GASB TEAM

German Association for Synthetic Biology (GASB)

Steering Committee

The steering committee is GASB’s official representation and is annually elected through the members meeting. As the main operational board, the steering committee ensures the proper function of the association and represents GASB externally.

Please contact each individual member of the steering committee directly with your questions or use our contact form for general requests.

We are looking forward to getting in touch with you! You can contact us in German or English!

Jan Kalkowski

Head of Steering

Meet Jan, our Head of Steering, leveraging three years of volunteer experience for a comprehensive understanding of the German SynBio landscape. Jan envisions GASB as the key platform to unite Academia, Industry, and Politics, establishing SynBio’s prominence. Concurrently, Jan is pursuing a Ph.D. in cell-free and bottom-up SynBio at TU Munich. Feel free to reach out & join us in elevating Synthetic Biology with GASB!

Carolina Elizondo

Vice Head of Steering

Carolina is the current Vice-Head of Steering at GASB. She is doing her PhD at Heidelberg University on the phenotypic heterogeneity of B. subtilis biofilms and spores. Even though not working directly with SynBio, she believes it is a key discipline to solve many of our society’s problems. Reason why she joined GASB at the end of 2022, where she has worked in the Collaborations Associations team, to promote SynBio together with other Associations not only in Germany, but all around the world.

Janine Wanke

Chief Financial Officer

Janine studied Biotechnology in Giessen and joined GASB after organizing the German iGEM Meetup in 2020. Janine also organized the GASB conference 2023 which was held in Freiburg. Within GASB she is responsible for our finances.

Nikita Edel

Officer for Education

Nikita joined GASB in 2023 after participating in the SynBioWorld Cafe 2022,
while being a member of the 2022 iGEM Team Freiburg. There he started as a member of
the BioBits Team. Currently he studies Biology at the University of Freiburg. He
tries to get more people involved and passionate about Synthetic Biology with
exciting education projects.

Louis Schanzmann

Officer for Industry Collaboration

I joined GASB at the end of 2022 after I finished my responsibilities as a student leader at iGEM Münster and took over responsibility for sponsoring in GASB. I am excited to work with the next generation of SynBio pioneers, actively contributing to the sustainable advancement of the SynBio landscape in Germany and Europe. Since December 2023, I have been serving as the Head Industry Officer in GASB and am once again Student Leader for iGEM Münster 2024.

Marwan Kaufmann

Officer for Human Resources

Marwan is a recently graduated biomolecular engineer. At the Centre for Synthetic Biology, Darmstadt, or the Center for Biosustainability, Copenhagen, he contributed to the development of novel protein sensors or the engineering of synthetic metabolisms. Starting as a jack-of-all-trades at GASB, Marwan is now mainly responsible for member administration as well as the management and recruitment of new volunteers. Interested in collaborating or joining us? Contact him!

Charlotte Desczyk

Officer for Academic Collaboration

Charlotte is a PhD student in synthetic microbiology at the University of Regensburg. Her involvement with GASB began in 2021 as a volunteer at the scientific conference, leading to a role in the conference organizing committee. As officer of scientific collaboration she is now responsible for the collaboration with academic partners and the organsation of the GASB conference, annualy bringing experts of synthetic biology together in Germany.

Max Hoffmann-Becking

Financing Officer

Max, a synthetic biology enthusiast, delves into life’s intricacies at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg. Since late 2023, he’s a driving force at GASB, steering funding allocation and forging collaborations with companies, investors, and visionaries. Beyond the lab, Max’s vision extends to shaping a future where synthetic biology breakthroughs become real-world solutions, leaving an indelible mark on the world.

Michael Spädt

Officer for Content Creation

Michael currently studies Biology at the University of Freiburg, and like many others, he discovered his passion for SynBio while participating in iGEM. In his oppinion, science, art, and communication work best when combined. So as our Officer for Content Creation, he focuses on bridging the gap between our work and the wide world!

Florian Hänsel

Officer for Politics

Florian is a Graduate Student at the CEPLAS – Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences based at HHU Düsseldorf and joined GASB in 2022. He was a delegate to the UN CBD COP15 and was previously responsible for issues regarding SynBio and biodiversity. As the current Officer for Politics, he works at the interface of science and policy to promote a responsible and progressive political landscape and thus foster the SynBio ecosystem in Germany and beyond.

Cedric Brinkmann

IT Officer

Cedric is studying Mathematics and Data Science at the Philipps-University Marburg. Since his participation in iGEM 2019, he is interested in the intersection of SynBio and Data Science, particularly in the field of synthetic genomics and laboratory automation. As IT Officer, he is responsible for the strategic planning, implementation and maintenance of the IT infrastructure at GASB.

Andrea Aquize

Officer for Association Collaboration

Andrea is currently doing her MSc in Biology with focus on Molecular and Synthetic Biology at the TU Darmstadt. Her interest in SynBio started after participating in the 2021 iGEM Team of her university. Since then, Andrea has worked with iGEM as a GASB representative and is looking foward to expand the connections that GASB has with other organizations in Germany and beyond.

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Michael Burgis

Officer for Website and Online Representation

Michael is currently doing his PhD in Molecular Plant Physiology at the Philipps University Marburg. Within GASB Michael is administering the website and is responsible for the online representation of the association. Any feedback on the website content/design can be directed towards him.

Christian Rauch

Officer for Legal Affairs and Data Security

Christian is currently doing his PhD at the Center for Synthetic Microbiology in Marburg where he focusses on metabolic engineering in bacteria. Before joining GASB in early 2022, he was active in other associations for science communication.
As the Officer for Legal Affairs and Data Security, he keeps an eye for potential legal roadblocks for GASB projects and works to circumvent any issues that might arise before they become problems.

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Active Members

Whether it is through organizing the next conference, panel discussion or realizing their own project ideas, the active members of GASB leave their footprints on the road to establishing a SynBio community in Germany. In collaboration with small interdisciplinary teams our active members support us realizing our events and projects. Do you want to contribute or are you just curious what possibilities lie ahead? Become Active!