Name: Dariya Loseva
Age: 28
Education: Master’s degree in Biology from Biological Institute at Taras Shevchenko University. Currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in food biology from the National Academy of Science.
Profession: CEO of Myhelix
Did you know? Loseva had a fear of water, but overcame this phobia and took part in the Oceanman swimming race in Greece. She has also started freediving.
Dariya Loseva knew from the start that she would become a scientist.
“My mom was a medical assistant and since she raised me and my two other siblings alone, we spent a lot of time with her at work,” says Loseva. “I read a lot of medical textbooks and knew that I wanted to become a geneticist, even though, back then, I didn’t exactly know what they did.”
While remaining passionate about genetics, Loseva soon realized that there are too few options in Ukraine to get a full genetic analysis, not only for medical purposes, but for personal use as well.
Loseva and fellow science student, Ruslana Shadryna, decided that it was up to them to bring the strange-sounding term “biohacking” to Ukraine. That’s how Myhelix started in 2016.
Myhelix is a company that creates a nutrition plan based on the information from a client’s DNA test. Similar to the American biotech company 23andMe, Myhelix provides clients with test kits to collect a sample of their DNA at home and send it back for testing. Based on the test results, a professional nutritionist advises the client on how the person can improve their eating habits.
Four years since her company’s launch, Loseva says she is happy about the direction Myhelix is taking.
“Myhelix grew from a company of two passionate students to a group of 14 professionals — nutritionists, geneticists, salespeople and computer science specialists,” she says, adding that the company is expanding.
The driving force behind Loseva’s desire to create Myhelix was not only her desire to bring modern trends to Ukraine, but to create a Ukrainian company that is well known around the world.
“We participated in a TechCrunch event in San-Francisco, this inspired us to move forward”, Loseva says.
Myhelix is planning to enter the U.S. market, with some projects already in development, according to Loseva.
Even though Myhelix is the main thing on her mind, Loseva finds time to enjoy some small pleasures: Yoga and freediving give her the energy she needs for her job, she says. Speaking at events like TEDx Lviv also allow Loseva to share her ideas with the world. She says she hopes to inspire young scientists to stay in Ukraine and develop their careers here.
