Our Team

ChiTownBio is dedicated to putting the knowledge, skills, and tools of biotechnology into the hands of all Chicagoans who want to explore the living world and use it to benefit our community. We strive to make sure everyone can participate in the growing biotech sector through the creation of a community biolab and sponsoring and promoting programming throughout Chicagoland.

Pu‘uhonua Society is a Native Hawaiian women-led non-profit organization based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Active at the intersections of contemporary art, traditional cultural practices, environmental stewardship, and transformational education, Puʻuhonua Society creates opportunities for Native Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-based creatives to express themselves and engage with diverse audiences. Through six interwoven initiatives, we support those who serve as translators/mediators/amplifiers of social justice issues within communities.

Dambi Dollo University (DaDU) is a leading institution in Ethiopia, renowned for its contributions to education, research, and development, particularly in life sciences. The university's focus in this area spans disciplines such as biology, biotechnology, health sciences, environmental science, and agricultural science. Key aspects of DaDU's involvement in life sciences include advanced research facilities, interdisciplinary collaborations, and impactful community outreach programs.

The Natividad Creek Park Community Garden and Learning Lab is a community managed plot of land nestled in a community park in Salinas, CA. The garden was built as a garden based community center to serve as a safe place to grow nutritious food, to promote sustainable gardening, and inspire community improvement. Over the years we have collaborated with biodesign and science-based organizations and programs to host explorations in the garden that builds community confidence in science and bioliteracy. We prioritize multi-generational learning and community knowledge sharing.

BOSLab is a community-driven science lab that provides publicly accessible space for scientific exploration. We empower individuals of all backgrounds to engage and practice science in a welcoming environment. BOSLab provides foundational lab skills training, project-based learning, and opportunities to tackle real-world challenges. Our mission is to make science accessible and foster a collaborative environment where innovation and education thrive. We are committed to promoting equity and equality, ensuring that everyone can learn and participate in science.

Co-founded by Sakti Subramanian and Dr. Devin Camenares, Great Lakes SynBio aims to promote Synthetic Biology education and training in the Midwest by: (1) connecting regional students, educators, and companies; (2) creating low-cost, project-driven curricula for K-12 and undergraduate students; and (3) influencing national science and technology policy to accelerate the growth of the bioeconomy.

The BioBuilder Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) established in 2011 by Dr. Natalie Kuldell at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with support from the National Science Foundation. BioBuilder is committed to access and equity and delivers comprehensive life science education and workforce training to high school students, educators, and industry professionals. BioBuilder is dedicated to helping students access tools and programs that unlock their potential as life science innovators, acquire skills to be able to build with biology, and invent/imagine ways synthetic biology can make the world better.

BioBus helps K-12 and college students discover, explore, and pursue science. We focus on students excluded from the scientific community due to factors such as race, gender, economic status, and physical access. Through this work, we envision a world where all people have the opportunity to reach their full scientific potential. We’ve reached 400,000 students at more than 1,000 schools and community organizations since 2008, primarily NYC public and charter schools and as far away as New England, California, and even Rwanda, Egypt and Jordan.

Lisa Rasmussen is a philosopher focusing on the ethics of research, particularly in unregulated forms of research. She is currently writing a book on the subject.

We help people working on the next big thing in their basements, living rooms, and garages. We do this by providing scientific education, scientific research, and startup development in one nice science and tech community.

Led by Jasmine Neal, Jas and Olive is a written collection of floral design principles, affordable DIY arrangements, and musings on plant science. Its intention is to spark a sense of awe and wonder about plant science and climate solutions through floral design.

At the Health Equity and Access Lab (HEAL) led by Dr. Chhavi Goenka, at Olin, we think about diseases that haven’t been looked at or that we can look at in a different way. Our goals are: Design, Advocacy, Education (1) To address and increase awareness of inequities in current healthcare (2) To design light-based solutions to enable early and minimally invasive diagnosis of conditions that are often overlooked (3) To design health solutions and advocate for marginalized communities. We are currently developing optical tissue phantoms and hardware to enable early diagnoses of diseases related to the uterus.

The Bio Design Challenge is a challenge where students look for a possible problem that’s within their area or not, then it’s the students job to find a solution with biotechnology. We participated in this challenge as high school students where we got to explore different pathways of biology, specifically marine biology. Our project consists of a calcium carbonate and concrete mixture over a small artificial shape structure to increase the amount of coral reefs since they are dying rapidly due to climate change; our project’s name is S.A.S.S.

Biodesign Challenge After-School is a program of Biodesign Challenge, an international education program that works with high school and college students at the intersection of Biology, Tech, Art, and Design. Run by founding organizer and program director, Veena Vijayakumar, BDC A-S focuses primarily on youth and teachers of color at Title 1 high schools in the US. The program is open to those who are interested in engaging in discussions and creating projects around ethics in biotechnology; interspecies relationships; sustainable and equitable design; and community-based climate action.

Public Health Specialist and PMP professional with extensive hands-on experience in RCCE/SBC, RMNCAH-N, HSS & Resilience building (DRM).

Genspace is the world’s first community biology lab — a place where people of all backgrounds can learn, create, and grow with the life sciences.

Since 2009, we have served the greater New York area by providing hands-on STEAM education programs for youth and adults, cultural and outreach events for the public, and a membership program to support New York’s community of creatives, researchers, and entrepreneurs. Our programs demystify scientific processes, provide a platform for innovation, and cultivate the next generation of life sciences leaders in emerging global technologies, such as biotechnology, neuroscience, epidemiology, genomics, and many more.

Mikaela is a high school student who is passionate about making the world a better place with biology!