Welcome to the Bits in Bio January 2026 Newsletter.
The theme I think for this year is “Build the future.” To get a bit personal on the why: Last year, I remember being at an event where, for the first time, I wanted out. I distinctly remember running to the bathroom and saying a prayer that equated to the following:
“Let me build the future because I can’t stand my present.”
I knew many things were changing in my life (hello Fatherhood!). I saw people doing great work even when things were stacked against them at Philadelphia, Newark, and NYC Tech Week. I saw at CES 2025 that, even amid upheaval, people were willing to compete and build. Finally, I saw a community that was willing to push together and innovate, and that was and is present in Bits in Bio in all chapters, especially in the Philadelphia chapter.
In short, the only way to keep the moment and to change my direction is to take control of what I can, go forward, and build it. That’s what I’m aiming for this year with the Bits in Bio Philadelphia chapter, and I hope it can be a bit of inspiration to you all to go try, do, and work towards something.
Housekeeping:
This Friday, our first Happy Hour of the year is here. Check out the Luma page and RSVP: https://luma.com/o2jahv09
Show and Tell: Date is Saturday, February 21st, 2026. Sign-ups tentatively drop this upcoming Monday at 10 AM. We’re (Code and Coffee and Bits in Bio) are ready for this day, and hope you can join.
If you missed it: We have two co-Captains in Omnia and Sarah. Say hello to them and thank you: Welcome back to the Bits in Bio Philadelphia Newsletter (beehiiv.com)
If you know of any startup in the Philadelphia/Greater Delaware Valley region that’s in the intersection of Tech (AI, Data Science, Simulation, hardware, etc.), and Biology in any/all sense (medicine, plants, veterinary, molecular, etc.), or even on the Chemistry side, tell them to DM me. We got something planned real soon and want to reach out to them.
About these newsletters: My goal is to send 3 per month (1 week before, the week of happy hour, and the week after happy hour), with a reminder email to the audience. The exceptions, which you’ll notice for months like Feburary, are the following:
When Bits in Bio Philly has other events that month, these emails may be more frequen,t such as in February
When we don't have Happy Hours, I will send emails to keep us connected.
Thank you.
Events:
Brian M. Green, a member of our community, is a Speaker for Can AI Reduce Healthcare Costs Without Sacrificing Trust?, It’s online today. Go check it out: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7407304207067754498/
The Philly Javascript club is having a Code with Claude session on January 8th: Philly JS Club
If you’re into hackathons, there’s a Google Gemini hackathon going on right now: Gemini 3 Hackathon: Build what's next - Devpost
Jobs:
Character BioSciences has a Principal Biostatistics Data Scientist (rippling.com) position. They are in NYC “6th” Borrugh of Jersey City, NJ, but they are willing entertain a person on a remote basis.
Lily has an Associate Commerical Manufacutring position: Associate – Commercial Manufacturing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America | Manufacturing/Quality at Lilly
There’s a Director of AI Automation and Data Science role at Medical Guardian: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4342953788
Elsevier has a SQL Senior Clinical AI Data Analyst position opened: ewww.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4329975610
Final thoughts:
It’s time to build the future, together.
AJ