Next-Gen Medicine
Featuring
ARPA-H
September 10, 2026
What if...
Every organ in your body could be regenerated
...even your brain
- REVERSING once permanent damage from Alzheimer’s, stroke, Parkinson’s, and brain injury.
- REPLACING a failing heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs with new, bioidentical 3D-printed organs.
Personalized Regenerative Immunocompetent Nanotechnology Tissue
PRINT focuses on three technical areas with the end goal of restoring normal tissue function. The first technical area aims to generate the necessary cell types for organ bioprinting, via blood draw, biopsy, or biobank generation. The second technical area involves large scale manufacturing of cell types. The third technical area focuses on organ biofabrication and testing for safety and efficacy. Performers are encouraged to explore multiple methods for achieving the goals of each technical area.
presented by
Ryan Spitler, Ph.D.
Program Manager, Health Science Futures
Dr. Ryan Spitler joined ARPA-H in November 2023 from Stanford University, where he served as founding deputy director of the Precision Health and Integrated Diagnostics Center. Spitler has over 20 years of experience working in health areas ranging from medical devices to the life sciences. He is a serial entrepreneur and cofounder of a health care and life science venture fund.
In addition to executive training from Stanford University’s School of Business, Spitler holds a doctorate in cellular and developmental biology from the University of California, Irvine, completed postdoctoral research in medical imaging and synthetic biology at Stanford University School of Medicine, and has served as teaching faculty at the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. His work has led teams in the development of smarter monitoring and diagnostic technologies to improve early detection and treatment of disease.
FRONT
Functional Repair of Neocortical Tissue
FRONT aims to restore brain tissue, enabling individuals with brain damage to recover cognitive functions. The program seeks to develop methods to make non-specialized cells form into normal tissue. After these cells are grafted, FRONT will measure how well they integrate with the surrounding healthy neocortex tissue, proper layered structure of normal cortical tissue, and functional recovery. The goal of the program is to alleviate the personal and financial burdens of previously ‘permanent’ brain damage.
presented by
Jean M. Hebert, Ph.D.
Program Manager, Health Science Futures
Dr. Jean Hebert joined ARPA-H in August 2024 from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he served as a professor of genetics and neuroscience. Hebert is the founder of BE Therapeutics, a company focused on reversing age-related damage to brain tissue. His laboratory research focuses on stem cell transplantation, plasticity, neurodegeneration, and cortical health. In addition to his academic publications, Hebert is also the author of Replacing Aging, a book on regenerative medicine and the types of cellular damage accumulated in aging tissue.
Since childhood, Hebert has been interested in understanding how our bodies work and how to repair them. He has a doctorate in genetics from the University of California San Francisco and completed postdoctoral research at Stanford University studying the development of neurons that make up the neocortex.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) supports the development of high-impact solutions to some of society’s most challenging health problems, with the goal of delivering breakthroughs in years rather than decades.
The agency advances high-potential biomedical and health research that cannot be readily accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity. Its awardees are developing entirely new approaches to some of the hardest challenges in health.
Its research spans broad, disease-agnostic focus areas designed to intersect and foster innovation across traditional boundaries.
ARPA-H’s Program Managers bring together dynamic teams around ambitious ideas, supported by rigorous program design, competitive project selection, and active program management. Program Managers serve for limited terms, helping ensure a continual infusion of fresh thinking and new perspectives.
presented by
ALSAE — the Alliance for Longevity Science, Arts & Entertainment, pronounced “all say” — is the first organization dedicated to connecting the longevity science field with the arts and entertainment industries: building the cultural infrastructure that longevity science has never had.
Our mission: to unite longevity science and the arts to inspire a cultural change that accelerates progress in curing age-related diseases—ensuring everyone can live healthier, longer lives.
in partnership with
A Program of the National Academy of Sciences
The Science & Entertainment Exchange (The Exchange) is a program of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that connects entertainment industry professionals with top scientists and engineers to create a synergy between accurate science and engaging storylines in both film and TV programming. From a quick fact check to a special briefing, The Exchange provides quick and easy access to experts from all the scientific disciplines. The goal of The Exchange is to use the vehicle of popular entertainment media to deliver sometimes subtle, but nevertheless powerful, messages about science that catalyze more storytelling grounded in authentic science, encourage the depiction of richer STEM characters that inspire new media projects driven by science and engineering themes.
With special thanks to our generous hosts, Melissa Rosenberg & Lev Spiro
It Takes All of Us Together
Curing and preventing age-related diseases is one of humanity's greatest opportunities.
ALSAE operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Methuselah Foundation. All donations are received and processed through Every.org, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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