Crick Science Entrepreneur Network (CSEN)

🌈🧬 Event Alert: LGBTQ+ Leadership, Innovation and Investment in Science! 🚀💡 Join us for an inspiring evening at The Francis Crick Institute, sponsored by OUTbio UK and the Proud Science Alliance! 🏳️🌈🔬 📅 Thursday, October 24 🕒 5:30 - 9pm GMT 📍 The Francis Crick Institute, London (with live broadcast option!) Featuring two thought-provoking panels: 1️⃣ Leadership and Innovation Moderator: Lucy Ahern Panelists: - Pedro Correa de Sampaio, Co-founder and CEO at Neobe Therapeutics - Additional panelist TBA 2️⃣ Innovation and Investment Moderator: Tim Funnell, Partner at Monograph Capital Panelists: - Anna Vybornova, Co-founder and CEO Polari Group - Christian Tooley, Founder at i³ investing and Expert at Bain & Company - Matthew Edwards, Partner at Osborne Clarke, UK Hear from these industry leaders as they discuss: ✨ LGBTQ+ experiences in science-based organizations 💼 Career insights across academia, biotech, and pharma 💡 The intersection of LGBTQ+ identity with leadership, innovation, and investment 🤝 Networking opportunities with drinks and light refreshments 🆓 This event is FREE, but spaces are limited! Book your spot now: https://lnkd.in/dfsr-zsx Can't make it to London? Join us virtually! 🖥️ #LGBTQInScience #DiversityInSTEM #ScienceLeadership #BiotechInnovation

🚀 Excited to share, our friends at Cancer Tech Accelerator are organising the CTA Conference 2024 on November 19th! 🎯 A must-attend event for innovators in: - Cancer research - Healthcare technology - Medical investment 🔬 What to expect: - Cutting-edge ideas - Insightful conversations - Networking with top CancerTech minds 🎟️ Secure your spot now! 👉 https://lnkd.in/eY-rZuGu #CancerTech2024 #AIinHealthcare #MedicalInnovation #RegisterNow #MedTech #CTA Vasyl Mykytiuk Lotus Qi Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Cancer Research Horizons The Francis Crick Institute Capital Enterprise LifeArc HGF Limited Roche Blood Cancer UK The Brain Tumour Charity

I am so thrilled to share that I had the honour of being selected to participate in the Crick Innovation Challenge organised by the Crick Science Entrepreneur Network (CSEN) and sponsored by LifeArc and KQ Labs. Scientists based in the UK gathered at The Francis Crick Institute London and formed teams to develop innovative solutions in one of three challenge areas: Bench to Bedside, Digital Health, and Sustaining our World. I have been offered a place to attend the challenge area of “Bench to Bedside”, which was my first choice. This challenge aims to bridge the gap between lab discoveries and clinical applications to enhance patient health and recovery, develop new treatments, and alleviate patient burden.👩🏻🔬⚗️🧬🔬 I had the chance to collaborate with inspiring minds and be involved in an idea generation process that improved my entrepreneurship skills and allowed me to use my scientific skills, experience, and insights to create practical solutions. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our inspiring mentors, Dr Olga Komarynets (Ochre Bio Scientist) and Yvonne Bajela (LocalGlobe Investor), for their invaluable feedback on our start-up idea and help to refine our pitch. Pitching in front of our esteemed panel of judges, Tanel Ozdemir (UCL Technology Fund Investor), Jason Mellad (Start Codon CEO & Co-Founder), and Nelli Morgulchik (Hummingbird Investor), has been a highly rewarding experience, one that has allowed me to connect with such notable professionals and gain their insights. I would also like to thank the Crick Innovation Challenge team: Florian Hubl, Diana Drago-Garcia, Dana Fakhreddine, Tessa Swanton, Anaid Benitez, Vasyl Mykytiuk, Tapoka T. Mkandawire, Çağla Kaya, Bhuvana Sudarshan, Micaela Sartoretti, Federica Raguseo for organising, directing, and moderating this wonderful event. Last but not least, I feel so lucky that I had the opportunity to attend workshops (Ideation, Pitching, Intellectual Property), founder, and investor/VC panels. I would like to extend my thanks to Daniel Ives (Shift Bioscience Founder), Sonia Kaurah (Tala Thrive Founder), Dr Jane Jin (Oxxcu Tech Founder), Isabel Zhang (HCVC Investor & CSEN Co-Founder), Filippo Dal Ben (Pioneer Group Investor), Jason Goldstein (NG Bio Investor), Sal Mohammed (Xoogler and Founder of DOGO & QTA), Antonia Theodorakopoulou (Polari Group Angel and Adviser), and Gill Jennings & Every LLP for sharing their inspiring experiences and knowledge.✨ 📍 #CrickInnovationChallenge #CrickScienceEntrepreneurNetwork #FrancisCrickInstitute #BenchtoBedside #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Networking

