#igem2015

One word describing you?

Opinionated.

What are you studying? Why do you study it?

Molecular Biosciences. My first touch to biotechnology was in North Carolina, when I studied on exchange in 2008-2009. I had a whole course in biotechnology, and the teacher was really excited about everything bio. We did really cool experiments, and since then I knew this was something I wanted to do in the future.

What is your philosophy towards work/life?

Just keep swimming… I believe everything will turn out for the best if I just keep doing what I do and following my instincts.

Who has inspired you in your life and why?

Every girl’s hero is their daddy, right? I think he’s given me patience to calm down my feisty nature and actually my life philosophy is quite close to what he says to every situation ever: “things have a tendency to work themselves out”. He’s been the black sheep of his family and studied and worked with what he wanted, not what his family may have expected from him and he’s always supported everything I do. He used to say that “others do what they can while Anna does what she wants”. This saying has traveled with as long as I can remember and definitely has had an impact on my self-confidence.

If you had only six months left to live, what would you do with the time?

Travel to as many countries as I possibly could. Hopefully in good company.

One word describing you?

Playful

What are you studying? Why did you decide to study your field?

I am currently studying bioinformation technology in Aalto University. In high school, I was interested in the hard sciences: physics, chemistry, mathematics. I was also very much interested in human biology. After high school, I started studying bioinformation technology and have been liking it ever since. I am especially interested in how combining engineering practices with medicine can help us develop new ways to improve healthcare.

What do I do on my free time?

I am an avid reader, and quite often spend my evenings reading books. I also watch movies and tv series, play computer games and like programming my own little projects. In conclusion, I am an omnivorous media consumer. I’m also involved in scouting. Trekking in the forests near Espoo is what makes me relax.

My favourite book? Why?

I don't really have a favourite book, since I've read many good ones which makes it hard to decide which one of them is best. Lately I've been reading a lot of science fiction, and one book I'm particularly fond of is Diaspora by Greg Egan. It tells the story of a person born in the far future, and touches on themes like personal identity and consciousness. I find the rigorous attention to science as well as the realistic setting really captivating. Add in some believable characters and wrap it up with a captivating story and at least I’m sold.

If you were a fictive character, who would you be and why?

Q from the James Bond movies. I really like the way he creates these all sorts of gadgets for James Bond. If I had the resolve, I would probably spend my time building all the little things that come to my mind.

Philosophy towards life:

It’ll be fun afterwards. Applies to both the good and the bad, from the moments with your friends and family to grueling physical exertion.

One word describing you?

Curious

What are you studying? Why did you decide to study your field?

I’m studying Medicine and Molecular Biosciences. I started Molecular Biosciences in 2012. My pre-existing excitement towards small-scale biology and research strengthened during the year. I still found medicine-related topics most interesting, so I applied to study Medicine. Besides finding the science interesting, I was attracted by the meaningfulness, security and multitude of options in Medicine.

Are you a morning or an evening person?

I find the calmness of 5 o’clock in the morning very enjoyable and perfect for focusing, but I’d still say I’m really an evening person. On working days I need to more or less force myself to go to sleep, and on holidays I tend to wake up at around 11.

How do you spend your free time?

I like PC gaming, especially turn-based and real-time strategy games, like Civilization and Age of Empires, as well as city builders, for instance Simcity 4. The little time I’ve recently had for games I’ve spent on Cities: Skylines. Perhaps uncoincidentally, I’m also fairly excited by urban planning in the real world. I also cycle a lot, finding it both a convenient way of getting around and a sufficient excuse for avoiding other forms of exercise.

What would I find in your refrigerator at the moment?

Lingonberries from last year I’m going to have with my breakfast porridge next morning. I’m making space in the freezer for the berries of this year.

What is your philosophy towards life?

I'm trying to leave the world a little better than I found it and enjoy the journey.

One word describing you?

Dreamer

What is your favorite book and why?

I read seldom, which makes this question a bit challenging and the few books I read are more or less non-fiction at the moment. How to Win Friends and Influence People written by Dale Carnegie describes the human behaviour very well and it has been on my bedside table for a while. I also enjoy reading fantasy books like Harry Potter and Hunger Games. Through them I can jump to a world full of imagination.?

What is the last movie you saw?

I watched the last movie with our amazing iGEM team, which was Gattaca. The movie was a really positive surprise. Science and drama were nicely combined, where the small details between the characters made it intriguing. The last movie I have watched alone was The Theory of Everything. It left me thinking for several days of the beauty of science. Even though the movie didn't focuse that much on the science as the documentary, which I happened to see a bit before

How do you spend your free time?

For the past 10 years and maybe longer I have played table tennis on competitive level. It is still the only thing that makes me forget everything else at least for a moment. I also like to photograph, especially in the nature. Can’t leave a beautiful view without capturing it. The beauty is how to show everyone else what you see. Now, during summer I enjoy having a jog after work and sit for a while watching tv before bed. The series of the summer is definitely Castle.

What do you want to do when you are grown up?

My dream would be to solve problems and come up with ideas related to different fields like Göran Sundholm, an engineer with business sense.

What is your philosophy towards life?

Since many members of our team have been asking how to make one, it was decided to share this with everyone. You don't have to study synthetic biology to make your own propane!

“I used cotton yarn (125m/50g) with size 3 crochet hook. The instructions for the spheres can be found here: https://mspremiseconclusion.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/ideal-sphere2.pdf (as a mathematician I found the heading a bit humorous). To make the propane, you need three of the biggest spheres, and eight of the smallest ones. I didn't make the beginnings of the spheres as was indicated in the instructions, but rather with magic circle/ring -technique. You'll find the instructions easily with google: “magic circle crocheting”. Don't finish the spheres, make the biggest until  27th row, and smallest until 8th or 9th row. After stuffing the spheres, finish off only one of the carbon atoms, then attach the rest. Remember that the carbons should be in v-formation and the hydrogens as far from each others as possible!” -Riikka

InterLab Measurement study has started with some minor struggle, and we are still waiting for the sequences to arrive before we can start our propane production for real.