Biohack the Planet 2023 — The ODIN HQ in Austin, TX

04/28 - 04/30 

 

 

 

A weekend will of scientific talks, art, parties and food from Austin's best restaurants. Ticket price includes full weekend pass, swag bag, and cost of food & drink.

Speakers include: 

• Dr. Jo Zayner -CEO The ODIN
• Ariana Thacker - Founding Partner of Conscience VC
• Jia Bao Li - Assistant Professor Design UT Austin
• Elliot Roth - CEO Spira
• David Ishee - Head of Research and Development at The ODIN
• Dr. Aisen Caro Chacin - UT Medical Branch - Medical Prototyping Lab Lead
• Dariia Dantseva - Started Ukraine's First Biohacking Space
• Lera Niemackl - Head of Operations at The ODIN

 

Schedule

 

Speaker Bios & Topics

 

Hacking Bio Fundraising - The Early-stage Investor Perspective 

Ariana Thacker 

 

Ariana Thacker Founding Partner of Conscience VC, an early-stage investment firm largely focused on bio, healthcare, and wellness, will be hosting a fireside chat on investor perspectives on what the best early-stage biotech founders do to masterfully raise their pre-seed and seed rounds. She will discuss: tactically how to approach investors from first contact to closing, how to rally your existing investors to raise your subsequent round, how to run a tight process and move investors to a close, how to find that first believer, how to approach a first vs. second meeting, and more. The format will be a casual and AMA style engagement to ensure founders make the most of the time, so questions are encouraged!

 

Lessons and Prospects in Organizing Open Medicine

Anthony Di Franco

 

Anthony will speak about the history, context, and distinctive strategy of Open Insulin, the broader incentives and constraints in medicine, and implications for curing diabetes and progress on other so far intractable medical issues.

Anthony Di Franco is founder and president of the Open Insulin Foundation, an effort to make local scale production of insulin and other essential biologic medicines on an open source basis feasible. A type 1 diabetic himself, he maintains an active interest in developing a gene therapy for diabetes. Anthony is also a Principal Applied Scientist with Special Circumstances, where he is researching purely declarative probabilistic-relational languages with applications in verified computing, computer security, and agent-based software systems in view. Previously, he researched numerical computation, purely declarative probabilistic-relational programming languages, and other topics at the intersections of programming languages and machine learning in the PhD program at UC Davis. Anthony holds a BS in Physics and a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics from Yale University, where he studied control theory, statistics and information theory, and neural networks.

 

Super Slime Me

Elliot Roth

 

The study examined the effects of consuming only algae as a dietary source for a month. The subject, a healthy individual with no pre-existing medical conditions, was monitored throughout the experiment. Blood tests were conducted regularly to assess any changes in nutrient levels and overall health. The results showed that consuming only algae provided sufficient nutrients for the body and did not result in any negative health effects. The subject reported feeling energetic and satisfied throughout the experiment. This study suggests that algae can be a viable and sustainable dietary option. In addition to the potential benefits for individuals on Earth, consuming only algae as a dietary source has implications for space travel. The confined and limited environment of a spacecraft makes it necessary to carefully consider the food options available to astronauts. Algae is a particularly attractive option because it can be easily grown and harvested in a controlled environment, such as a spacecraft. Not only does this eliminate the need for transporting large amounts of food from Earth, but it also reduces the amount of waste produced during the journey. Furthermore, the high nutrient content of algae makes it an ideal choice for maintaining the health of astronauts during long-term space missions. Overall, the use of algae as a food source in space has the potential to greatly improve the sustainability and feasibility of space travel.

Elliot is the founder of Spira, a company that creates carbon-negative materials from engineered algae grown by a global network of farms. He is a Kairos, Future Founders and Halcyon Fellow, holds a degree in biomedical engineering; previously started 7 companies, 2 nonprofits, studied synthetic biology for 12 years and worked for 5 years as a product consultant. He is incredibly motivated to solve physiological needs using simple biological design and enabling access to the tools of biotechnology. In his spare time he plays music, and participates in space analog missions while residing in Los Angeles.

 

John Doe, An Abstract Identity 

Isabel Englebert

 

Postconceptual artist. I studied Economics, and graduated in Communication Sciences at Universidad del Salvador (2002). I was trained in design at Central Saint Martins, London, and jewelry at L’Ecole Van Cleef & Arpels, Paris. I participated in numerous courses in different fields, such as Medical Neurosciences at Duke University (2020). Since 2012, I have been working on interdisciplinary projects in the crossroads of art, biology, technology and communications, within the framework of my studio Isabel Englebert Studio. Her series “John Doe, an abstract identity” has been selected for Bienal Sur 2023. At Miami Art Week 2022, I led a project together with Pinta Miami and Ella Fontanals Cisneros that brought the first traditional art fair and the first major collector to the Metaverse. I participated as speaker and moderator at a panel with participants such as the director of Pinta Miami, the leadership of CIFO and the director of Decentraland. In 2021, sponsored by the European Cultural Center, MCAD and FIU, I participated in Miami Art Week, exhibiting a large format sculpture and an NFT in the IlluMia Festival, which was screened on Downtown Miami’s public space. I have been named Decentraland’s Museum District Ambassador (2021), an entitlement that has enabled me to work with virtuality and NFTs in depth. My NFT “Wannabe Porvenir” is currently exhibited at the Museum District, constituting part of the Museum’s collection. My work has been selected as a finalist for the Visual Arts Itaú Prize (2021). I exhibited at Diderot Art Gallery, Buenos Aires (2020), and at Praxis Gallery, Buenos Aires (2019). My sculptural series have been exhibited at the Design & Art Center at the Patagonia Foundation, Buenos Aires (2019), where my piece “Mies” is part of the Foundation’s permanent exhibition, and at Casa FOA, Buenos Aires (2018). My work has been portrayed in numerous magazines, as well as my research and thoughts, which have been published in the art magazine “Arte al Día”. I have been selected by Forbes as one of the “35 under 35”. I am currently working on project accompaniment and coaching with curator Laura Batkis and artists Julián Camargo and Fabiana Barreda. I live and work in Miami. My interest is built around identity, the collective and the anonymous. I raise the question of the self-construction of the self, in these times of technological advances and groundbreaking genetic engineering, and the never more current concept of hyperreality. With a surrealist gaze, I bring together an exploration of the unknown, glimpsing possible futures and awakening the spectator’s restlessness. Having been trained in a wide range of disciplines, I extrapolate different ideas and techniques from apparently disconnected fields. My pieces combine neuroscience investigations, brain waves, genome maps, binary code, algorithms, sound engineering, interactive systems, virtuality and hyper-reality. The media I employ to express my ideas include video, performance, installation, and even Artificial Intelligence and blockchain. At the junction of disciplines, materials and media, I seek to build a language of my own, giving rise to reflections and abstract dialogues between artist and spectator, while innovating in the ways of representation and experimentation of works of art.