Zachary Asarnow is an economics student who was inspired by his work in the FSU International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team to co-found a biotech startup.

Asarnow worked as an entrepreneur on the team, sparking his love for innovation. The team’s gold medal placement at the iGEM Jamboree solidified his interest in the innovation field as it relates to medicine. He became the CEO and co-founder of Esperance Healthcare, where he advances work to treat the rare diseases he studied during his time in iGEM.

His interdisciplinary work between entrepreneurship and the medical field motivated him to start the FSU Business and STEM Association, where he connects students to learn about innovation through pitch competitions, networking, projects and startup workshops.

On top of his commitment to innovation, Asarnow has worked for FSU Housing for three years as a desk assistant and resident assistant.

Why did you choose FSU?

I chose to attend FSU because it is a place full of opportunity, growth and community. The fact that FSU has over 700 student organizations immediately stood out to me. I knew I wanted to be part of a campus where I could get involved, try new things and discover what I truly enjoy.

From studying abroad, joining sports clubs, participating in academic organizations and connecting with Student Affairs, I’ve explored so many different sides of campus life. FSU has given me the chance not only to get involved, but also to find passions I didn’t even know I had and to be surrounded by a community that feels like home.

What academic achievements are you most proud of?

My most significant research project and accomplishment at FSU has been my work with the 2024 FSU iGEM team. I joined as the entrepreneurship lead, and I spent over a year collaborating with an interdisciplinary team of students to develop solutions for the rare genetic disease trimethylaminuria (TMAU) that causes individuals to emit a strong odor. Our goal was to combine science, innovation and entrepreneurship to address this urgent unmet medical need.

I gained experience in conducting market research, building a business model and commercialization strategy, and tailoring presentations for audiences. One of the highlights was traveling with my team to Paris for the iGEM Grand Jamboree, where we presented our work to an international audience and a panel of judges. Our team earned a gold medal, including recognition for the entrepreneurship report that I led.

I served as a public policy intern at the DeVoe Moore Center Think Tank, where I conducted research into the economic impact of space debris. I worked with a team to write and publish articles on the subject and co-authored a policy briefing with recommendations on how to approach space debris from both regulatory and economic perspectives.

How do you serve the FSU community?

I co-founded Esperance Healthcare, a biotech startup dedicated to developing and commercializing solutions for TMAU and other rare conditions. As CEO, I have led our team in product development, securing funding and creating strategic partnerships.

Esperance has received support from FSU’s Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases, which has been instrumental in advancing our work. Most recently, we were honored to be selected as one of only 15 startups worldwide to pitch at the iGEM Grand Jamboree Startup Showcase.

This work has inspired and engaged the community by demonstrating how research, entrepreneurship and collaboration can translate into real-world solutions. Through that, I co-founded the Business and STEM Association to help share the knowledge I learned from Esperance with students who want to build something they’re passionate about.

Our efforts have strengthened connections across interdisciplinary areas and highlighted FSU as a hub for innovation.

In Tallahassee, our presence as a student-led biotech startup contributes to the local entrepreneurial ecosystem by fostering partnerships, providing mentorship and promoting a culture of problem solving.

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Florida State University’s International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team won a gold medal for the second year in a row at the world’s largest annual synthetic biology competition. 

Thirteen students from the team, one student adviser and two principal investigators attended the iGEM Grand Jamboree, held from Oct. 28-31 at the Paris Convention Centre in France, where they were awarded a gold medal for their research on microplastics. 

FSU’s iGEM team designed, built and tested microplastic-binding proteins intended to be taken orally and work in the human gastrointestinal tract to safely eliminate microplastics from the body and prevent them from depositing in other organs such as the brain or placenta.  

Recent research has shown correlations between microplastics and adverse health outcomes such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancers and other illnesses. 

“The gold medal proved that we’ve established ourselves as a very competitive iGEM program in the United States,” said iGEM team leader and exercise physiology student Jordan Schwartz. “We were also humbled seeing the other teams’ projects knowing that there is no limit to what can be accomplished in any field with synthetic biology. Interacting with teams from across the U.S. and the world helped us cultivate new ideas, network with others in the field and identify opportunities for growth.” 

FSU competed alongside 420 other teams from around the world, including groups from Stanford University, Yale University, the University of Cambridge and Tsinghua University.  

FSU’s team remains the most successful team in Florida, winning the state’s first back-to-back gold medals. Since 2017, FSU iGEM teams have earned one bronze, four silver and three gold medals. 

The team consists of students representing six colleges at FSU plus their faculty advisers; primary principal investigator Cesar A. Rodriguez, a research faculty member and entrepreneur in residence in the College of Medicine; and secondary principal investigator David Montez, an associate director at FSU’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement. 

“We are incredibly proud of our hardworking and talented iGEM team,” Montez said. “FSU’s sustained success at the Jamboree shows our university’s impressive strength in the health and innovation spaces. These are students who think creatively, harness interdisciplinary research and work together to pursue complex solutions to real-world problems that affect real people in Florida and beyond.”  

Community Impact Award 

Some members of FSU’s 2024 team also won an award at the Grand Jamboree’s BioInnovation Summit event, where students can pitch biotech innovations to investors, industry leaders and others. 

Three former iGEM team members who studied a rare metabolic disorder during their competition year presented the work they began in iGEM and have continued in the form of a startup company called Esperance Healthcare.  