Biotech is picking up - UK life sciences sector just enjoyed its best quarter for investment since the pandemic https://lnkd.in/e37MQHgj

GJE is excited to join the Innovation Challenge at The Francis Crick Institute, a hackathon event organised by the Crick Science Entrepreneur Network (CSEN) to promote entrepreneurship among UK scientists. Rebecca Matheson and Jack Severs will be providing an intellectual property (IP) workshop during the event which will focus on the critical role of IP in the commercialisation process. Attendees will gain a foundational understanding of various IP types and their value, alongside an overview of the patent system. The session promises interactive engagement and practical takeaways for effectively managing IP. If you are attending this event, we look forward to seeing you there.

It was a pleasure to take part in the Crick Innovation Challenge at the The Francis Crick Institute in London last week. Roman Rothaermel from our investment team served as a judge - congrats to the winning team, always exciting to see world-class scientists turning to entrepreneurship, especially in neuroscience!

🚀 Last Tuesday was an inspiring day at the Crick Innovation Challenge! Participants attended the Founder Panel, where three incredible founders shared insights from their entrepreneurial journeys expertly guided by Anaid Benitez. They discussed their main challenges, the daily life of a founder, and strategies for prioritising busy workloads. We gained valuable knowledge about what it takes to build a team and scale a successful company. Here’s a brief bio of each founder and their company’s mission: 🌍 Dr Jane Jin is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at OXCCU TECH LTD, an Oxford University spinout dedicated to developing technologies to convert CO2 and hydrogen into sustainable aviation fuel. Before OXCCU, Jane was the Climate-tech Innovation Lead at Oxford University Innovation. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from Cambridge and has a robust background in technology innovation and consultancy. 💡 Sonia Kaurah is the founder & CEO of Tala Thrive, an AI-enabled mental health platform offering culturally competent care through video calls and self-led programs. Sonia started Tala Thrive in 2023 to provide a more equitable approach to therapy, reflecting her own multicultural background. She has a psychology degree, extensive experience in venture capital, and has mentored over 200 startups. 🔬 Daniel Ives is the founder of Shift Bioscience , which aims to reverse aging through AI-based cell simulations and CRISPR screens. He currently leads a team which is paving the way for groundbreaking advancements in cellular reprogramming and age-related disease prevention. He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, focusing on mitochondrial mutations in rare diseases.   Stay connected with them and follow the journey of these amazing founders! Follow Crick Science Entrepreneur Network (CSEN) and join our community! 🌟 #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Sustainability #MentalHealth #AgingResearch

