AI in Practice: From Productivity to Antibody Discovery Boston Founder, Investor & Innovation Gathering
AI in Practice: From Productivity to Antibody Discovery
Boston Founder, Investor & Innovation Gathering
Co-hosted by Yale Alumni Innovation Network (YAIN), TopContenders Network, and BOYA AI Club
📅 Thursday, October 29, 2026
📍 Boston Area + Online
🤝 In Person: 7:00–9:00 PM ET
💻 Online: 7:30–9:00 PM ET
Meet. Connect. Learn. Collaborate.
How can AI help us work more effectively—and uncover scientific discoveries worth testing?
Join founders, investors, scientists, and professionals from the Yale, Harvard, MIT, and broader Boston innovation communities for an evening of networking, practical demonstrations, and scientific discussion.
We’ll explore two complementary applications of AI: tools for improving everyday research and productivity, and machine learning approaches that help scientists identify promising antibodies for laboratory testing.
The evening begins with 30 minutes of in-person networking at 7:00 PM, followed by two interactive presentations beginning at 7:30 PM, open to both in-person and online participants.
Practical AI Tools for Productivity
Holly Jing, PhD
Founder & President, BOYA AI Club
Explore how AI tools can help you research a topic, organize documents, and turn information into useful insights. Through practical examples and demonstrations, Holly will introduce techniques you can apply to your own work, including tools such as Google NotebookLM and Claude.
What you’ll take away:
Practical approaches to synthesizing research and organizing information.
An understanding of the strengths of different AI tools.
Ideas for incorporating AI into everyday workflows while checking outputs against their sources.
About Holly
Holly Jing is the Founder and President of BOYA AI Club, which has organized more than 20 AI seminars and workshops over the past two years. Her background spans structural biology, protein bioinformatics, and database management, with research and industry experience at Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, and AstraZeneca. She currently works in database management at HUYABIO International.
Finding Better Antibodies with AI: From Predictions to Laboratory Proof
Rob Meijers, PhD
Head of Neuroscience, Institute for Protein Innovation
Visiting Lecturer, Harvard Medical School
Antibodies are valuable tools for research, diagnostics, and therapeutics. But identifying an antibody that performs reliably remains an experimental challenge.
Drawing on his team’s work published in Cell Systems, Rob will show how machine learning helped recover useful antibodies that conventional screening had overlooked, including antibodies against receptors involved in wiring the nervous system.
He will explain how candidates are produced and tested for binding, specificity, and stability, and discuss the practical opportunities and limitations of combining AI with laboratory discovery. Participants will also consider which antibody candidates they would prioritize for testing.
What you’ll take away:
How machine learning can uncover promising antibodies hidden in experimental data.
Why laboratory testing is essential to establishing whether predicted candidates have useful properties.
How carefully designed experiments and shared datasets can improve future discovery workflows.
About Rob
Rob Meijers is a protein scientist with 25 years of experience studying how cell surface receptors control communication in the nervous and immune systems. At the Institute for Protein Innovation, he built and led a multidisciplinary antibody discovery platform combining protein engineering, large-scale experimental screening, DNA sequencing, and machine learning. He previously served as a group leader and facility head at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Hamburg, Germany.
The Evening
7:00–7:30 PM | In-Person Arrival & Networking
Connect with fellow participants, exchange ideas, and share what you are building, exploring, or hoping to learn.
7:30–7:35 PM | Welcome & Introductions
The online program begins.
7:35–8:15 PM | Practical AI Tools for Productivity
Holly Jing’s presentation and demonstration, followed by Q&A.
8:15–9:00 PM | Finding Better Antibodies with AI
Rob Meijers’ presentation and interactive discussion, followed by Q&A and closing.
Questions are welcome from both in-person and online participants.
Who Should Join?
Founders, investors, scientists, students, operators, and professionals interested in practical AI applications and AI-enabled scientific discovery.
No specialized AI or antibody-engineering background is required.
If you would like to follow Holly’s demonstration, please bring a laptop and have access to a Google account. You are equally welcome to watch and join the discussion. Rob’s session requires no software installation or advance preparation.
Registration & Attendance
Please select In Person or Online when registering.
In-person attendance: Arrival and networking begin at 7:00 PM ET, with presentations starting at 7:30 PM ET. Capacity is limited, and registration requires approval. Registration does not automatically confirm an in-person seat. Confirmed participants will receive venue details before the event.
Online attendance: Join at 7:30 PM ET for both presentations and Q&A. The program concludes at 9:00 PM ET. Joining instructions will be shared before the event.
If we are unable to accommodate your in-person registration, we would be pleased to welcome you online.
About the Hosts
Yale Alumni Innovation Network (YAIN) connects alumni and the broader innovation community around entrepreneurship, venture capital, research commercialization, and collaboration.
TopContenders Network brings together founders, investors, scientists, and industry professionals to exchange ideas, explore emerging technologies, and build meaningful connections.
BOYA AI Club supports learning and discussion about AI and its applications, with programs spanning practical tools, life sciences, healthcare, and emerging technologies.
Meet. Connect. Learn. Collaborate.
Please note that photos and video may be taken during the in-person gathering for event documentation and future YAIN communications. If you prefer not to be photographed or recorded, please let the organizer know at the event.
This is an independently organized gathering co-hosted by Yale Alumni Innovation Network, TopContenders Network, and BOYA AI Club. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Yale University, Harvard University, MIT, or other participating institutions. Program and speakers are subject to change.