Although conference organizers don't have to worry about large speaker's fees, the cost of putting on the two-day conference still exceeds money brought in through registration fees.

Undergraduates attend the conference for free and the cost for professionals is $50.

Most of the loss has been covered by Harvard and MIT academic departments. Sponsors also include local biotechnology companies, the Princeton Review and the New England Journal of Medicine.

Some organizations table at the conference, but Sterk says that the conference is mainly educational.

"Networking happens. While not the sole purpose of the conference, attendees routinely engage in dialogue with speakers, and have even obtained jobs," Sterk said.

Although the conference will include many events centered on medicine and biological sciences, Sterk said some of the events will concentrate on ethical and economic issues of biotechnology.

"While we are the Hippocratic Society, the conference is not aimed entirely at pre-meds," Sterk said. "The focus extends beyond science. We bring in speakers from many different fields."

This is the fourth conference that the Harvard Hippocratic Society has organized. Online registration continues through today.