Vasily Vanifatov

Synthetic Biology: Chair

Hello everyone, my name is Vasily!

I am a member of Imperial’s iGEM team and am deeply passionate about synthetic biology. Over the past 7 months, iGEM has given me an opportunity to closely engage with the synbio field, gain practical skills and build valuable connections. I am excited for the opportunity to bring this experience, network and enthusiasm to SynBIC as its Chair.

I aim to keep all events you enjoyed and introduce fresh initiatives. I hope to provide you with a chance to explore synbio holistically, gain first-hand experience in this field and become inspired by it.

My ambitions:

Organise lab, biotechnology company and facility tours, such as NGS, X-ray crystallography and cryo-ET facility visits.
Host hackathons and support small teams to compete externally.
Create more hands-on opportunities to build CVs, including student conferences with poster presentations.
Introduce volunteering opportunities through iGEM, CRIS Cancer Foundation, Great Exhibition Road Festival and beyond.
Place greater emphasis on learning crucial synbio skills through workshops on tools like SnapGene, Rosetta, and AlphaFold.
Give members a broader view of synthetic biology by organising events to explore concepts like bioethics, biosafety, patent law and policymaking.
Squeeze in a few fun socials, including museum visits, pub quizzes, runs and walks to build a more tightly-knit SynBIC community.

I have also spoken to Tristan a great deal about the Chair position and have a clear understanding of the responsibilities involved.

Thank you very much for reading my manifesto, and I would be grateful for your vote!