Calling all Majors for the Inaugural Biotech Bridge Hackathon

Come unleash your creativity and expertise at the inaugural Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology’s (CMBB) Biotech Bridge Hackathon, on Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1, in the Student Union, Boca Raton campus. This year’s theme, Beat the Clock: Innovating for a Longer, Healthier Life, will bring interdisciplinary teams together to create innovative solutions to answer the question: How do we extend health span and slow the effects of aging? 

All Florida Atlantic undergraduate and graduate students are invited to participate regardless of their major. Students are welcome to create their own teams of three to six people or opt to be assigned to a team. While there is no requirement to have students from different majors on the same team, it is strongly encouraged for teams to include members from different colleges and majors, especially in the areas of molecular biology, biochemistry, environmental chemistry, bioinformatics, computational science, AI/machine learning, medicine, business, arts and neuroscience.

“This hackathon will be a starting point for interdisciplinary collaborations among students to channel their creativity and problem-solving skills that can drive innovation and discovery in the Biotech field,” said Shailaja Allani, Ph.D., associate scientist, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Schmidt College of Science, and director, FAU Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

During the two-day event, a variety of expert academic and industry leaders will be available to the teams to provide guidance and answer questions. At the conclusion of the Hackathon, teams will present their projects to a group of judges in one of three proposal formats. The proposals will then be judged according to the Biotech Bridge Hackathon rubric. Prizes will be presented on Saturday evening at the awards ceremony. 

Hananel Hazan, Ph.D., an interdisciplinary computer scientist at Tufts University, will deliver the event’s keynote speech. Hazan specializes in biologically inspired computing, neurocomputation and machine learning. His work bridges computer science and neurobiology to uncover the fundamental principles of cognition and computation. 

Food and drinks will be provided throughout the event, and there is no cost to participate. Non-competitors are welcome to attend both days of the Hackathon. For more information and to register, visit https://www.fau.edu/science/cmbb/hackathon/