About the Speaker
Prof. Aaron Darling, Founder and Director of Third Hop Bioconsulting, brings extensive experience spanning academia, startups, industry, and biotech. With a wealth of knowledge about the diverse fields of bioinformatics and computational biology, he offers unique insights into the varied career opportunities within these domains. In addition to his academic achievements, he co-founded Longas Technologies, a biotech startup that was later acquired by Illumina. In 2024, Prof. Darling transitioned from Illumina to establish his own biotech consulting firm, while maintaining an academic affiliation with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
Aaron’s educational and professional journey reflects a seamless blend of academia and industry. Starting his career as a software developer working on E. coli genome projects, he went on to earn a Ph.D., followed by a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). In 2013, he joined UTS, where he took on a leadership role in microbial genomics research.
The topic of his Fireside Chat, ‘Expect the Unexpected’, discussed how his career has followed an unexpected and varied path across academia, startups, and the biotech industry.
Aaron is happy to respond to LinkedIn messages and emails from students.