Longevity · Bioinformatics · AI
HackAgingBulgaria 2026
Decode aging. Build tools that last.
A hybrid scientific and technology program turning real, openly available aging data into rigorous analyses, reproducible software and research-ready prototypes, culminating in a two-day scientific meeting and public finals.
At a glance
- Scientific meeting
- 7-8 November 2026
- Pre-meeting program
- 15 October - 6 November
- Format
- Hybrid: Sofia + online
- Participants
- 70-90 expected
- Teams
- 3-5 people
Pre-meeting launch at UNITe, online development, and a two-day scientific meeting and finals at Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia.
Scientific scope
Aging data should lead to usable knowledge
HackAging Bulgaria is designed around real datasets and explicit scientific questions. Teams will build working outputs, not presentation-only concepts.
Turn open aging datasets into technically sound, interpretable and reproducible analyses, tools and workflows.
Connect biologists and clinicians with data scientists, software engineers, AI researchers and students.
Test practical approaches to understanding aging biology and improving the infrastructure behind healthspan research.
Create a durable Bulgarian community for computational aging research, with projects that can continue after the event.
Mission alignment
Built for healthier, longer human lives
The meeting directly supports the scientific mission of extending healthy human lifespan and understanding the processes of aging.
Aging is the principal risk factor for many chronic diseases, yet large public molecular, clinical and population datasets remain difficult to combine, reproduce and interpret. HackAging Bulgaria addresses that gap by pairing aging biology with bioinformatics, statistics, trustworthy AI and research-software engineering.
The program prioritises outputs that can shorten the path from evidence to testable hypotheses, strengthen healthspan-trial infrastructure and make aging research more accessible to new scientific and technical talent.
Program and agenda
Four stages, one continuous build
The extended format gives teams enough time to understand the data, test methods and deliver a reproducible result. Agenda timings are provisional within the confirmed dates and venues.
15 October
Pre-meeting launch
UNITe Centre of Excellence, Sofia
- 09:00 Registration and participant orientation
- 10:00 Opening: why aging biology needs better computational tools
- 11:30 Scientific talks and open-data briefing
- 13:30 Challenge presentations and dataset walkthroughs
- 15:00 Team formation and mentor matching
- 17:30 Project plans, reproducibility checklist and day-one review
16 October
Pre-meeting build day
UNITe Centre of Excellence, Sofia
- 09:00 Bioinformatics, AI and research-software workshops
- 11:00 Guided data exploration and challenge clinics
- 14:00 Team sprint with scientific and technical mentors
- 17:30 Milestone review and online-development plan
17 October - 6 November
Guided project development
Remote, with scheduled mentor office hours
- Weekly scientific and engineering office hours
- Methods, licensing and data-provenance review
- Midpoint progress check and project-risk review
- Reproducibility testing and final-demo preparation
7-8 November
Scientific meeting and finals
Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia
- Final integration, validation and mentor review
- Public project demonstrations and jury questions
- Awards, continuation pathways and closing roundtable
- Finals presented alongside the International Medical Longevity Conference
Challenge design
Specific enough to start. Open enough to matter.
Six to eight final challenge briefs will be released with relevant open-source datasets, requirements and explicit limitations before the launch.
Aging research infrastructure
Reproducible pipelines, evidence-linked molecular networks and research tools that make aging data easier to inspect and reuse.
Biomarkers and aging clocks
Stress-test biological-age models for robustness, bias and interpretability across open clinical and molecular datasets.
Healthspan trial tooling
Prototype participant, biomarker and protocol tools designed for long-running prevention and healthy-aging studies.
Population longevity
Build clear, evidence-based visualisations of mortality, healthy-life-years and aging trends for Bulgaria and Europe.
Data room
Only public or appropriately licensed data will be used. Every project must document provenance, methods, limitations and the steps needed to reproduce its result.
People
Confirmed speakers and organizing committee
BABA's three co-founders lead the scientific program, challenge design, partnerships and governance. A wider team of mentors, jury members, volunteers and production staff will support delivery.
Dr. Maria Marinova
Scientific Program Lead and confirmed speaker
Talk
From aging biology to tractable challenge design
PhD in the biology of aging from UNSW Sydney; Scientific Director at The Thalion Initiative; former Apollo Health Ventures and VitaDAO.
Alexander Tchernev
Challenge and Data Lead and confirmed speaker
Talk
Cellular reprogramming: evidence, promise and open questions
PhD researcher in the biology of aging at the University of Birmingham; Master of Biology from the University of Oxford; Venture Fellow at Healthspan Capital.
Kamen Shoylev
Partnerships and Governance Lead and confirmed speaker
Talk
From open-science project to durable venture
MA from the University of Cambridge and BSc in Medical Science from King's College London; attorney, entrepreneur and co-founder of The Longevity Initiative.
Invited contributor
Confirmation pendingRepresentative of GATE Institute
Big data and trustworthy AI for scientific discovery
Invited contributor
Confirmation pendingRepresentative of Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski
Reproducible bioinformatics using open biomedical data
GATE Institute and Sofia University are named as institutions in active discussion. Their representatives and institutional roles are not confirmed until announced here as confirmed.
Participants and access
A deliberately focused cohort
We expect 70-90 participants, with a capacity of 100, supported by 6-8 active mentors and jury members. Teams will consist of 3-5 people.
The program is intended for biologists, physicians, data scientists, bioinformaticians, ML engineers, software developers and students. Individuals may register interest without a team; matching will take place before and during the launch.
Participant applications are planned to open in August 2026. Participation is planned to be free for accepted participants.
Evaluation and outcomes
Rigor first, continuation built in
- Working analyses, models and open-source tools where licensing permits
- Documented methods, limitations, provenance and reproducibility steps
- Follow-on mentoring, compute support and introductions for selected teams
- A public post-event summary and a foundation for Longevity Bioinformatics Hub Bulgaria
Experience and outreach
An inaugural event with public accountability
HackAging Bulgaria 2026 is the first longevity hackathon held in Bulgaria. It adapts lessons from the international Hack Aging model to the Bulgarian and European research ecosystem.
BABA is a Bulgarian non-profit led by organizers with experience across aging biology, research, venture building, law, policy and international collaboration. Outreach will run through scientific, university, technology, medical and longevity networks.
After the event, BABA will publish attendance and outreach results, project summaries, open repositories where permitted, and a record of follow-on research or company-building activity.
Contact
Build the next layer of aging research with us.
Register interest as a participant, mentor, speaker, challenge owner, sponsor or resource partner. Please include your background and the role you are interested in.
baba.bg.association@gmail.comProgram dates and venues confirmed.
Detailed session timings and invited contributors remain subject to update.