As a company operating in the medical field, we obviously need doctors and medical researchers on our team. The person filling this role at Tomorrow.Bio is Irishikesh Santhosh, or as his friends lovingly call him, “Rishi”. Rishi is the person in charge of developing medical research for improved cryopreservation techniques. He’s also an essential member of our standby team in Berlin. In this article, we take a look at what makes this medic tick, and what motivated him to join the field of Biostasis aka. Cryonics.

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Early Life & Education

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Irishikesh was born in Kerala, India, yet barely spent any time living there. One year after his birth, he and his family moved to Saudi Arabia, where his dad worked as an engineer. Not long after that, they packed their belongings again, this time moving to the United Arab Emirates, where Rishi spent most of his childhood days. There, Irishikesh’s dad continued his work as an engineer while his mother was employed as a doctor. Although it didn’t directly influence his decision to enter the medical field, his mother’s work always motivated him to be a good doctor, just like her. Around the same time, they welcomed Rishi’s younger brother, Harikesh, to the family. Harikesh was an important inspiration to Rishi. He had an innate sense of determination and drive, which prompted a lot of self-reflection in Rishi. His brother went on to study aircraft maintenance engineering and produce music in his free time. 

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Meanwhile, Rishi never felt especially gifted at any specific subject, but he always possessed a deep love for science. In fact, for as long as he can remember, he’d wanted to be a scientist of some sorts. He first discovered his love for space and later gravitated towards the field of biotech. Ultimately, towards the end of high school, Rishi discovered his love for medicine.  At the age of 18, he moved to Hungary to pursue his M.D at the University of Debrecen.

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Varied Lifestyle

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Every time Irishikesh moved to a new place, which happened quite frequently, he was excited to discover the new culture, lifestyle and people. The exposure to many different ways of life led him to become  very flexible and adaptable to change, which is  also reflected  in his wide array of hobbies. He likes listening to a variety of music genres, all vastly different from one another, depending on the situation and mood he finds himself in. He also appreciates a good podcast. Most of them are science-related, like the ones from Lex Fridman or Andrew Huberman, but he also enjoys having a laugh by tuning into comedic bits like “Tigerbelly” or Andrew Schulz on “Flagrant”. 

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As the good cryonicist that he is, Rishi tries his best to maintain a healthy lifestyle. One way he achieves this is with his regular workout schedule - at least a few times a week - and, if there’s still enough time in the day, cooking himself a meal to round it all off. Just like with most things, the type of cuisine in Rishi’s assortment of recipes can vary a lot. From Chinese to Korean, Italian to Hungarian, this doctor really enjoys his international cuisine. You can be sure to find Rishi trying new local dishes anytime he visits a new location. Yet, within all these options, his favorite cuisine remains South Indian food, so I’ve been told.

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Rishi’s Work for Tomorrow.Bio

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At Tomorrow.Bio Rishi is in charge of medical research as well as practical perfusion and surgery. 

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It is important to note that, as of right now, standardized training procedures in the field of cryopreservation do not exist. So, part of Rishi’s job is to create ones himself, tailoring them to the specific skill-level of the trainees and purpose of the procedures.

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With the help of a collaborating partner, he conducts regular training of cryopreservation. That includes everything from training with medical models to conducting scientific research on donated bodies. The latter is especially helpful, as it can most closely simulate a real scenario. All this is done to make sure the team is, at all times, proficiently prepared for an actual emergency standby case.

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Rishi also acts as a teacher for cryopreservation first aid training. Here, people who would like to help bridge the gap between legal pronouncement of death and arrival of the SST team can learn what they can do to improve the quality of preservation. This includes external cooling, CPS and also ventilation. The goal is to one day have a vast network of people everywhere, ready to be deployed for first aid.

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Furthermore, Rishi takes care of the medical equipment in our facility and ambulance. He uses his medical knowledge to make sure everything is up to the newest technical and medical standards. This is very important to the young doctor. He wants to prove to the world that research of cryonics and cryopreservation is just as serious and important as other fields of medicine.

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“People in medicine oppose us a lot and see us as too radical and too ambitious and non-scientific, but if we don't try, we never know and all research is good research. We learn a lot regardless of the outcome. Medical researchers, doctors especially, are very conservative when it comes to research and don't think radically enough and that's why our project is crazy for them.”

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Motivations

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Rishi hasn’t always been set on this career path, but there was a crucial event that played a big role in his final decision. One day during his last year of high school, an Ophthalmologist (eye-doctor) gave a presentation in school. The contents of which disgusted or scared most of the students in attendance - but not Rishi. The surgical case shown by the eye-doctor fascinated the young man, and peaked his interest in a way not many things before had. At this moment a little spark ignited in his heart, and soon after his love for all kinds of surgery burned bright.

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Rishi’s first contact with cryonics occured at the age of 14, when a documentary about Alcor Life Extension sparked his interest. He immediately knew he would be cryopreserved in the future, but at the time didn’t think he would ever be working in this field. What ultimately made him decide to take this step was his strong trust in science. Rishi firmly believes that humanity’s shared efforts will lead to a utopian future, rather than a dystopian one and that we will one day be able to treat every illness. There are many different applications of cryopreservation, including the treatment and revival of cryopreserved patients of Tomorrow.Bio. Rishi, and many others, understand the importance of continuing this research and scientific advancements. Helping that cause is his primary goal.

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Conclusion

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Irishikesh “Rishi” Santhosh enjoys a great reputation here inside the company. He is a very driven, kind-hearted person and beloved by his team for it. His open-mindedness paired with his strong desire to learn make him the perfect candidate to help drive the field of Biostasis forward. If he’s on the standby team in charge of you, you can be sure that you’re in good hands.

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If Biostasis is also a subject of interest to you, feel free to schedule a call with us. We are happy to address all your questions.

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