Selin Filiz is a rising high school senior focused on accelerating sustainability through synthetic biology and the arts with interests in microbiology, filmmaking, and science communications. Her fascination for biology comes from understanding and drawing connections between parts of systems and the use of these relationships to engineer new biological parts to solve environmental problems. As a videographer and photographer, she seeks to improve her storytelling skills by capturing memories and telling impactful tales through cinematography and design.
As a student (Class of 2024) at the International Community School in Kirkland, Selin has enjoyed being an active member of the community through multiple student organizations including the Associated Student Body, Key Club, Green Team, and more. She is currently the chapter president of ICS FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), a lead photographer for the Yearbook club, and a teen media assistant volunteer at the City of Kirkland. In addition to her high school education, Selin takes biology classes through the Running Start program at the Lake Washington Institute of Technology.
At ISB, Selin worked with her partner Amelie Medeiros and mentors Jake Valenzuela and Chris Deutsch in the Baliga Lab to design an RT-qPCR reaction to describe the expression of an antiporter gene in the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana under low and high carbon environments. This entailed daily measuring of diatom samples, designing mRNA primers, researching, writing, and performing protocols for nucleic acid extraction, reverse transcription, PCR, and gel electrophoresis, and using R coding to visualize data, among other responsibilities.
Selin enjoys making short films and discussing movies, exploring picnic spots with her friends, and picking up new hobbies like crocheting in her free time. She is so thankful for the opportunity to learn at ISB alongside her fellow interns and mentors!