Protein therapies are front and center of medical treatments with over 80 drugs approved worldwide and over 170 in active clinical development. Downstream processing of protein products accounts for 50 – 80% of the total cost of production, with a large portion of expenses going towards the protein extraction process. With the protein production industry currently valued at $284.5 billion, there is a demand for a cheaper, more sustainable, and energy-efficient alternative. Using genetic engineering, Cellyse proposes a novel lytic technology which offers researchers and fermentation companies a way to extract recombinant proteins with only water. Our technology can expand biologics production through its ease of use and nontrivial cost reductions—paving the way for more affordable and equitable healthcare globally. Beyond optimizing extraction, our genetic construct also allows for valuable nutrients otherwise lost in purification to be recycled in the fermentation process, eliminating waste from over 255 million liters of cell culture media annually.
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is one of the leading contributors to malnutrition around the world, causing blindness, stunted physical and mental development, and disease vulnerability. South Asia has one of the highest rates of VAD in the world, especially among children and pregnant mothers. Vitamin A supplementation has been cited as one of the most effective ways to combat VAD, but current methods, including high-dose injections every 6 months, dietary diversification, daily vitamin A supplements, and biofortification of crops, fall short because of a lack of strict government regulation and cultural incompatibility. This team’s yogurt-based, engineered probiotic starter is able to integrate into the existing culture of South Asia, increasing the likelihood of adherence and giving families power over their own nutrition. Once consumed, the engineered probiotic, S. boulardii, will continuously synthesize the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene in the gut, providing constant supplementation to vulnerable populations and reducing the need for government intervention.
There are two main issues affecting bee survival today. Varroa mite, a parasite which is difficult and laborious to detect and treat, and climate change, causing more drastic temperatures and temperature changes, making winter survival more difficult for bees. These issues have caused a year-over-year population declines of 40-50% in bee colonies, a far greater number than the 30% of decades prior. HexaHive aims to solve these problems by utilizing technology to empower beekeepers and help them fight against these issues decimating bee populations. HexaHive will easily integrate into existing beehives and beekeeping practices and utilize novel technologies to detect varroa mite, monitor internal hive metrics, including temperature, and have climate control systems to warm or cool hives as necessary. Through the use of HexaHive, both seasoned and novice beekeepers will have a greater degree of control and understanding of what happens in their hives, leading to greater bee survival.
Over 7 million tons of plastic-coated paper are produced annually. Nearly all of which is destined for landfill. Paper can be recycled up to 25 times, but when it’s coated in plastic to protect against leakage, it is not compostable or recyclable. High Tide aims to solve this pervasive problem by producing a bio-based coating from renewable resources that enables compostability and recyclability at end of life. High Tide is designing materials for current and future waste management systems. Its coatings will comply with existing recycling and composting infrastructure, as well as degrade harmlessly in natural ecosystems and landfills. High Tide’s long-term vision is to be a leading material company helping move the world away from petroleum-based plastics. A successful future will be one where highly recyclable and degradable materials like paper can replace plastic packaging, and be discarded in blue AND green waste bins.
Despite the large and increasing population of forcibly displaced Afghan immigrants in the U.S., there is limited information about their health status and health service utilization. Among this already marginalized population, women are at a higher risk for worse health outcomes given their unique sociocultural barriers to health and healthcare. With over 66,000 Afghan immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area as of 2019, there is an unaddressed need to ensure Afghan women are supported with attaining health and obtaining healthcare services in the U.S. Sofreh Salamati is a novel gathering, designed specifically to meet the needs of Afghan refugee women and created by Afghan refugee women. With our initiative, we facilitate health education and the health benefits of spirituality, address pervasive misinformation and cultural myths, and uplift the strengths that Afghan women already have. As a result, Sofreh Salamati will address practical and sociocultural barriers to healthcare and empower women to feel confident in imagining, seeking, and maintaining good health.
More than 85% of social enterprises shut down within the first three years of operation. A major reason for this is limited access to specialized technical expertise and talent, which is essential in the initial, crucial stages of developing a solution. Emerging and early stage social enterprises either lack the required resources or direct them to other pressing needs to stay afloat. These services are costly largely due to the need for highly skilled and technically trained people. This results in institutional and operational hurdles, and limited growth for these impact organizations. Simultaneously, there is a rapidly growing pool of students and industry professionals looking for social sector learning opportunities. The Impact Collective harnesses this opportunity and embodies the value of building a network and ecosystem for collective action – the collective mobilizes and matches students and industry professionals with social enterprises who have technical needs. It brings together industry professionals, domain experts, and students from various disciplines and technical areas to form interdisciplinary technical consulting teams to serve impact organizations for social change.
In the US, there are 70 million baby boomers who own 2.34 million Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) in the country, employing more than 25 million people. Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and have generated 64% of new jobs annually. Unfortunately, up to 70% of current owners will not be able to sell their businesses when they are ready. The large number of retiring owners, coupled with the uncertainty of successful exits, poses a threat to millions of jobs and jeopardizes the owners’ safety net for a comfortable retirement. 2ndWind aims to create a more efficient platform to facilitate SMBs’ transitions, helping retiring owners achieve their retirement’s goals, whilst continuing the creation of job opportunities and prevent layoffs associated with SMB closures.
Black Girls Dreaming is a multimodal sensory art installation that epitomizes the value of art for social change. The installation brings to life the multiple and often contradictory experiences of Black girls. It is a place for Black girls to hear, see, smell, taste, and witness their own lived experiences. As suicide rates among Black girls continue to rise we are compelled to create this space as a communal healing space for Black girls and allies to join us in our efforts to make the world a more livable and safe place for all Black girls. Further, this silent art exhibit features interactive art rooms exploring topics related to the multiple experiences of Black girlhood. Each room in the exhibit is a carefully created space that features the art work of Black girls across the African Diaspora.
Every year, millions of people suffer brain injuries, yet diagnosis and treatment guidance is limited by traditional healthcare options. Confidence aims to improve the experience of brain injury patients and healthcare professionals by using a patient’s smartphone data to provide optimized and personalized care. After a suspected or known brain injury, healthcare professionals will direct patients to download the Confidence application to their smartphones, which will allow the application to locally access and analyze the patient’s data to analyze for changes correlated to brain injury, such as cognition, mobility, emotional stability, and general activity. A summary of this information will be provided to the healthcare team so it can be used to assist in diagnosis and guide treatment options. Ultimately, Confidence will give each patient customized rehabilitation that increases their recovery and opportunities to continue thriving in their community.
