Happy DeSci Fall! Inside this month’s newsletter:
- VitaDAO's first cell therapy funding: ApoptoSENS
- A New Publication on Decentralized Technology Transfer
- The Longevity Decentralized Review Explainer
- Meet DAO Member: Estèfano Pinilla
DAO News
1/4 Million Research Funding for ApoptoSENS
On September 13th, VitaDAO celebrated the funding of its fifth longevity research project funded via IP-NFT! VitaDAO is supporting ApoptoSENS’s research with $253,000 as they develop CAR-NK cells to target senescent cells in vivo. ApoptoSENS will explore ways to make the elimination of senescent cells more precise and safe. You can watch a recording of the live-streamed IP-NFT Transfer Ceremony with Molecule and ApoptoSENS on VitaDAO’s Youtube.
Publication: A New Scientific Incentive Structure
In “Decentralized Technology Transfer: A Modern Framework to Empower Scientific Innovation,” Zack West writes about a modern incentive structure for individual researchers, labs, and publishers that diverts from the traditional Technology Transfer Office (TTO) process. TTOs actively block the progression of IP getting to market. Ideally, the introduction of decentralized tech transfer can enable researchers to operate outside of their institutions and leverage other institutions’ resources.
New VitaDAO Initiative: The Longevity Decentralized Review (TLDR)
The Longevity Decentralized Review (TLDR) is an on-demand peer review service, founded by VitaDAO’s Tim Peterson. TLDR enables researchers to have proof of their peer reviews such that they don’t need to rely on journals for this proof. Want to learn more about TLDR? Watch Tim’s new video explainer on VitaDAO’s Youtube and check out the TLDR proof of concept website.
Governance: Parter & DAO2DAO Development
Updates: VitaDAO's Institutional Genesis Raise
Last month, Pfizer Ventures, L1 Digital, and Shine Capital applied to participate in VitaDAO’s Institutional Genesis Raise to contribute capital and participate in the governance of VitaDAO using $VITA tokens. This month, SpaceshipDAO, BeakerDAO, and Healthspan Capital applied to VitaDAO's Institutional Genesis Raise.
VDP 54.4: SpaceshipDAO Expression of Interest
SpaceshipDAO, a member-owned investment DAO supported by Tribute Labs, proposed to contribute $50,000 to participate in the governance of VitaDAO. They proposed to support VitaDAO with access to deal flow, domain expertise, awareness, and commercialization efforts of IP.
VDP 54.5: BeakerDAO Expression of Interest
BeakerDAO proposed to contribute $75,000 to participate in the governance of VitaDAO. They proposed to support VitaDAO with community support and expertise in the DeSci space.
VDP 54.6: Healthspan Capital Expression of Interest
Healthspan Capital proposed to contribute $100,000 to participate in the governance of VitaDAO using $VITA tokens. Healthspan Capital proposed to support VitaDAO beyond capital contribution with deal flow sharing, diligence notes comparing, support for newco formation and incubation, IP diligence, and industry partnering.
Live On Snapshot: Funding VitaDAO Fellows
VDP-57 proposes that VitaDAO donate $10,000 USDC to fund VitaDAO Longevity Fellows with micro-grants of up to $2k. VitaDAO’s fellowship program supports individuals who desire to dive deeper into learning about longevity. Previously, VitaDAO’s Fellowship was made possible by donors on Gitcoin. Due to the positive feedback from the broader community, as well as hearing from unfunded applicants, VDP-57 requests financial support for a new batch of fellows.
Key Working Group Contributor: Estèfano Pinilla
Estèfano Pinilla is a long-term VitaDAO working group contributor, who first joined VitaDAO in May 2021. He is a postdoctoral researcher, studying Cardiovascular Pharmacology, at Aarhus University in Denmark. His interests include longevity, extracellular matrix, and fibrosis.
How did you first get involved with the VitaDAO community/ in DeSci?
