Seeding Labs
“Seeding Labs connect talented individuals to the tools they need to help themselves and their communities. They have always had, at its heart, a single core belief that scientists with a lot of resources have a responsibility to share them with their colleagues in the developing world. Seeding Labs is a non profit organisation that reclaims and refurbishes laboratory equipment from universities, hospitals and biotechnology companies in order to equip talented scientists and clinicians living and working in the developing world
They began as a handful of PhD students at Harvard University who had worked in laboratories in Africa, Asia, and Latin America wanted to make their peers aware of the material obstacles faced by researchers in resource-poor nations. They noticed that laboratory hallways were full of old but usable scientific equipment that had been placed there when researchers upgraded to new models or simply cleaned house.
They knew that these tools and supplies could be a vital life-line for scientists abroad, who had talent but few tools. They gathered unwanted equipment from a few labs and sent their first shipment, around a dozen small boxes, to labs in Paraguay and Guatemala. Soon, teams of students began to scour the halls of Harvard for salvageable equipment, and word got out among students and faculty that their used equipment could help support a colleague in the developing world.
For scientists in poorer countries, the expense of starting up a modern lab makes carrying out world-class research nearly impossible. For these researchers, access to equipment and supplies – even older models – is the difference between building a functional lab and having to suspend research. Meanwhile, in richer countries like the United States, research institutions are continuously updating their technology. It’s not uncommon to walk into a lab and find least one older machine sitting on a shelf gathering dust, or waiting in the hallway to be thrown out with the lab trash.
They identify talented scientists at supportive institutions through their application process, then they conduct a thorough needs assessment with them to understand their current capacity and their plans for future research and teaching. They match them with scientists in the U.S. working in the same field. Using their knowledge of current techniques and our inventory, these Scientific Consultants work with their clients to produce a final equipment procurement list.
They provide this list to a growing group of corporate and academic partners in the U.S. University where equipment donations are co-ordinated by chapters of student volunteers. Their staff works with research and manufacturing companies to help them identify surplus equipment.
“At 34 years old, Nina Dudnik, Founder and Chief Executive Officer is still touched by witnessing the development of the ‘miracle rice’, a drought resistant variety hailed as one of the answers to food insecurity in Africa. Few people understood Nina’s ‘obsession’ with collecting the unused lab equipment. She said her stint at a rice research institute stirred her dream to collect scientific equipment that her colleagues in the US thought were ‘behind the technology curve’.”
Join SEEDING LABS in working towards more equitable access to the materials needed to do top-notch professional research. With your HELP, lab shelves will be stocked, students will be trained, new collaborations will be formed, and new discoveries will be made.” And I thank you for supporting this vital work by ANY and ALL means you can.