The students earned the Community Impact Award for their patent-pending diagnostic breathalyzer device, EsperSense, which can be used to guide a patient’s treatment for trimethylaminuria (TMAU), a disease that causes a strong body odor released through sweat, breath and urine, and a cell-based therapeutic, E. esperance, for TMAU. The research and development of E. esperance has been funded by the College of Medicine’s Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases. “Since 2017, the FSU iGEM program has nurtured leadership skills that our alumni are using to successfully complete medical and graduate programs, and maintain research positions in the private sector,” Rodriguez said. “The commitment that FSU has made each year ensures the team’s success and supports the future of bio-innovation in the state of Florida.” 

To learn more about FSU iGEM, visit med.fsu.edu/igem and cre.fsu.edu/undergraduate-research/fsu-igem. 

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Florida State University’s Office of the President and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement (CRE) hosted the annual President’s Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence on Thursday, Oct. 23. The showcase was part of FSU’s Discovery Days, a weeklong celebration of research, creative activity and discovery.  

About 900 people attended the event, where 36 students presented posters and led creative sessions to share the projects they completed during the summer with support from competitive grants and other FSU initiatives. 

“The students presenting their projects have enriched their academic journeys through directed research and creative endeavors, guided by the mentorship of some of FSU’s most distinguished faculty members,” said Latika Young, CRE director. “We extend our deepest appreciation to President Richard McCullough and Vice President for Research Stacey Patterson for their steadfast support of this event and of undergraduate research at FSU.”  

Student work represented multiple undergraduate research programs at FSU: FSU IDEA Grants, a program that funds undergraduate students’ scholarly and creative work; the Tyler Center for Global Studies, which supports a community of global scholars from 12 partner institutions coordinated by FSU; and the International Genetically Engineered Machine team (iGEM), the premier student competition in synthetic biology. 

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Florida State University’s International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) student team brought hands-on science to life for hundreds of local families at the third annual Tallahassee Biotechnology Expo last week, turning the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee into a showcase of biotech experiments, live demos and student-led research. 

The expo, which was held July 19, featured the iGEM team and other university presenters, who shared their work with children from kindergarten through eighth grade with hands-on activities related to biotechnology. 

Nearly 500 visitors attended the event, the largest turnout in the expo’s three years, with 14 exhibitors present from FSU and the greater Tallahassee area. 

“We’re proud to partner with FSU iGEM on an event that brings science to life for young students and families,” said Alan Hanstein, executive director of the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee. “The growth of the Biotechnology Expo shows what’s possible when passionate students lead the way in inspiring future innovators.”

FSU’s iGEM team organized the event as part of its responsibilities for the upcoming International Genetically Engineered Machine Grand Jamboree, which will take place Oct. 28-31 in Paris. The iGEM competition has been running annually since 2004 and is the premier student synthetic biology research competition. 

Teams must complete various tasks as part of the competition. The biotechnology expo helps the FSU team fulfill the “education” requirement for their work to educate the public about synthetic biology. 

Along with organizing the expo, FSU iGEM shared the group’s work in the Challenger Center’s IMAX Theater, where team members took visitors through their work to design and build innovative biological systems. 

The team earned a gold medal at the 2024 iGEM competition for their project to address a rare metabolic disorder called trimethylaminuria, which causes a strong body odor released through sweat, breath and urine. FSU iGEM created a monitoring device that could guide a patient’s treatment by monitoring the level of trimethylamine, the molecule that causes the odor, in the breath. 

That work was the continuation of a previous year’s project that earned a silver medal and continued within what is now the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases, a program within the FSU Health initiative designed to bridge critical gaps in pediatric rare disease care through research and clinical work. 

“It’s so rewarding to connect with our community while sharing the significance of our research,” said Vicky Montalvo, associate team lead for the 2025 FSU iGEM Team. “It is not only an opportunity to foster connection between the public and academia, but it is especially rewarding because the research done in iGEM is inspired by present problems we see in our community.” 

“When teaching K-8 students about biotechnology at the expo, we all were pleasantly surprised at how many kids are already passionate about this field, and how bright and inspired the next generation of scientists is,” she said. “With this event, it really felt like we were paying it forward, seeing as many of the current members on 2025 FSU iGEM team were inspired by their predecessors to partake in the world of biotechnology.”

In addition to the iGEM presentation, attendees had a variety of exhibits to choose from. They could explore strawberry DNA extraction, learn how cell-to-cell communication works or build simple prosthetic hands using everyday materials. Other exhibits showed off shark jaws, shark tracking devices, deep sea coral and oyster shells or shared the basic principles behind fundamental fluid mechanics in a kid-friendly way. 

FSU’s Neuroscience Graduate Student Association (NGSA) brought devices that use electrodes to show nerves in action or to involuntarily move a participant’s muscles. 

“The association presented at the bioengineering expo since it began a few years ago, and it’s the perfect opportunity to connect with the Tallahassee community,” said NGSA President Ryan Ochoa. “We love the excitement and energy of children and parents. The best parts are getting to see everyone exposed to something new for the first time in their lives and the questions filled with curiosity that immediately follow. This year we met a family that traveled nine hours just to attend the event. That really puts into perspective just how meaningful our contributions are.” 

Organizers have plans to continue growing the expo in future years to inspire the next generation of STEM researchers and leaders. 

Visit the FSU iGEM website to learn more about this student group and their work. 

Visit the website for the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee, the K-12 outreach facility for the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, to learn more about upcoming educational programs.

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