Curious about biohacking? We got the opportunity to ask Olof Lagerlund, co-founder of BioNyfiken a few questions.
Who are you and what is your interest in Biomaking?
My name is Olof Lagerlund, co-founder of BioNyfiken. I have a background as a pharmacist and have a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry. I first came in contact with biohacking and citizen science though a friend that wanted to built a lab in my garage. I was a bit sceptic as first, having at that time access to a well-equipped lab at work. In time the idea grew and we build a lab, though we found another facility than my garage for which my wife is thankful.
What is BioNyfiken?
Bionyfiken is network of people interested in DIY-biology, biomaking and citizen science and are a common ground for the biohacking movement in Sweden. We are an organisation that arranges workshops/lectures and are voice for the biomaking community. We also operate our own bio-tech lab in collaboration with Stockholm Makerspace.
How do you look at future when it comes to biomaking?
My experience during these last couple of years tells me that the development in the biomarker community is growing fast and in 10 years there will be community labs in the bigger cities and there will be a number of start-ups coming from the biomaking community. When I talk to people about biohacking, they are more interested and curious than sceptic compared to a few years back. People in the scientific community are drawn to the possibility of playing around outside their own field.
What is SBMC?
BioNyfiken hosts the Swedish Bio-Makers Conference on April 9th (supported by VINNOVA) and this event is about to get the Swedish biohacking community together. Gathering all these great people to share ideas and visons we might facilitated some of those to come true.
The Swedish BioMaker Conference (SBMC) is a conference by and for DIY-biologist, biomarkers, citizen scientists and biohackers. It is the first (hopefully annual) biomaker conference in Sweden and the theme this year is inspirational stories and how to get your bio-project up and running.
The program will consist of a morning with inspirational short and to the point talks about successful stories. In the afternoon there will be both an unconference/open session and workshops. All are welcome to present in the unconference/open session and the subjects can range from anything from becoming a cyborg to how to analyse your meatballs. The workshops will focus more on how to set up your projects.
We will also arrange a reception afterwards for all participants to continue the discussions or just to relax after a sweaty workshop.
Would love to see you at the conference!
