Meet the BiTS UK Cohort and their Big-if-True Ideas
Last week marked a milestone for ambitious science in the UK as we officially kicked off the inaugural cohort of the Big if True Science Accelerator (BiTS), our program designed to train scientists to design and launch R&D efforts that go beyond the scale of a single lab. Powered by the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), BiTS addresses a critical gap in the global research ecosystem.
After a highly competitive selection process, we're excited to introduce the 12 scientists and innovators who make up the inaugural cohort. These researchers are tackling some of the world's most ambitious challenges, from engineering brain waste clearance systems to developing bottom-up molecular assembly for next-generation electronics.
Selected for both their bold visions and potential for real-world impact, the cohort represents diverse fields including neuroscience, environmental engineering, biomedical research, and materials science. Over the next 15 weeks, they'll transform their breakthrough concepts into fundable eight-figure R&D programs.
Their journey concludes December 8 with pitch presentations to funders.
Update: Watch the December presentations here.
Meet the cohort
Alex Shintaro Araki
New mammalian model organisms for chronic disease
Arzhang Ardavan
Bottom-up DNA assembly for molecular technologies
Roslyn Bill
Drugging the brain's plumbing system: a radical approach to fixing traumatic brain injury and cognitive decline
Karim Brohi
CELL-SHIELD - Creating a universal pause button for cell death
Nazila Kamaly
Solving translational bottlenecks in nanomedicine
Ananth Kumar
Mining genomic dark matter: an atlas of non-coding RNA
Jonathan (Jo) Melville
Unnatural Gas: biogeochemical reactors for methane abatement and circular industry
Artem Mishchenko
ImageNet-scale experimental dataset for quantum materials
Agata Nyga
Mapping cell and tissue mechanical signatures to unlock a new era of medicine
Dean Thomas
A national resource for automating chemical research
Sven Truckenbrodt
Coordinating discovery to chart the brain's "hidden connectome"
Inga Van den Bossche
Conditional RNA therapeutics for targeted activation of autoimmune diseases
Over the coming weeks, we'll be sharing updates on their progress as these ambitious concepts evolve into actionable programs. Follow along as they work toward the Demo Day in December.
