Bioscience crowdfunding platform launches in Cardiff

FutSci will provide a platform where accredited researchers and scientists can post any project in need of funding, at any stage, and donors worldwide can select the individual projects they wish to support.

The crowdfunding platform is the first one dedicated to funding research, innovation and technology in life sciences. It is being launched by by Dr Deepika Kassen, a molecular biologist and Dr Gayathri Perera, a dermatologist and immunologist. The idea evolved during their years of experience at the sharp end of life science research and funding.

Dr Deepika Kassen said: "There's a major funding gap for life sciences in the UK. It isn't just that there's been no life sciences crowdfunding platform before FutSci; it's also an absence of grants and funds for research into less well-known diseases and conditions and a dearth of small-scale grants and funds for early stage projects.

"Particularly, there's almost no funding for blue-sky thinking and very little support for researchers in the early stages of their careers. It's little wonder the majority of scientists who cannot access funding leave science altogether, as they cannot sustain themselves and or their research. Every year in the UK there's a huge loss of scientific knowledge and expertise."

Dr Gayathri Perera said: "This is what FutSci is built for. With FutSci, we will engage the public in helping to fund basic research projects, such as research into rare diseases that may have affected them or their friends and family, and we'll give them a say in choosing the research that's important to them. FutSci will enable donors to choose the specific projects they wish to fund and to engage directly in dialogue with the scientists and researchers they're supporting via the platform. Then scientists would clearly and transparently keep the public informed about what they're doing and how their donors' money is being spent."

In addition to the crowdfunding platform FutSci will provide a news and views section to supply up-to-date reviews of current trends in life science research and scientific advancements, delivering information on the typical process, costs and people involved.

FutSci will also be engaging with schools and encouraging young people to develop their interests in science.

Dr Kassen said: "We want to foster public engagement in bioscience and biomedical research and to encourage young people to consider a science career. Scientists can be approached by schools to get a true picture of what it's like to study for a science degree, what happens in a lab, the different kinds of science available and also what doors can be opened by having a science degree, with an emphasis on promoting and retaining women in science."

Donations for FutSci funding can be made in multiple currencies, starting as low as £1 and have no upper limit. All Futsci projects will be vetted prior to going live on the platform and all scientists will be affiliated with recognised institutes.