Glynn Family Honors Program

Join us today at 5 for a lecture and reception with Kyle Karches, a Glynn alumnus and visiting scholar!

Kyle Karches is Professor of Internal Medicine at Saint Louis University and a faculty member in the Gnaegi Center for Bioethics. He received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and his MD from the University of Chicago, where he then completed residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in clinical ethics. He also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Health Care Ethics from Saint Louis University. He practices primary care and hospital medicine, teaches ethics to medical and graduate students, and chairs the ethics committee at SSM Saint Louis University Hospital

A new semester means a new lunch and learn! Join us next Friday to hear from three 2019 graduates about their roles on campus today. Register using the attached QR code or at the link in our bio

The Glynn Family Honors Program is excited to share the work of two of our students, Oliver Wardhana ’27 and Mckenna Douglas ’28, who, with of a team of five undergraduate researchers, presented an independent research project to a panel of international judges at the iGEM Grand Jamboree in Paris, France. Even more exciting, as parts of the inaugural iGEN@ND team, Oliver and Mckenna were awarded a Gold Medal for their achievement in target areas of entrepreneurship, mathematical modelling, and engineering.

Throughout summer and fall 2025, Oliver, Mckenna, and their team worked tirelessly on their project Fleur, an engineered probiotic that expresses the human GLP-1 at
subtherapeutic doses to assist with weight control and management.

iGEM, the international Genetically Engineered Machine, is an annual competition that
challenges undergraduates and high school students to apply synthetic biology
principles to modern challenges. The Grand Jamboree represented the pinnacle of Oliver, Mckenna, and their team’s work, as they gained the opportunity to interact with synthetic biologists in assorted roles and fields.

“As a competition but also a major networking event, it was incredible to see and hear how professionals in industry and academia formed their experiences within the synthetic biology field,” says Oliver Wardhana ’27.

“This experience expanded my knowledge of what synthetic biology is,” says Mckenna Douglas ’28. “Before the competition, I had a vague idea of what it was, but visiting different teams and seeing the variety in their work showed me how broad the applications can be. It was a very open event where I had the opportunity to explore exactly what I was interested in and speak with several industry representatives about what careers in synthetic biology entail.”

The Glynn Family Program is immensely thankful for the opportunity to support Oliver and Mckenna in this invaluable research and professional development experience. In many ways, their time with iGEM has represented the key goals of the Glynn experience, including interdisciplinary collaboration and engagement with the international scholarly community.