Join our next WiSB Women’s Hour – a regular opportunity to learn, share and support women and underrepresented genders in synthetic biology!
About this event
Bacteria, Babies, and Boobs.
BoobyBiome is developing a novel product for babies who do not have access to the beneficial microbiome in breast milk. The female-led team of scientists have uncovered a community of bacteria essential during the early stages of life. The company’s findings were a result of high-resolution analysis of donated breast milk samples and rigorous testing of the living microorganisms that reside within. The team at BoobyBiome are assembling these bacteria species into a live biotherapeutic product that will be given to babies when breast milk is not available.
Co-founders Dr Sioned Jones and Dr Lydia Mapstone will talk about all things Bacteria, Babies and Boobs in this WiSB session. The co-founders will discuss:
challenges in women's health and barriers to breastfeeding
the interplay between the human milk microbiome and the infant gut
what's next for BoobyBiome
Presenter: Dr Sioned Jones, COO and co-founder, BoobyBiome
Dr Sioned Jones is the COO and co-founder of BoobyBiome. In 2017, Sioned graduated from the University of Liverpool with a Master of Chemistry (First class Hons). In 2022, she was awarded a PhD in Biophysics as part of the London Interdisciplinary Doctoral (LIDo) programme at King’s College London and UCL. During her PhD, Sioned developed DNA nanotools that could measure membrane properties in live cells. Sioned has received multiple prizes at top international conferences, including the Royal Society of Chemistry (2021 prize) and Prato Pores (2021 prize). Her research was published in several high-impact peer-reviewed journals and has set the basis for follow-on grants and projects. Alongside her PhD, she participated in entrepreneurial courses and competitions (BiotechYES, Imagine IF, PULSE, Panacea Stars), where she became interested in combining science with business.
Recognising the underfunding of research into maternal health, she used her multidisciplinary expertise to co-found BoobyBiome during her PhD. The female-led biotech start-up recently raised grant and equity funding of ~£1.3M to develop a live biotherapeutic product for babies without access to breast milk. As a DNA enthusiast, Sioned is committed to unravelling the complexity of breast milk and developing medicinal products for babies with compromised microbiomes.
Presenter: Dr Lydia Mapstone, CEO and co-founder, BoobyBiome
Dr Lydia Mapstone is the CEO and co-founder of BoobyBiome, a company developing bacterial products for infants from the breast milk microbiome. Lydia has strong molecular and microbiology expertise from her PhD at University College London. She also holds an MSc in Synthetic Biology & Biotechnology from the University of Edinburgh and a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Bristol. As a microbiologist, Lydia is passionate about creating solutions in the real world for healthcare and the environment using biotechnology. Lydia has pursued this interest throughout her career; as the lead team member winning the Best Therapeutic prize at the International Synthetic Biology competition iGEM (2017), through her PhD research where she has published and presented her work widely from conferences to music festivals (2017-2022), and by winning the UCL Grand Challenges award to set up the first UK infant microbiome conference at the Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital (2020).
Fuelled by this success, Lydia launched BoobyBiome with her co-founders in 2019, participating in numerous Start-up accelerators and workshops (including BiotechYES, Imagine IF, PULSE, and Panacea Stars) to meet advisors and investors. Using the knowledge shared at these workshops, Lydia and the BoobyBiome team successfully won two grants (from BBSRC and Innovate UK) to carry out R&D and have since completed their seed raise from investors.
Organisers
WiSB - Connecting and supporting women and underrepresented genders across the world of engineered biology.
Supported by BuiltWithBiology, Potter Clarkson and the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre.