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- Meeting the Team, Making Bacterial Biocements, and $1.8M Pre-Seed
Meeting the Team, Making Bacterial Biocements, and $1.8M Pre-Seed
We are also open for Teaching Assignments!
Raphael Kim, PhD
November 01, 2024
Hello Biodesign Community,
Welcome to our latest newsletter, where we bring you fresh insights and updates from the world of biodesign, featuring exclusive interviews, inspiring projects, thought-provoking articles, and more.
In Brief (jump to contents)
Meet the Biodesign Academy Team!
We’re excited to introduce our new "About Us" page, offering a closer look at who we are and the mission driving Biodesign Academy B.V:
Our goal? To bridge the gap between biotechnology and design, empowering students and professionals to thrive in the digital age with resilience, curiosity, and critical insight.
Our team brings a wealth of experience across biodesign, design research, and education:
 Raphael Kim Ph.D. – Founder & Creative Director. Researcher, writer, designer, and educator, Raphael translates complex scientific concepts into accessible insights, inspiring a new generation to explore biodesign’s potential. |  Jiwei Zhou – Research Associate Jiwei is a PhD candidate at TU Delft and design researcher focused on more-than-human thinking and care ethics in biodesign and biological human-computer interaction. She explores the roles of biological and technological systems in fostering relational and ecological awareness of the human body and living environments towards multispecies flourishing. |
Biodesign Academy is Now Available for Teaching!
We’re excited to announce that Biodesign Academy is now open for teaching assignments. Whether you're a student, educator, or organization, we’d love to explore how our teaching approach could support your goals.
Our new teaching page on our website offers insight into our teaching philosophy and approach, designed to foster resilience, ethical inquiry, and strong industry connections in the fast-evolving field of biodesign.
From hands-on explorations to thought-provoking case studies, our customizable curriculum equips students with the skills to excel in today’s biodesign landscape.
To discuss options and tailor a program to your needs, please reach out at [email protected]. Let’s start a conversation about how we can bring biodesign education for your goals.
Visual Goldmine for Biodesigners: Introducing BioArt Source
Great news for biodesigners, scientists, and anyone working with biological visuals: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has unveiled an intriguing new resource: the BioArt Source Library. This free, public-domain collection offers over 2,000 high-quality scientific illustrations, from vectors and icons to brushes—all meticulously categorized to make searching quick and easy.
I took a peek and downloaded some decent looking illustrations myself, like a pipette, petri dish (with a rather worryingly-large) bacterial colonies, and a DNA sequencer—perfect for adding visual touch to presentations or protocol documents.
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Whether you're preparing presentations, proposals, posters, or social media posts, these scientifically representative visuals are now at your fingertips, with no copyright constraints. Perfect for illustrating biological materials and processes with credibility and style.
📣 Also, something to look out for: Inspired by this effort to make science visuals accessible, we at Biodesign Academy are also brewing something similar. Keep an eye out as we work on making our own set of biodesign resources freely available for the community!
Interview and Blog Catch Up
Here’s a roundup of my recent conversations and interview pieces, capturing some of the innovation and creative approaches to sustainability showcased at Dutch Design Week 2024:
The Fungierie (Image credit: Sarah Alix Mann)
BioHybrid game controller (image credit: Madalina Nicolae and Vivien Roussel)
Blog Catch Up
Online Workshop: Bacterial Biocement—Growing Living Materials
Hosted by Genspace NYC
Date & Time: Sunday, November 24, 4 - 7 PM CET
Location: Online
Registration: Sign up on Eventbrite (Refunds up to 7 days before event; Eventbrite fee non-refundable)
Explore how microbes are revolutionizing sustainable construction! Genspace NYC is hosting a 3-hour virtual class on bacterial biocementation, an innovative approach to creating eco-friendly cement. This process uses bacteria to form sturdy, CO2-reducing materials, offering a greener alternative to traditional concrete.
In this workshop, you’ll gain insights into:
Bacterial Biocementation Basics: Discover how microbes can bond materials by forming crystal lattices.
Cultivating S. pasteurii: Learn techniques for growing the bacteria used in biocement.
Molding and Mixture Prep: Explore mold selection, aggregate choices, and customizing mixtures.
Live Demo & Ethical Discussions: Watch a step-by-step process of biocementing and discuss current challenges and ethical considerations.
While this virtual class won’t involve hands-on cementing, you’ll leave with a comprehensive understanding of how to safely approach biocementation at a BL1 lab.
Bonus: Your registration includes access to a recording of the class. Join us and discover how living materials can transform the future of construction!
Bioprinting Breakthrough: MIT Alum's Startup Secures $1.8M to Democratize Biofabrication
Biological Lattice Industries (BLI), founded by MIT alumnus Filippos Tourlomousis, has closed a $1.8 million pre-seed funding round led by Greek venture capital firm Uni.Fund. BLI’s mission is ambitious: to make biofabrication accessible and intuitive for life sciences labs worldwide. With this funding, BLI aims to bring its flagship innovations—the BioLoom bioprinter and Loominus Studio software—to more researchers, transforming lab workflows from complex to streamlined.
Founded in 2021, BLI is built on Tourlomousis’ extensive research at MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms, where his work with machine learning on biomaterials helped inspire BLI’s tools. The BioLoom bioprinter’s high-resolution printing capabilities and Active Environmental Control ensure that labs can produce precise, reproducible biomaterials, vital for applications in tissue engineering and medical device development. Meanwhile, Loominus Studio automates and integrates the entire design-to-fabrication process, eliminating the typical lab hurdles of coordinating multiple systems and protocols.
With Uni.Fund’s backing, BLI is positioned to scale its impact on biofabrication. The venture firm’s partner, Katerina Pramatari, describes BLI as “a game-changer in the biotech space,” with the potential to set a new standard in life sciences R&D.
Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more stories and insights in our next edition! And in the meantime, feel free to check out our sponsors below and their newsletters:
Best wishes,
Biodesign Academy