"Christian Schafmeister, PhD is a Professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. ​ His background is in biophysics, software engineering, and synthetic organic chemistry. As a graduate student, he constructed the first large unnatural protein 4HB1. In Christian's postdoctoral research, he co-invented ""stapled peptides"". As an independent researcher, Christian's group is developing a radical new approach to pioneering ""bottom-up nanotechnology"" - creating large, complex molecules to carry out complex molecular recognition and catalytic functions in the way that biological proteins do. Their approach is to synthesize stereochemically pure cyclic building blocks (bis-amino acids) that they couple through pairs of amide bonds to create spiro-ladder oligomers with programmed shapes (spiroligomers). These spiroligomers bind proteins and act as enzyme-like catalysts. Christian hold a B.S. from Simon Fraser University and Ph.D. from the University of California in San Fransisco. Christian Schafmeister says, “We are developing ""therapeutic catalysts"" - small, robust, non-immunogentic catalysts that will permeate the tight spaces within tissues and fix things. Our specific targets include reversing the unwanted cross-links that develop in the extracellular matrix with aging.” Christian was a speaker at the 2020 Undoing Aging Conference event."