1 in 10 women in the UK suffer from endometriosis, a painful condition affecting fertility, causing immense pain and diminishing life quality. Current limited treatment options and long NHS wait times to access medical care result in poor disease management. Over the course of the Crick Innovation Challenge, my unbelievably driven team (Lucy Ahern and Sophie James) aimed to address this problem through the proposed solution of EmpowHer, an integrated sensor-application platform for personalized symptoms tracking and treatment connection. Pitching to Jason Mellad, Tanel Ozdemir, and Nelli Morgulchik, our distinguished panel of investors, was super exciting and insightful. We thank you for seeing the merit in our solution and picking us as the winners of the Bench to Bedside track of the challenge! Working towards this solution and taking part in this event were both highly rewarding opportunities. Interacting with so many intelligent, kind, and compassionate scientists from across the UK who want to translate research into real-world impact was the biggest highlight. Additionally, exploring ways of enabling this translation through biotech startup founder and investor panels was a great way of disseminating information. Special thanks go to Isabel Zhang (HCVC Investor), Filippo Dal Ben (Pioneer Group Investor), Jason Goldstein (NG Bio Investor), Antonia Theodorakopoulou (Polari Group Angel and Adviser), Sonia Kaurah ( Founder at Tala Thrive), Dr Jane Jin ( Founder at Oxxcu Tech) and Daniel Ives (Founder at Shift Bioscience) for coming through to share their experiences. Holistically, this event would not have taken place without the tireless work of the event leads. Florian Hubl and Diana Drago-Garcia, you created an event that truly fostered a sense of community and entrepreneurship. Also to Tapoka T. Mkandawire - your warm greetings every morning set the tone for my day. To team EmpowHer's wonderful mentors, Olga Komarynets and Puay Ling Lee, and our amazing panel of advisors, specifically José Flauzino, Shari Weinstein, and Jasmine A.- your input into our presentation enhanced it massively. To the women suffering from endometriosis who provided invaluable interviews and question-answering, your courage is truly admirable. To the dream team at EmpowHer - thanks for providing laughter through the panic and fun throughout the process! Lastly, a big shout out to Fırat Güder and the Güder Research group for supporting me on my journey! To where? Who knows but at least it's been a scenic route! #CrickInstitute #CrickInnovationChallenge #BenchtoBedside #Endometriosis #FemTech #DeepTech #Entrepreneurship

🎉 It's Crick Innovation Challenge Hump-Day! 🎉 Participants from all over the UK are diving into their 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲𝐬 at The Francis Crick Institute. Over the course of this week, teams are brainstorming, collaborating, and crafting unique and exciting 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬. This year’s challenge areas: 🌟 Bench to Bedside 🌟 Sustainability 🌟 Digital Health I had the honour of kicking off the Bench to Bedside challenge, a topic close to my heart. Drawing insights from Marc Gruber and Sharon Tal Itzkovitch's "𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲?", I emphasised the importance of understanding market opportunities, uncovering unmet needs, and mapping out the entire customer journey. A special shoutout to Paul Sturrock for introducing me to this book during the MedTech SuperConnector! Yesterday’s highlight: an inspiring panel discussion on what it truly means to be a 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. Huge thanks to Sonia Kaurah: Tala Thrive, Daniel Ives: Shift Bioscience , and Dr Jane Jin: OXCCU TECH LTD for their candid and heartfelt insights. We delved into motivation, prioritisation, stakeholder management, fundraising, and the power of a compelling story. ✅ Keep your eye on the goal ✅ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 ✅ Learn to listen (really listen) to your team/mentors/environment and communicate your vision effectively ✅ Scientists: don't forget to build a company! I can't wait to see the 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 the teams will pitch on Friday, many stepping up for the first time to present to investors! My last advice to this week's innovators: think beyond your initial idea. What other problems can you solve with it? While it's important to pick a primary market opportunity, remember that a startup's true potential lies in creating something 𝐛𝐢𝐠, 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥. If your initial idea works, what new doors could it open? 🚀 Keep innovating and 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬! 🚀 👏 Massive congratulations to the organising team within the Crick Science Entrepreneur Network (CSEN) for pulling this together! Diana Drago-Garcia Florian Hubl Bhuvana Sudarshan Tessa Swanton Micaela Sartoretti Federica Raguseo and a huge thanks to our sponsors LifeArc and KQ Labs. Your support empowers us to: ☑ Deliver an 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 ☑ Reimburse participants across the UK, 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐩 and 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 ☑ Foster valuable, lasting 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 among young entrepreneurs