Humans of 5050 C4

Bertrand

SF Bay Area

Joint BioEnergy Institute

Build a bioreactor platform that can make commodity molecules cost-competitively with petroleum or petroleum-derived products. This will be achieved by feeding H2 and CO2 to industrial microorganisms.

I love carpentry and DIY. I *literally* grew up in a hardware store. I have a cottage in Ontario that I'm working to renovate. I'm eager to learn and practice skills in carpentry, plumbing, electrical, masonry, et cetera. The amount of online tutorials that are available on every building subject is truly astounding.

I have an African Grey parrot named Juno (That's the species of bird well-known for talking). She can use some English words in their correct context, and we taught her how to high-five and shake a paw. I built an aviary for her to enjoy the outdoors.

Neumann

Boston

MIT PhD student in Jonathan Weissman's Lab, previously a tech in Feng Zhang's lab at the Broad Institute

I am developing epigenetic editing tools for neurodegenerative diseases. I hope to see these approaches reach the clinic for a range of historically intractable diseases, including prion and Huntington's

I have an interest in history (bronze age) and economics. I appreciate learning about science policy and public-private partnerships

I am a midwesterner (from Wisconsin) and used to work on a dairy farm in high school

Stanley

San Francisco/NYC

GRAIL

I'm most interested in building LLM-based applications for biotech, helping biotech companies manage and communicate their scientific knowledge. But open to more traditional biotech plays particularly in single-cell 'omics drug discovery.

how to make use of china's massive factory glut, defense tech, splice isoform-specific therapeutics

I used to have a giant afro, and Barack Obama complimented it

Rahn

Sunnyvale / San Francisco

SpaceX

I want to reduce waste and inefficiency in manufacturing. My goal is to develop a low cost system to improve inspections in electronics manufacturing and more effectivly identify defects.

Anything to do with biology, chemistry, computer science,

I lived in a sailboat for a while! (Currently in staying it)

Notin

Boston

Harvard University

I'm conducting research at the intersection of generative AI and protein engineering. My goal is to develop novel enzymes that will support our transition towards a sustainable economy.

New materials, chemistry, batteries

Father of an 11-month-old boy

Zelina

Idaho Falls, Idaho

Idaho National Laboratory

I want to get my technology out of the lab and making an impact in the real world.

Space exploration/infrastructure

I’ve lost my pants at work 4 times in one day

Voicu

Montreal

McGill University - Codruta Ignea Department of Bioengineering is where I am currently affiliated. Have also been previously associated with McGill iGEM (see top 10 in 2022, and grand prize winners in 2023). Have also worked in Multhaup lab, Chen lab at McGill, and Irina Dinu lab at University of Alberta.

I am extremely curious about simulating cells - that said, how can we improve our spatio-temporal understanding of cells such that we can make better informed engineering decisions about biology. Generally I am quite interested in the disease prevention ("longevity" or healthy living rather) space, as well as climate tech and plant engineering. There is just too much crazy science going on, and I am just sad that I don't have time to learn it all. I would love to push the frontier of being a great founder, and then try to make other great science possible.

I used to play soccer professionally in Canada (in the Canadian premier league, where I was the captain of the reserve team, and played once before deciding to leave home for university when I was 17). Many of my friends from there are playing in europe (second division german, a couple in first divisions in spain and england). I also love playing piano, but have not practiced in a while :(.

Araki

SF

Gordian Biotechnology

A world where animal models can be reproduced and readily available for researchers to use. This could then significantly accelerate the pace of new drug development and research to create new cures, faster.

climate tech, fitness/nutrition, backpacking

different colored eyes!

Samlali

Boston (watertown)

Panoplia Laboratories (Alvea, Concordia Uni)

I'm passionate about biosecurity and would like to transform the way we manufacture drugs globally, provide accessible diagnostics, and safe and secure genomics for all. Right now, I dream about a world where antivirals are as common as antibiotics, and we don't have to rely fully on vaccines. For the past 8 months, I've been developing an antiviral therapeutic drug that I believe could be a stepping stone towards this.

botany, food security, space exploration, climate change (and geoengineering), digital democracy, cybersecurity, design/architecture/furniture

I will be going on a 350 mile bikepacking trip during the program!

