About us

Dr Roman Jerala is head of the Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is also synthetic biology project director at the Centre of Excellence EN-FIST, EMBO member, associated member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Academia Ueropaea. His research areas of interest include synthetic biology, designed bionanostructures and molecular mechanism of innate immunity. In 2013, his group initiated the technology of coiled-coil protein origami by an article in Nature Chemical Biology on using reprogrammed bacteria that synthesized designed proteins that self-assemble into a tetrahedron measuring 5 nanometres along each edge. This paves a path to designing and producing completely new protein shapes. This work was recently extended by a second generation of CCPOs that are able to self-assemble in vivo, published in the Nature Biotechnology. His other achievements in synthetic biology and information processing in mammalian cells, based on DNA binding domains but also fast responding designed circuits based on proteases and coiled-coils. He is known as the leader of Slovenian teams that won the Grand prize at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in 2010, 2008, and 2006 in addition to 5 Track winner awards.

Dr Duško Lainšček is a postdoctoral researcher of the Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana, Slovenia. His research areas include synthetic biology and immunology with more focus on CAR T-cell based cancer immunotherapy and genome editing using CRISPR/Cas system. He is a Certified and Licensed Veterinarian thus also performing application-based animal research and is the Head of the Laboratory for in vivo experiments. He co-authored papers in prestigious scientific journal such as Nature Biotechnology and Nature Communications. His PhD thesis “Genome editing and gene activation in mammalian cells using CRISPR/Cas9 system via extracelullar vesicle delivery” was one of the cornerstones for deep knowledge about this technology. As such, Dr Duško Lainšček is one of the main inventors of the improved CRISPR technology, now commercialised under the CCEdit. As an invited speaker, he shares this knowledge to institutions such as the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Pharmacy.

Tomaž Bizjak holds a Master’s degree in Bioscience Enterprise, obtained at the University of Cambridge. During this time, he was shortlisted as one of the finalists of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year of the University of Cambridge 2016, and the Gap Summit Leaders of Tomorrow competitions. He continued his education at the University of Oxford in the field of Nanotechnology for Medicine and Healthcare. He is a specialist in the field of technology transfer, with work experience at the National Institute of Chemistry as a Project Coordinator and as an Interim Head of a TTO. As a member of the TTO team, he significantly contributed towards establishing and executing the first Slovenian Proof-of-Concept support, NICKI. He finished various short courses such as ‘Training for Trainers of Start-ups’, ‘Managerial-Business Skills Development for Researchers’ thus equipping him for Spin-out procedures and early-stage ventures.

Dr David Hampton is a research scientist and portfolio entrepreneur specializing in medical device innovation and global business development. He is founder of Camstent Ltd (UK: Biofilm-resistant medical coatings), Acacia Designs BV (NL: Anesthesia monitoring products, $10m exit to Senzime AB), and Stone Bridge Biomedical BV (NL: Cognitive Medtech). He previously held senior roles at Medtronic in the US and NL. He earned a Cambridge MPhil in Bioscience business, a management certificate at Stanford University, and a doctorate in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University. As a long-term expatriate entrepreneur, he has unique experience driving market strategy, technology integration, and specialist partnerships. His satisfaction lies in building valuable innovation, meeting the high expectations of investors, clinicians, and regulators. His role within the CCEdit is to advise on the strategic questions and assist with forming a relevant business network.