Finn Mackay

Systematic testing to understand exact composition, metabolism, and what my body actually needs — then dialling in diet and training based on data, not guesswork.

Tests to Book — London

Body Composition + Metabolism

DEXA + RMR

Exact muscle mass, body fat %, bone density, and visceral fat by region. Resting metabolic rate. Book both same day. ~£150–£250.

Bodyscan — Poland Street, Soho

Book →

Metabolic Markers

Blood Panel

Fasting glucose, HbA1c, testosterone, cortisol, thyroid (TSH/T3/T4), lipids, CRP. Home blood draw. ~£100–£200.

Medichecks — online, home draw

Book →

Cardiovascular Fitness

VO₂ Max

Aerobic capacity test — calibrates cardio recommendations and fitness baseline. Optional but high-signal.

St Mary's Human Performance Lab, Twickenham

Search "St Mary's VO2 max test" →

Body Type Framework

Skinny

Body fat <18% (M) · FFMI below average (<18)

→ Eat more, lift heavy 3×/wk

Skinny Fat

Body fat 18–30% (M) · FFMI below average · Lean-looking in clothes

→ Recomp: lift hard + small deficit + high protein

Bulky

Body fat 20–30% (M) · FFMI above average (18+)

→ Cut: track calories, 400–700 kcal deficit

Target

Athletic

Body fat <18% (M) · FFMI above average (18+)

Above average muscle + low body fat

My Results

—

Body Fat %

—

FFMI

—

RMR kcal/day

—

TDEE kcal/day

—

Lean Mass kg

—

Visceral Fat

Results pending — update after Bodyscan + Medichecks appointments

Protocol

Diet

To be set once TDEE + body type are confirmed.

Will cover: daily calorie target · protein target (bodyweight × 0.8g/lb) · meal structure · deficit or surplus size · foods to prioritise.

Training

To be set once body type + VO₂ max are confirmed.

Will cover: weekly session structure · lift focus vs. cardio balance · volume targets · progressive overload plan.

07

Drug Discovery

The AI-driven pipeline for designing therapeutic molecules — from protein target to synthesised candidate. Explored through MIT's HTGAA programme alongside researchers from DeepCure, Boltz, Ginkgo Bioworks, ARPA-H, and Twist Bioscience.

The Pipeline

01

Target Identification

Find the protein to design against — sequence, structure, disease variants.

UniProt RCSB PDB

02

Sequence Analysis

Map conserved regions, homologs, and evolutionary context across species.

BLAST ESM2

03

Structure Prediction

Fold the protein sequence into 3D atomic coordinates for design.

AlphaFold ESMFold

04

Candidate Design

Generate novel sequences that fold to a target backbone, or peptides that bind it.

ProteinMPNN PepMLM

05

Property Prediction

Filter candidates by binding affinity, solubility, hemolysis, and drug-likeness.

PeptiVerse

06

Multi-Objective Optimisation

Pareto-optimise across competing properties — binding, safety, and stability simultaneously.

moPPIt

07

DNA Synthesis

Codon-optimise and order the physical DNA encoding the designed molecule.

Twist Bioscience

08

Cloud Lab Testing

Express, purify, and characterise the designed protein in a remote automated laboratory.

Ginkgo Nebula Opentrons

Work

ALS · Peptide Design

SOD1 Binder

Designed peptide binders targeting mutant SOD1 (A4V) — a protein linked to aggressive familial ALS. Generated candidates with PepMLM, validated structure with AlphaFold complex prediction, filtered by therapeutic properties via PeptiVerse, and Pareto-optimised with moPPIt.

MIT HTGAA · Week 5

AI · Course Tool

HTGAA Expert

Published an AI agent skill covering the full HTGAA curriculum — protein design pipelines, genetic circuits, lab automation, and bioproduction. Built on 12 weeks of MIT HTGAA 2026 content from George Church, Pranam Chatterjee, Reshma Shetty, Ron Weiss, and others.

Hermitcrab · htgaa@1.0.0

08

HTGAA

MIT's How To Grow Almost Anything — 14 weeks of synthetic biology from George Church, Joe Jacobson, and David Kong. Protein design, genetic circuits, lab automation, genome engineering, cell-free systems, and AI-driven drug discovery.

Curriculum

Pre-Course

Bio Bootcamp

Central dogma, genetic circuits, Python for biology, frugal protocols.

Weeks 1–2

Principles & DNA R/W/E

PCR, Gibson Assembly, CRISPR, ethics and governance of synthetic biology.

Weeks 3–5

Automation & Protein Design

OpenTrons, Nebula, PepMLM, ProteinMPNN — from target to designed binder.

Weeks 6–7

Genetic Circuits

Repressilators, toggle switches, Boolean logic gates, quorum sensing.

Weeks 9–11

Cell-Free & Bioproduction

Cell-free protein synthesis, synthetic cells, Ginkgo cloud labs, biofoundries.

Weeks 12–14

Genomes, AI & Fabrication

Genome writing, AI-driven synbio, ARPA-H, bio-design and fabrication.

Open Quiz App

97 questions · 14 modules · progress saved locally

→