Tarun Srinivasan is a junior in Columbia college studying biochemistry and statistics. His research is principally focused on synthetic biology. He is a member of the Wang Lab at the Columbia University Medical Center in the Department of Systems Biology. His current project is centered around engineering a system for Pantoea agglomerans that allows it to detect a wide variety of toxins, from heavy metals to viral pathogens. Using genetic recombineering techniques, this system will be incorporated into the bacteria, which will then be used in the field to provide colored, in situ, readouts, indicating the presence of toxic agents. Previously, Tarun was a member of the Columbia University International Genetically-Engineered Machine (IGEM) Competition Team. The team’s project focused on shRNA-based approaches to oncogene silencing as a potential cancer therapeutic. Tarun’s work was specifically focused on in vitro cell-culture studies of shRNA-based knockdown of oncogenes present in liver and cervical cancer cells. He presented his work with the team at last year’s IGEM Giant Jamboree, for which his team was awarded a silver medal. Tarun’s goal is to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in hopes of one day becoming a physician-scientist.