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Bioscience in The Space Economy - Grant Proposal for TechWomen - from ScienceWerx

09.23.2023

Science Werx

Address: 5730 Industry Ln, Frederick, MD 21704

Phone: (240) 874-9379

October 1, 2023

To: Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Regarding: FY 2024 TechWomen

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Dear Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs,

We are writing to request funding for a Bioscience and Space mentoring program aimed at empowering, connecting, and supporting the next generation of women STEM leaders from Egypt, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Morocco, and the Palestinian Territories; preparing them to be leaders in the 5th Industrial Revolution. In order to meet our mission of addressing the gender gap in the Bioscience and Space Economic fields in the USA and MENA, Science Werx has partnered with Washington, DC’s leading space economics think tank and venture capital firm, MilkyWayEconomy, and Frederick, Maryland based Hood College, to leverage our combined network to provide young women an opportunity to learn about, become fluent in and develop into leaders in the Biosciences sector and burgeoning Space Economy.

Project Title: Bioscience in the Space Economy, Cohort #1

Project Overview:

The 5th Industrial Revolution is the moment in time when Bioscience meets the Space Economy. As it is at the intersection of these two disciplines, in microgravity, that many leading scientists believe the secrets of immortality lay. For instance, in 2019 NASA launched the

Vascular Tissue Challenge⁠

offering a $500,000 prize to the team(s) that successfully created thick, metabolically-functional human vascularized organ tissue in a controlled laboratory environment. Fast forward to 2023 and the vascularized, thick-tissue models resulting from this challenge are functioning as organ analogs / models that can be used to study deep space environmental effects, such as radiation, and to develop strategies to minimize the damage to healthy cells. Studying these effects are not only the cornerstone of helping create ways to mitigate negative effects of space travel on humans during long duration and on deep space missions. On Earth, the vascularized tissue are just now being used in pharmaceutical testing and disease modeling and this research in regenerating vascular tissue in orbit is accelerating new research and development in the field of organ transplants.

Our program, "Bioscience in The Space Economy, Cohort #1," leverages our expert knowledge and awareness of the potential of bioresearch in the space economy with three other major advantages that ScienceWerx has to offer future Bioscience and Space Economy leaders:

Location: ScienceWerx is located just outside of Washington, DC, in the US’s largest bioscience hub, Frederick County. This geographic proximity to Such and Such has enabled the Founders of ScienceWerx Founders to developed a deep network of subject matter experts in the bioscience and biotechnology fields supporting scientific research, development and design for such and such industries.

Commercializing IP: ScienceWerx mission is to accelerate the commercialization of technologies for the betterment of humankind; by reducing product launch time from bench to bedside, incubating biotech transfer opportunities explicitly designed with commercialization in mind.

Partnerships: ScienceWerx has also partnered with Frederick, Maryland based Hood College, a university that has been developing women’s opportunities since 1893. As of 2023, Hood College boost a gender ratio of 66% women to 34% men.

These factors enable the Bioscience in The Space Economy Program to uniquely provide young women a safe, inclusive and custom experience, where they can garner the knowledge, skills, and support they need to become leaders in the Bioscience fields of the 5th Industrial Revolution, which is The Space Economy. Through a combination of technical resources, 1on1 mentorship, workshops led by industry experts, networking opportunities with regulators and business owners, and scholarships, ScienceWerx aims to foster a sustainable community of empowered and connected young women who can overcome generational and institutional barriers and excel in biosciences and the Space Economy.

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Project Goals:

Empowerment: To empower young women by providing them with the necessary tools, resources, and mentorship to excel in the next Industrial Revolution. Science Werx will achieve this by:

Establishing a TechWomen DEIA mission and value statement and setting specific, benchmarked DEIA goals to ensure participants feel welcomed, included and engaged

Connect participants with world class mentors, who can provide them the business, engineering and policy insights to confidently tackle the toughest challenges

Enable the participants to stay connected virtually by joining Science Werx’s CODA community of experts, projects and future opportunities

Connection: In addition to matchmaking mentors from Hood College’s extensive network of female professionals, Science Werx, together with Hood College, would seek to formalize a student exchange program with interested sister universities and colleges in Egypt, Tunisia and other eligible countries.

