Funding at the Frontier: hosted by ARIA, Bakar Labs, and IGI
About Event
We're gathering the Bay Area's leading scientists, engineers, founders, and technical leaders pursuing research at the edge of what is possible.
Join us for an evening exploring how ambitious science gets funded, and how exceptional technical leaders can shape entirely new research directions.
We'll begin with an introduction to ARIA from Programme Director Alex Obadia, followed by lightning talks from researchers and founders working on ambitious technical problems, before continuing the conversation over food and drinks.
What is ARIA?
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is the UK's high-risk, high-reward R&D funding agency, created to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs by supporting research that is too ambitious, speculative, or interdisciplinary to pursue elsewhere.
ARIA operates through Programme Directors: exceptional scientific and technical leaders who spot overlooked opportunities, define bold technical visions, and bring together the people and projects needed to pursue them.
ARIA will soon start recruiting its third cohort of Programme Directors, with applications opening in August 2026 for a May 2027 start.
Who should attend?
This event is intended for deeply technical people who:
Have experience leading ambitious, outcome-driven scientific or technical work
Enjoy uncovering non-obvious approaches to difficult problems
Care about shaping the future of science and technology
May be interested in becoming a future ARIA Programme Director or applying for ARIA's funding
Schedule
17:00-17:30 Arrival, food & drinks
17:30-17:35 Welcome from Bakar Labs
17:35-17:40 Intro from the Innovative Genomics Institute
17:40-18:00 What is ARIA? Programme Directors and funding opportunities
18:00-18:45 Lightning talks from researchers and founders
18:45-20:00 Food, drinks & networking
Speakers
Alex Obadia (ARIA Programme Director leading the Scaling Trust programme)
Tim McGee (Resident @ Astera)
Brendan Fong (CEO @ Topos Institute + ARIA Creator)
Kaitlin Casaletto (Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center)
Marco Freschi (Postdoctoral Researcher at UC Berkeley)
Aaron Kaufman (Postdoctoral Scholar at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab)
Lightning talks will feature researchers and founders from the ARIA, Bakar Labs, and Innovative Genomics Institute communities, including ARIA Creators and Bay Area technical leaders working on ambitious scientific and engineering challenges.