Almonacid

Santiago, Chile; and San Diego, California

CEO of DrugBiome. Previously I was CSO at Digbi Health, Head of Data Science and Product Development at Biome Makers, SVP of Science and Innovation at uBiome, Adjunct Professor of Bioinformatics at U. Andres Bello, postdoc in bioengineering and therapeutic sciences at UCSF, PhD in molecular informatics for the U. of Cambridge. Cofounder of a few startups, advisor.

The drug development industry has largely overlooked the role of the commensal microbiota in human health. We will leverage the current knowledge of the microbiome together with advancements in protein structure prediction to systematically uncover bacterial targets for drug development. Initially, these efforts will improve the efficacy of FDA-approved drugs or those that were safe but failed in phase 2 or 3 clinical trials. In the long term, this approach will deliver targets and drugs for health conditions lacking current therapeutic interventions.

Leadership, management, brain circulation, marketing, fostering innovation.

I am the scientist with the most patents in the microbiome field worldwide.

Yeon

Seattle, Washington

Dr. Aaron Ring, Yale University/Fred Hutch

My work focuses on building proteogenomic and functional tools to identify novel tumor-specific epitopes so that we can build safer immunotherapies.

mental health, aging, cardiovascular health, radiopharmaceuticals

Competing in an ironman this year

Riggs

San Francisco, CA

Applied Materials

Building large scale art installations

I've motorcycled across the US more than 10 times.

Clark

Palo Alto, CA

Tarpeh Lab, Stanford University

I research materials and electrochemical systems for resource recovery from wastewater. I envision a system that can recover ammonia, phosphate, and carbon dioxide from wastewater while generating desalinated water, acid, and base. I hope to advance a circular and sustainable economy of resources.

AI, biomass valorization, energy technology, plastic recycling

I have central heterochromia. My eyes have an inner and outer ring of colors.

Zhang

Boston

MIT

AI for programmable, predictable, and precision genomic medicines

Science-wise, I'm broadly interested in technologies related to molecules. Hobby-wise, I'm a sports and esports fan

I tried to cut off coffee but it only lasted three months

Maven

San Mateo, CA

Startup

I'm harnessing the full genetic power of sperm for healthier babies.

Anything dog/pet/vet-related!

I technically grew up on an island

Xu

Seattle

University of Washington, Institute for Protein Design

Expanding the information bandwidth by integrating biochemistry with electronics.

Artificial womb

I have lived a minimalist life in a camper van for one year while traveling across America.

Ralli

Boston, MA

Tufts University, University College London, QMatter, Quantinuum, GlaxoSmithKline

Our vision is to reduce the time and cost in bringing a drug to market by leveraging computational resources. Ultimately, providing new therapeutic care to patients suffering now.

Data science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, global politics, green energy, recycling projects

I like to homebrew

Wang

Greater boston

UMass Medical School, RedPoint Oncology

My work is dedicated to developing effective therapies for lethal cancers. My vision is to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with cancers and help patients live longer with a better quality of life.

Mindfulness, space, outdoor, animal warefare, psycology, cooking, painting, guitar, piano, acting

I prefer to be on the right side when walking with people side by side

Zhong

Boston

MIT

I would like to build a new type of data communication system in AI data centers that computes as data moves.

the business world, how the capital works

He

SF Bay Area

Stanford University

We are building next-generation peptide therapeutics to drug the undruggable targets in cancer

Anything in biology or science. Happy to learn more.

I found most of my hobby after 22

Courbet

Seattle

Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington and Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Too many to list here!

I am passionate about skiing volcanoes

Koch

Berkeley

Founder of Tau Robotics

I want to build a general AI for robots. A single AI that controls different kinds of robots like robot arms, humanoids, and groups of humanoids on diverse tasks.

Abedi

Seattle, WA

Current: Institute for protein design, UW Seattle. Previous: Caltech

I am working at the intersection of computational protein design and high throughput experimental biology to decode and re-engineer cell signaling

how to build cheaper scRNAseq methods, plant engineering

I love Anthony Bourdain

Mitra

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mitra Biotechnologies Inc. | Presidential Scholar @ UBC | Masason Foundation Member | Z Fellow |Prev. @TNO, NOKIA

At Mitra Biotechnologies, we are aiming to build the transistor for diagnostic biology. I want to build a future where custom healthcare diagnostics are rapidly deployed at the rate of software and as easily accessible as over-the-counter medication.

