Nucleate x LAB³ | Bio-Hackathon Mainz 2026: Pitch Showcase + Networking

über dieses event

See What Gets Built in 24 Hours 🧬⚡ Join us for the finale of the Bio-Hackathon Mainz 2026 and discover what interdisciplinary teams can create in just 24 hours. Throughout the hackathon, participants from various life-science backgrounds worked together on real-world challenges across three tracks: 📊 Omics Data (confirmed), 🧬 Protein Design (tentative), 🔬 Imaging (tentative).

At the Public Showcase, teams will take the stage to pitch their ideas, share their approaches, and demonstrate the innovative concepts and prototypes developed during the 24-hour challenge. But that's not all! The evening also features an expert panel, interactive networking, and opportunities to connect with people across life sciences, AI, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Who Should Attend? Everyone is welcome — no hackathon participation required! Whether you are a scientist, student, founder, investor, industry professional, or simply curious about the possibilities emerging at the intersection of biotechnology and computation, you are invited to see what the teams have built.

Event Schedule (subject to change) 18:00 | Doors Open — Arrive, grab a drink, and connect with fellow guests. 18:30 | Welcome and Introduction — Opening remarks from Nucleate Germany and the event partners, followed by an introduction to the Bio-Hackathon and its challenge tracks. 18:45 | Keynote or Panel Discussion — [Topic TBA] A conversation with experts from biotechnology, computation, research, and entrepreneurship. 19:30 | Break 19:45-20:45 | Hackathon Finalists Pitch 20:45 | Winner Announcements From 21:00 | Networking 🎶 — Connect with people across life sciences, AI, technology, and entrepreneurship! Our discussion cards will help spark meaningful conversations, exchange ideas, and build new connections across disciplines. 🍕 Food and drinks will be provided free of charge throughout the evening.

Registration: Attendance is free, but advance registration is required. As capacity is limited, we recommend registering early to secure your place. Please register individually through this page. If you can no longer attend, kindly cancel your registration so that your place can be offered to another guest.

About the Event Hosts Nucleate Germany: Nucleate is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the next generation of biotech leaders. With chapters spanning 41 geographic regions and participation from over 280 academic institutions, Nucleate sparks new intellectual communities and embeds emerging talent within a global biotech community. Through open-access educational programming, Nucleate helps democratize biotech innovation — removing barriers and helping founders concentrate on building transformational technologies. Visit https://nucleate.xyz/privacy-policy/ to read our privacy policy.

LAB³ e.V. - Co-Host: LAB³ e.V. is a nonprofit organization focused on the practical side of research and innovation, in cooperation with universities, research institutes, and foundations. A central part of its work is the infrastructure it provides: the physical spaces, equipment, and technical environments used to build, test, and develop new ideas. Alongside this infrastructure, LAB³ provides technical expertise and support. Students, researchers and startups can access both the facilities and the guidance needed to take a project from an early concept to a working prototype. In this way, the organization supports the transition from research and ideas toward concrete results.

biomindz - Venue Sponsor: biomindz – a hub designed for growth! Mainz is one of Germany's most dynamic cities, home to a vibrant biotech hub that unites cutting-edge research, global connectivity, and a fast-growing ecosystem. The 12-hectare Life Science Campus—under development next to the university—will empower startups, companies, researchers, and investors to shape the future of biotech in the heart of Europe. As a municipally owned nonprofit, biomindz drives this growth through site development, networking, and positioning Mainz as a globally visible biotech hub.

About the Challenge Partners TRON: TRON gGmbH (Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz) is an internationally recognized institute for translational research based in Mainz, Germany. TRON develops novel diagnostics and therapeutics for the immunotherapeutic treatment of cancer, infectious diseases, cardiovascular disorders, and other severe diseases with high unmet medical need. Its core areas of expertise include genomics and immunology, with a focus on developing innovative platforms for personalized treatment approaches and identifying and validating meaningful biomarkers. In line with its translational research concept, TRON efficiently accelerates the transfer of promising discoveries from basic research into clinical application. Through close collaboration with academic partners and industry, TRON is at the forefront of innovative drug development. For more information, please visit: www.tron-mainz.de.

curATime: The Cluster for Atherothrombosis and Individualized Medicine – curATime brings together leading stakeholders from academia, medicine, and industry across the Rhine-Main-Palatinate region. By combining artificial intelligence, biomarker research, immunology, and RNA technologies, curATime develops novel, personalized treatment and prevention strategies for cardiovascular diseases. The cluster aims to accelerate the translation of research findings into medical applications and to build a sustainable regional innovation network. Its core partners are TRON gGmbH as the lead institution, the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). curATime is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) as part of the Clusters4Future initiative, launched in 2019. The initiative strengthens knowledge and technology transfer and supports regional innovation networks in bringing technological and social innovations into practical application more quickly. curATime will receive a total of EUR 15 million in funding for its three-year second implementation phase. For more information, please visit www.curatime.org.

DFKI: The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) conducts research on "human-centric AI" in the major groundbreaking areas of AI research and applications with a focus on socially relevant topics and scientific excellence. We are convinced that AI technologies can help in meeting the great societal challenges we face such as man-made global warming, social injustices, and dangerous diseases. We dedicate ourselves with great energy to work on AI solutions to these tasks. Based on application-oriented basic research, the DFKI develops product functions and patentable solutions in the field of information and communication technology. Research and development projects are conducted in 29 research departments, 13 competence centers and 8 living labs. DFKI is where a diverse and multinational team is actively shaping the future. Our goal is to further strengthen this diversity throughout our management team. DFKI creates career opportunities for its young scientists in science as well as in industry and supports entrepreneurial spin-offs from within based on DFKI's own research results. The DFKI has been encouraging ambitious researchers from DFKI to set up their own companies and actively supporting them in doing so. Thus, over 100 spin-offs with more than 2500 jobs have emerged from the DFKI so far.

About the Event Partners Life Science Zentrum Mainz GmbH (LZM) - Bronze Sponsor: LZM, through its brands BioVation RLP and [LiSci]RLP, serves as RLP's central platform for biotechnology and life sciences. It connects entrepreneurship, innovation, science, and institutions, supporting startups from idea to incubation while offering mentoring and coaching through the [LiSci]RLP program.

FUTURY - Bronze Sponsor: FUTURY is the startup factory for the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region, supported by a strong alliance of 37 corporate and foundation partners as well as four universities – Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Goethe University Frankfurt, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and TU Darmstadt. Its goal is to strengthen entrepreneurial spirit at universities, support students and researchers in becoming founders, and turn their business models into market-ready companies. In July 2025, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy selected FUTURY as a winner of the "EXIST Leuchtturm Wettbewerb Startup Factories". As one of only ten Startup Factories across Germany, Futury will receive up to €10 million in federal funding. Its distinguishing approach is to establish a dynamic and professionally connected industry-driven innovation ecosystem that closely links academia, industry, politics, and capital providers, with focus areas including Life Sciences & Pharma, Aviation & Aerospace, Banking & Finance, AI & Cybersecurity, Deep Tech & GreenTech. The ambitious target is 1,000 new startups by 2030; in its first year, around 8,000 people took part in its startup formats, consulting over 300 startups, and it works alongside the early-stage investor FUTURY Capital, which has raised €47 million.

More partners will be announced soon!

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