Roman Luchko is a Master’s graduate and entrepreneur originally from Rivne. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute before pursuing two Master’s degrees concurrently, one in Systems and Synthetic Biology at University Paris-Saclay, and the other in Biotechnology at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
While studying in Paris, he worked as an intern at the Institute Micalis, INRA, and was a member of the Bioretrosynthesis group led by Dr. Jean-Loup Faulon, where he worked on synthetic interbacterial communication systems based on the M13 phage.
Last year, right before Russia attacked Ukraine, Luchko joined a team of medical practitioners interested in regenerative medicine and stem cell therapies as their chief scientific advisor. Later, he co-founded a company, Delta Biotech, which partnered with military hospitals to provide advanced medical help to those who needed it.
“It was a hard year, but we’ve managed through it,” he says. His aim is to increase the accessibility of contemporary medical and biological technology, and he hopes to create a research and scientifically-intense manufacturing hub focused on biomedicine.
“I dream of implementing omics-diagnostics and performing CAR-T therapy within the next ten years,” he says.
At the same time, Luchko wants to inspire young people in Ukraine to build career paths in science and technology. “I was brought up by science fiction and comic books,” he says. “I figured out there’s magic in the real world, a way to make impossible things possible, and that is called science. Maybe this childish desire for something beyond the limits has compelled me to start my journey as a scientist.”