Philosophy, Literature, and Visual Art

I paint abstract art in my free time!

Bjelosevic

Boston, MA

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

As a cancer researcher, I know all too well the heavy burden that comes with a cancer diagnosis. The tests, the hospital visits, the therapy – for which the standard of care for most hasn't changed in decades. Until now, cancer has been managed largely through chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, with many other other aspects of holistic wellbeing not considered – such as what we eat. My vision is to revolutionize the way we approach a patient's diet during cancer care. I am passionate about developing innovative food-based solutions that can be employed to not only improve the potency of anti-cancer agents, but also to improve the duration of response to therapy, thus adding another weapon to our arsenal in the fight against cancer.

Very different from my research, I am fascinated by the technical art and skill behind film photography and manually develop and process my film. I also have a deep interest in how we can better understand health data as consumers – i.e., we have a deluge of information available to us from all of our "smart health" devices. What do we make of this information?

Prior to moving to the US, I was a video referee in the Australian Football League (also known as Aussie Rules) – the premier national sport in Australia!

Hochberg

Los Angeles

Avionics Engineer at Relativity Space

I've known I wanted to do something with space and 3D printing since middleschool. I fell in love with rocket design in college and spent many an all nighter learning how to manufacture/design high precision parts. I'm currently in my first job at a rocket company that specializes in 3D printing called Relativity Space. I am the mechanical responsible engineer for our rocket's video system, autonomous flight safety system, flight computer, and more! I'm also getting my Master's in Astronautical Engineering part time. Day to day I perform lots of hand calculations, CAD, finite element modeling, vibe/shock/thermal/humidity testing, provide mechanical expertise to electrical engineers, DFM, present work, and more! I envision a world that is not resource constrained, one that will never have to ration water, food, precious metals, semiconductors, fuel, or any material needed to advance human progress. The only way I see this happening is by large scale off-world resource extraction. Once I get "enough" technical and soft skill experience I hope I can start working on making this happen.

Neurotechnology and brain machine interfaces are huge interests of mine I have not explored in depth. Beyond that human life support systems for spacecraft is another field I want to grow in.

I'm weirdly good at the diabolo.

Stein

Boston

Harvard Medical School / Wyss Institute

I am building microscopy tools to look into the molecular mechanisms of how our genome functions. I envision a diagnostics platform that i) discerns molecular function and malfunction in health and disease and ii) provides high-throughput screening for drug discovery pipelines.

Basketball, DJing, any kind of sport and outdoor activity

Did a 1,000 kilometer hike along the northern coast of spain.

Venkatesh

Seattle, WA

David Baker Lab, Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington

My work and vision are geared towards two outcomes: 1) Early detection of diseases through patient-friendly testing. I believe making cost-effective, reliable diagnostic tests will have the most immediate impact in healthcare. 2) Better therapeutics for chronic conditions like diabetes and pain.

Synthetic biology! Especially for environmental applications

I love running and recently ran my first half mararthon! I also enjoy soccer, chess and salsa dancing.

Shin

Cambridge, Boston

MIT

I aim to leverage my expertise in bioengineering, chemistry, biology, and machine learning to transform the drug delivery field and fully unleash the potential of genomic medicine.

aerospace and climate

I'm naturally skeptical but have a very positive attitude.

Guareschi

Los Angeles

Caltech

I work with DNA as everything but the molecule of life. To me it's the molecule of information, computation, structure. I want to expand that, bringing biological approaches and molecules to manufacturing.

I'm especially interested in climate research. I am also passionate about science-based cooking, music history, and contemporary art

I've never been licensed or in the military, but I've flown a military plane!

Lukarska

San Francisco

UC Berkeley, previously at EMBL Grenoble (France)

My work is dedicated to engineering new enzymes and building systems to select for their functional properties. Currently we are using machine learning-guided designs to create improved gene editors. We can create new editors that could in the long term cure currently untreatable diseases. I believe that the technology that we are creating could make us rethink how we can address genetic diseases and access new possibilities for treatment.

Philosophy, music, literature, almost everything actually

I am on a 1275 days duolingo strike!

