Kicking off Strong: January 2023
TKS Global Hackathon, Article + Video on Sirtuins in Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Joining Refoundation
Happy February!🥳
If you’re new here, my name is In-Woo, and I’m a 16-year-old bio-researcher, pharmacy assistant, and TKS Innovator based in Vancouver, BC. I’m interested in all things Bio, especially personalized medicine, psychedelics, and human longevity, which are all right up my alley.
January was a school-heavy month for me and a lot of other students my age with semester schedules. With assignments and exams around every corner, it wasn’t easy to juggle around school and my passion projects. However, I was able to push out a hackathon, article, and video; along with joining a non-profit and doing lots of networking. So without further ado, let’s get right into it.
TKS Global Hackathon 🌎
On the third week of January, TKS (The Knowledge Society) held its annual global 24-hour hackathon for the Innovate program. Prior to the hackathon kickoff, I had a faint idea intersecting the field of human longevity and blockchain technology in the form of secure genomic/ epigenomic data storage and research-intended data sharing to ultimately accelerate advancements in the field.
So, I hit up some blockchain people including Ziyana Amershi (Vancouver), Rhythm Doshi (Dubai), and Ronit Dey (Toronto) — shoutout to you guys for being such great teammates!
But as we started to brainstorm and go through some ideation, we came up with a similar idea, but with a bit of a twist:
Tracking down antibiotic resistance using blockchain technology
By using blockchain, a decentralized and distributed ledger system, all information about the distribution, sale, prescription, and use of antimicrobial drugs can be recorded and tracked authentically. This data can be used to monitor the use of these drugs and ensure that they are being used appropriately. For example, by tracking the number of prescriptions for a particular drug, healthcare providers and regulatory authorities can identify patterns of overprescription, which can contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance. We acknowledge that we’re at a point where prevention can be the difference between life and death, so detecting potential outbreaks before they arise is crucial.
So to bring this idea to life, we came up with ChainRx.
ChainRx is a decentralized and distributed ledger system, operating on its own private blockchain. Healthcare providers input prescription data into the software which is first gathered then privately processed into a standardized format that is collected by inner network nodes. These nodes then privately share data to the blockchain network where it is then stored. Then through a Proof of authority consensus mechanism, permissioned control is given to public health authorities to monitor overprescriptioin and potential outbreaks.
Through this hackathon, I learned a lot about blockchain technology, as I had to go much deeper than the surface level knowledge I originally had. Through the experience, I learned that the capabilities of this technology is nearly endless. With concepts such as blockchain-based drug supply chains or blockchain-based EHRs, it’s safe to say that blockchain technology as a whole will substantially advance healthcare in the future (which may be closer than we think).
Project on Sirtuins in Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases 🧬
For the past two months I dove deep into the science behind sirtuins and how their decreased activity is one the biggest underlying causes of aging. I thoroughly read much over 20 papers and analyzed sirtuin mechanisms myself by simulating NAD+ binding with human SIRT1 on PyMol.
From this experience, I went through a HUGE learning curve. When I first tried reading papers on sirtuin mechanisms, I understood absolutely nothing (maybe apart from mitochondria = the powerhouse of the cell). However, this didn’t stop me from learning the university-level biology myself and continuing on with the project.
After learning and experimenting, I’ve created two deliverables that you can check out:
Article — This article goes moderately in detail and articulates the role of sirtuins in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. It was also published on one of Medium’s largest publishers: Illumination!
Video — This brief video summarizes my article in four minutes, but was created with the intention of learning how to create content and storytell. I believe that being able to explain concepts verbally is an important skill to have, and it further proves that you actually know your stuff. Although this is my first video and it wasn’t the best, I working to improve my film and storytelling skills to level up 10x!
Refoundation + BUILD’23 🦄
I’ve also recently joined Refoundation, a non-profit dedicated to help solve the world's most pressing issues by building cool opportunities for high school students to make tangible social impact.
Currently, we’re organizing Build’23, a hackathon for teens that integrates emerging technologies, such as blockchain and AI, in order to solve issues that fall under the category of inequality, sustainability, and/or healthcare. It’s a 36-hour global and virtual hackathon with workshops everyday run by experts from the Web3, UX Design, and Venture Capital space. Supported by our generous sponsors, there are more than $10,000 to be won in prizes!
The hackathon (including kick-off) runs from from Friday the 17th of February, to the 19th. It’s free of cost to participate; so if interested, register through this link!
If you have any questions regarding the event, or would like to become a sponsor/ speaker, feel free to shoot me a message!
Mindsets of the Month 🧠
Authenticity — It’s important to realize that everybody is different. No surprise there. What makes some people uncomfortable may not make you uncomfortable, and that’s okay. Be true to yourself and identify realistic situations/ environments that’ll push you to become the best version of yourself.
Anti-fragility — Instead of just sitting through hard situations and staying resilient, learn to grow and become stronger from your experiences. To give you an analogy, think of Hydra, the Greek mythological creature with more than one head. When one is cut off, two grow back.
Be intentional — Every once in awhile, take a step back and examine your life. Examine the things you do on a daily basis. Do they lead towards your goals? Or were you on autopilot? Be intentional with the things you spend your time on and you'll notice that you a lot more to offer.
Upcoming 🚀
Synergistic antibiotic drugs research project in vitro trials + report
Harvard business school (MBA) x Starbucks business case study
TKS 4-week Global Business Consulting Challenge