I first stumbled upon VitaDAO on Twitter, a month before the initial token auction. I wasn’t very interested in the blockchain back then, I only saw the financial applications and it seemed too self-referential to catch my interest. However, I am familiar with trying to bring research from the lab to the patients and with the limitations of the current patent system. As a researcher, I immediately could see the potential of the IP-NFT concept, and the idea of a community of scientists, professionals, and longevity enthusiasts getting together with the mission of extending healthy life sounded extremely exciting. I was impressed with how honestly the project was communicated as an experiment, and I decided to jump right in and started contributing. I’m always in for a cool experiment!
Can you walk me through what your position in VitaDAO entails?
As a Longevity Working Group contributor, I have shepherded several projects as well as assisted other shepherds as a squad member. Being a shepherd consists in serving as a bridge between the community and the applicants, coordinating the evaluation of the projects, putting all the information together, and writing the proposal for the community to vote on. In the Comms and Awareness Working Group, my main activity has been organizing the second season of the Longevity Journal Club, where we discussed the latest research papers in Longevity in an accessible way for the non-technical audience.
What has surprised you the most about VitaDAO?
What has surprised me the most is the diversity of backgrounds and expertise of the members of our community. It’s great to be able to lurk around the Discord group and see what is being discussed in the chats from the different working groups, I have learned a lot and accessed information that I wouldn’t have otherwise just by doing that. Also, it’s amazing to see ideas from community members growing into full-fledged projects in real-time. The worst part is not having the bandwidth to participate in all of them!
What are you most excited about in VitaDAO’s future?
There is so much potential and so many exciting projects on the horizon that it’s difficult to pick a single thing. One of the things I’m most excited about is the possibility of seeing biotech companies coming out of the projects we fund, companies trying to bring medicines to market in which the researchers have more upside and a diverse community of stakeholders have much more control over the assets.
Any closing thoughts for readers?
I would like to encourage other researchers to join the DAO and apply for funding, we are always looking for cool new ideas with the potential to extend healthy life and reach the patients. The collective knowledge of the community is impressive and we have a lot of passion to bring projects forward!
VitaDAO in the Media: Vitalik discusses VitaDAO
Should VitaDAO be a DAO? In a recent essay titled “DAOs are not corporations: Where decentralization in autonomous organizations matters” Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, explores DAOs as a first-order organization and discusses VitaDAO.
Theo Beutel spoke on behalf of VitaDAO as a part of Tally's video interview series. He covered the power of crypto funding, VitaDAO’s governance, and VitaDAO’s IP NFT mechanism.
At VitaDAOxPolygonDAO AMA, VitaDAO members Laurence Ion, Catthu, Jesse, and Time Peterson discussed VitaDAO’s achievements, the challenges of scientific funding, and VitaDAO’s future plans.
Upcoming Events: A Second VitaDAO symposium & more
October 10-13th at 11 AM EST- Our members, Tim Peterson, Max Unfried & Laurence Ion, will be speaking at Targeting Metabesity 2022 Virtual Conference!
October 17th at 11 AM EST- Swing by VitaDAO’s monthly community call, hosted on TwitterSpace. Learn more about what is going on in VitaDAO behind the scenes!
October 19th at 10 AM EST- (Recurring weekly on Wednesdays)- Join a VitaDAO onboarding session! Here, you can ask questions about VitaDAO, meet others interested in the DAO, and learn about VitaDAO’s working groups.
October 20th at 9 AM EST- Join hosts Max Unfried and Eleanor Sheekey at VitaDAO’s second VitaDAO Crypto meets Longevity Symposium. The symposium will serve as a chance for scientists, blockchain experts, and longevity professionals from internationally recognized institutions to connect and learn more about the intersection of Web3 and longevity.
October 28-30th & 4-6th Nov - VitaDAO Hackathon - hackathon focusing on longevity is a strong requirement for the future of the longevity field. VitaDAO Hackathon registration is now open! Register here
Join Us!
Have a special skill set? Anyone can contribute to VitaDAO and receive $VITA in return. Join the VitaDAO community on Discord and stay up to date on Twitter!
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