Liccardo

San Francisco

Cargnello lab, Bent lab, Stanford University

Food science (vegan alternatives, lab grown meat etc.); Water scarcity and its better utilization (was exposed to the concept at P&G, check out the 50L Home coalition if you're curious)

I've lived in 4 different countries in the last 5 years

Drean

Boston

PhD student at MIT

I want to make it possible for distrusting entities to work together.

Biotech, healthcare, finance, economics, advertising

I was a ballet dancer for 11 years.

Cymbalist

Los Angeles

Tesla, Mercedes F1, Caltech Aeronautics

I am working on a zero-emission ocean freight transportation system the consists of a fleet of small, autonomous, wind-powered cargo vessels. My vision for the future of marine transportation is decentralized, simple, and low-impact, all while providing a more streamlined experience to those moving freight between continents.

Space, aviation

I grew up on a self sufficient farm.

Mora

Pasadena, LA

Caltech

Biofuels which are quantifiably carbon negative so that there is a positive impact towards mitigating the effects of climate change.

Anything bio. How caves work and the dioversity of life that exists at the fringes of the world - think deep thermal vents, it's kind of like the space on earth.

I sew my own clothes :D (sometimes)

Wachter

Boston

MIT (Weiss Lab // Biological Engineering)

We use intracellular neural networks to solve biological functions. Our first application is to enable multi-step differentiation of stem cells into hard to reach tissues (e.g. cell therapies & their precursors).

Electronics, consumer tech, philosophy, and whatever the latest kurzgesagt YouTube video is on…

I’m a huge board game nerd. More random: A monkey once peed on my head.

Capelluto

Boston

Calafate Bio, Northeastern University, Volastra Therapeutics, Harvard Medical

I want to make drugs that truly cure patients, not symptoms, and better drugs start with better targets. My work focuses on unlocking a 360 view of mitochondrial biology in disease, moving way past bioenergetics. Mitochondrial dysfunction holds a causal role in a variety of diseases, including our first indicator, neurodegeneration. With our organelle-level computational pipeline, we can leverage novel insights to create first-in-class mitochondrial therapeutics for patient subtypes.

AI software integration, biomanufacturing and biological material science

I am colorblind and have ran into SEVERAL microscopy mishaps XD

Dallas, TX

Qi & Mackall labs, Stanford

Reprogramming immune cell behavior using synthetic biology-driven solutions for better patient outcomes.

leadership, business, technical areas: in vivo crispr therapeutics & gene editing

I used to play the bell tower back at Berkeley!

Leighow

State College, PA

Postdoc in the Pritchard Lab at Penn State; co-founder of Red Ace Bio

My vision is to translate evolutionary gene therapies for cancer into a clinical reality. I’ve spent 6 years building and evaluating therapeutic genetic circuits in a lab, and now I’m ready to take the next steps towards bringing these therapies to cancer patients.

Not sure if this is too far removed from my research, but I’ve always been really interested in economics (how individual incentives/decisions emerge as macro-scale statistics) and linguistics (what languages can tell us about natural human history).

I’d like to visit all US National Parks, I’m about halfway there.

Bezney

San Francisco

Stanford, Broad Institute, Jumpcode Genomics

Designing programmable enzymes leveraging nature and AI. I envision precision medicine that leverages personalized genomics.

Health care. Human fitness and preventative health through exercise, nutrition, supplements, sleep etc. How we can utilize technology and big data to optimize human health.

I was an offensive lineman so I can eat 36 dumplings at one time

Cesinger

Berkeley

Martinez-Gomez Lab, UC Berkeley

I am passionate about the potential of engineered biology to enable a safer and more resilient planet. At the moment, I trying to understand the potential of a platform to deliver personalized biotech solutions for mining.

I am really interested in how we can apply biological concepts, like immune systems, to better security and transparency in the virtual world

I've grown an ancient variety of beans that were discovered in a 1500 year old cave site

Zaslavsky

NYC

5th year Stanford computer science PhD student. Previously: product manager at Butterfly Network responsible for ultrasound imaging software

50 million Americans — 80% of them women — have autoimmune diseases, but diagnosis takes years because there are no reliable lab tests and early symptoms are non-specific. Our goal is to bring precision medicine to autoimmunity. We’re building Mal-ID, a new type of blood test to find molecular signatures of autoimmune disease based on DNA sequencing and machine learning.

synthetic biology for agriculture - going pro-GMO

love to play jazz music