In the United States:

Introduce international participants to a supportive network of bioscience and space economic professionals, mentors, and peers in the USA

In collaboration with Hood College, host a 1 day Bioscience in Space workshop for subject matter experts in the Washington, DC area, to enable participants to meet and network with US professionals

Enable participants to be part of Science Werx online community in CODA and on the International Exchange Alumni website (exchangealumni.gov); thereby fostering long term professional and personal friendships that span multiple countries and disciplines

In MENA Region:

Partner with the 5th International Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Systems (http://www.icmas.org/) to have TechWomen attend and present on Bioscience in the Space Economy, in Cairo,

TechWomen Alumnae Summit: Develop and implement a one-time, three day alumnae summit in Egypt or Tunisia (pending State Department approval), in October 2025, for up to 200 TechWomen alumnae. This summit will feature discussions and/or workshops on building professional development skills, a networking reception, and an alumnae seed grant competition.

Establishing the relationships and networks to expand the US Bioscience in Space conference to at least 2 international countries (tentatively Tunisia and Palestine Territories) in 2026

Support: Support would not only be made by providing financial assistance through scholarships to help alleviate the financial burden of pursuing bioscience and space economic specialization. Support also includes:

Leveraging MilkyWayEconomy’s space portfolio companies, to match participants with US based, female mentors who are mid-level professionals at aerospace firms across America, such as Rogue Space, Cislunar Industries, Neutron Star Systems, HealthTrends and others

Connecting participants with professional female mentors from Hood College to help ease the participant’s adjustment to, and familiarize her with, American society

Connecting participants to Science Werx technical advisor, Tiffany Gray, DrPH, who will support action plan teams throughout the action plan process from ideation and iteration through pitching their solution at the end of the TechWomen program

Program Components:

Mentorship Program: We will pair young women with experienced mentors in Bioscience, Space Economics and Aerospace engineering and business fields. These mentors will provide guidance, career advice, and encouragement and serve as Train-The-Trainers advisors to ensure participants can successfully share what they’ve learned whence they return to their home countries.

Workshops and Training: We will conduct technical workshops and training sessions covering essential skills such as doing business in America, leadership in low context cultures, public speaking, and fundamentals of capital formation for astrapreneurs.

Introduction to the Space Economy

Understanding the business of Space

The Space Industry vs the Space Economy

Space the Cornerstone of the 5th Industrial Revolution

Research, business and entrepreneurship opportunities in Space for bioscientist

Astrapreneurship - business fundamentals for International Founders seeking to do business in the USA

Networking Events: We will organize networking events and conferences to facilitate connections among participants, mentors, and industry professionals.

Tour of Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

Meet & Greet with New Space New Mexico leadership in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Meet & Greet with Former NASA Deputy CTO, Jim Adams

Meet & Greet with Chief Scientist of United States Space Force (tentative)

Scholarship Opportunities: A partition of this award would go to funding two (2) scholarships covering tuition at Hood College for a participant to pursue either a Masters in Space Economics or PhD in Space Economics

Train-The-Trainer: Part of the mentoring program is a series dedicated to Bioscience in the Space Economy Train-the-Trainer program. Prior to completing the US part of the program, participants will be hosted at Hood College for a week long, train-the-trainer session where they will memorialize and develop custom educational and outreach materials specific to their home communities and countries.

Budget:

We are seeking [Amount Requested] in funding to support the implementation of this program. The budget will cover mentor stipends, workshop materials, scholarship funds, event costs, administrative expenses, and marketing efforts. A detailed budget breakdown is attached herewith.

Expected Outcomes:

Expose future, female leaders to the 5th Industrial Revolution

Ensure awareness of potential opportunities in Space, Space Economics and Biosciences to participants beyond the traditional aerospace industry / 4th Industrial Revolution business / scientific paradigms

Establish participants as subject matter experts in Space Economics

Empower participants to be champions and advocates for women and STEM programs in the 5th Industrial Revolution, in their home countries by

Position participants to be recognized as thought leaders and experts in Bioscience in Space

Evaluation and Reporting:

We will employ both quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the program's impact, including surveys, interviews, and tracking participants' academic and professional achievements. We will provide regular progress reports and a final report to the foundation to demonstrate the program's outcomes.

Conclusion:

Providing women from biology and scientific fields with Space Economic situational awareness and education is a necessity of making the 5th Industrial Revolution more fair, just and equitable to all humanity. This project is not just about gender equality but also about maximizing our collective potential for innovation and advancement in gene therapy, organ cloning and other novel biological research best suited to be performed in microgravity. We believe that the "Bioscience in The Space Economy" program aligns perfectly with Bureau's mission and goals, and we kindly request your support to make this initiative a reality.

Thank you for considering our proposal. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this proposal further and provide any additional information you may require. Please feel free to contact us at

bassem@sciencewerx.org⁠

or +1-240-586-3403

Sincerely,

Bassem Kadry

CoFounder

Science Werx

[Enclosures: Budget Breakdown, Letters of Support, Additional Documents]

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