Laying Some Foundations

I spent the last week at the Micro-physiological Systems Bootcamp conducted by the Centre for Predictive Human Model Systems (CPHMS) in collaboration with CCAMP and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru.

Image Description: Day 1 of the MPS Bootcamp at CCAMP

While the bootcamp largely focused on developing organ models for drug testing and the likes, I spent a big chunk of my time learning about the processes involved in designing and developing microfluidic channels - which is a key component in the BioCompute chip architecture that we are building.

There are 5 things that stood out to me at the bootcamp:

1. It was a 20-member cohort with a LOT of diversity
We had biologists, chemists, material scientists, physicians, entrepreneurs, professors, mechanical, electronics and instrumentation engineers all in the same room, talking to each other and discussing how microlevel systems can be built. This is the kind of interdisciplinary ecosystem we need to develop and adopt radically new technology.

Image Description: The MPS Bootcamp cohort

2. It was as hands-on as it could get

There were well-designed exercise books to guide us through processes. In spite of the fact that many of us came in with little to no background in these technologies, we still got to go into the cleanrooms (fully decked up of course) and operate some of the machines to create simple designs for microfluidic channels.

Image Description: A sample microfluidic channel created using micro milling

Image Description: Microfluidic channel created using CELLINK BIOX6 Printer

3. Speakers Sessions Were Carefully Curated

Ranging from R&D professionals at companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific to academic scientists developing micro-physiological systems in their labs, field application specialists at 3D bioprinting companies like CELLINK and Contract Research Organizations (CROs) in the fabrication space, the speakers brought diverse perspectives to the processes involved and the challenges associated with lab-on-a-chip architecture. The best part was that the speakers were open to all sorts of questions from the audience, and were able to convey their work in a manner that folks from diverse backgrounds could grasp.

Image Description: A lecture on bioprinting by a PhD scholar at IISc

4. There were no stupid questions
As everyone came from diverse backgrounds, no could pretend they knew everything (which is what usually happens at academic conferences and the likes). So everyone, including folks from the organizing team, raised their hands and asked anything and everything they wanted to know - and more often than not another participant in the room was able to answer that question.

More importantly, it was a safe space to acknowledge what each person needed help with and offer some good faith advice based on prior experience. Ideas for potential collaborations brewed over lunch and coffee breaks and often spilled into shared cabs and whatsapp chats. I wish classrooms at school and university were this welcoming and supportive - then students and teachers alike would leave the classroom with a renewed sense of joy and tons of knowledge.

Image Description: A discussion session at CCAMP

5. India has a long way to go to become a bioeconomy

There are no Indian manufacturers for fabrication equipment which makes it super expensive to even access these for research purposes, let alone large scale commercialization. There is a dearth of reliable funding sources (DBT, ICMR and a handful of small deep tech VCs are the only sources each with their own constraints), and comprehensive support systems for commercialization of biotech R&D. There is a chicken and egg problem with respect to a skilled workforce in this area.

There is a big gap in terms of infrastructure needed to put together microphysiological systems, and get to a point where they can potentially replace cumbersome, expensive, and unsustainable testing methods. But through initiatives like this bootcamp, we have taken some baby steps to getting to that big goal. The newly announced BioE3 policy has some interesting directives around this (I will do a detailed review sometime soon after I have finished reading the policy document).

If this is something that interests you, check out the CPHMS website and sign up for the next edition of their bootcamp.

Image Description: Tejaswini and Goutami science communicators at CPHMS, and the folks who made this happen

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Post the bootcamp, I took a 4 day break and spent some time with my extended clan in Kerala celebrating a cousin’s engagement.

As an early stage entrepreneur with a fast-paced nervous system it is really hard for me to take breaks and I am happy I attempted a small one. I did end up taking a bunch of work calls and sending some emails but it was a good first step towards learning to take a step back and catch my breath once in a while.

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A key learning after I started building the company is that biological reagents take a surprisingly long time (2-2.5 months) to get to the lab once we have placed orders.

While the orders are being shipped, our team is spending a lot of time on early customer discovery and what niche aspects of data storage can be looked at as a part of a preliminary pilot. We are looking at sectors and companies across the board - so if you work with any kind of data storage as a part of your job hit us up we would love to set up a call and ask a few questions. As always, if you send across a good lead, the next tea/coffee/milk shake is on me.