Max Hodak’s Science Corporation has tapped Yale neurosurgeon Dr. Murat Günel to lead its first U.S. human trials of a biohybrid brain-computer interface. After two years of talks, Günel signed on as scientific adviser to oversee the surgical placement of a small sensor—about the size of a pea with 520 electrodes—on the brain’s surface. Science raised $230 million in its latest funding round, valuing it at $1.5 billion, and its current product, PRIMA, aims to restore vision in macular degeneration patients pending European approval. Unlike standard metal probes, Science’s device embeds lab-grown neurons alongside electronics. Those neurons integrate with a patient’s own brain cells and can be activated by light pulses. In 2024, the team published data showing safe implantation and stimulation in mice. Now, co-founder and CSO Alan Mardinly leads a 30-researcher effort to refine prototypes and scale up neuron cultivation for human-grade therapies. Science plans to skip FDA approval for these initial trials, arguing that placing the sensor on top of the cortex during routine neurosurgeries—such as procedures to relieve post-stroke swelling—poses minimal risk. Günel will work with institutional ethics boards to identify candidates already undergoing cranium-opening operations. The first goal: prove the device can reliably record brain activity without harming tissue. Longer term, the company sees applications from gentle electrical stimulation to boost regeneration in spinal injuries, to real-time seizure warning systems, to potentially slowing diseases like Parkinson’s. Günel thinks coupling electronics with transplanted neurons could protect neural circuits and halt disease progression in ways pure electrical stimulation can’t. He warns that launching human trials by 2027 would be ambitious but remains hopeful.