots his considerable expertise with electronics, optics and 3D printing to build and modify instrumentation for observing Marchantia cell dynamics.

His PhD research combines the construction of new marker genes, expression in Marchantia gemma, quantitative imaging and software analysis in order to map the dynamics of growth in gemmae. He has found evidence of long distance control of cell proliferation which can be deregulated by surgical manipulations. 

Karen Ingram

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Karen Ingram is a creative director, designer and artist who uses her skill set to promote scientific awareness. She has a keen interest in the field of synthetic biology. Karen co-authored “Biobuilder: Synthetic Biology in the Lab” (O’Reilly, 2015), a synthetic biology curriculum in which she crafted visual elements and teaching aides. As a Synthetic Biology LEAP Fellow, Karen is recognized as an emerging leader in synthetic biology.

She is a long-time planning committee member of SXSW Interactive, where she focuses on topics such as the overlap of science and art, emerging biotechnologies, and their effects on society. Since 2012, she has co-organized Brooklyn-based science cabaret The Empiricist League. She is also a creative strategy instructor for NYU SHERP’s Entrepreneurial Science Journalism course.

A veteran in the world of digital design, advertising, and marketing, Ingram has worked at Campfire, McCann Erikson, and UNICEF, to name a few. Her work has appeared in many publications including titles from Die Gestalten, Scientific American, and The FWA, where she was named a “Digital Pioneer.” Ingram has written tutorials on digital design for Computer Arts magazine and New Riders publications. She has presented her work globally in venues including Synbiobeta, the AIGA, Flash in the Can, Biofabricate, Synberc, and SXSW.