How this Boston non-profit is connecting scientists worldwide

Seeding Labs is a social enterprise based in Boston. At Biotech Week Boston (Sept 18), we spoke with CEO Nina Dudnik who told us how their mission is to make sure 'talented scientists, wherever they are in the world, are part of driving the discoveries that are improving life in our planet.'

What was the inspiration behind Seeding labs?

'I'm a Molecular Biologist by training and I had opportunities to work, not just here in Massachusetts, but actually East and West Africa, and in the Middle East. It was the experience of having been a scientist, worked as a scientist, in those very resource limited settings, coming back to Massachusetts and seeing the contract and the availability of resources that we had here that could really be invested in scientists everywhere in the world. Also, the connections that we were missing between scientists here and scientists in other parts of the world that would move forward everybody's work.'

What were some of the road blocks that you encountered along the way?

'Well, I imagine that most, if not all, entrepreneurs face a couple of these. One is just trying to do something new. When you're trying to do something that's never been done before, you encounter a lot of skepticism, some naysaying, a lot of resistance to change. So, that's definitely something we've had to power through.

Seeding Labs fundamentally exists because there's a gap in the market. So, the way that our science community functions here, the normal markets aren't working for scientists in the developing world. So, what Seeding Labs has to do is act as a bridge between academia, the private sector, RND manufacturers, government non-profit. We have to build relationships with all those sectors, convince decision makers, get their buy-in, get people to work together across these sectors.So, that's been an enormous endeavor. It's something we're still working to do better every single day.

Last but not least, we had to build a global supply chain on a non-profit budget and with non-profit infrastructure, and working, importing into countries across the world with lots of different regulations, a lot of difficult logistics to figure out.'

How did you go from local hub to just having a global impact?

'It was really through the power of the network here in Massachusetts. Starting this company here from within the Scientific Sector of Massachusetts and using the relationships that we had here because people come from all over the world to do science here. They have connections back home to wherever home is. So, we use those first and foremost to make connections to potential clients and customers around the world and to potential supporters and partners here. It grew fairly slowly and organically for a little while.

The big transformation for us came after 2014, we got a multi-million dollar investment from the U.S. Agency for International Development. That helped us to more than double in scope and the ability to reach twice as many more scientists every year around the world.'

How did the local support of the Massachusetts Biotech community just help launch Seeding Labs?

'We absolutely couldn't do this without the support of our partners here. We've built a community and a coalition of over 150 partners now. Like I said, Academia, non-profit, government, Biotech, RND manufacturers, and it's their buy-in that we are leveraging. We consider ourselves force multipliers for the scientific community here to invest in their piers across the developing world. So, the community here has invested, over the years, in the form of financial support, surplus lab equipment, and employee volunteer time and expertise. We take that and we do three things.

The first is we go out and we identify talent everywhere else in the world. So, we run a massive talent search and selection process to find great emerging scientists in these developing countries. We then connect them to each other and to scientists here, to the scientific community here in Massachusetts both formally and informally. So, we do that through in person events. We do that through exchange programs, virtual mentorships in an online platform that lets scientists everywhere share their expertise.

The last thing we do is physically vest in the scientists in the developing world by leveraging surplus lab equipment from here. Something that was previously thought of as an asset without any value. Something to be discarded. We are making new value out of that, providing it to scientists around the developing world so they can make those new connections and those new collaborations work, and move forward all of their work together.'

Beyond supporting researchers in developing countries, what impact are you having on an institution level, a country level, and a state level?

'Well, because of all of our partners, primarily here in Massachusetts in the Biotech community, we've been able to invest more than, the equivalent of 30 million dollars worth of scientific equipment and supplies and training in the scientists in 65 institutions in 34 countries around the world. And it's growing every day and that does a number of things.

First, about 32 thousand students, undergrad students, are getting hands on science education right now. They're getting to do in the lab experiments they were only reading about before. They go on to either to be doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab techs, teachers, researchers themselves. So, that has this multiplier effect far into the future. Probably touching millions of lives.

These scientists themselves that we're investing in are not only teaching these students but they're moving research forward. What we find is that within two years of receiving support from Seeding Labs and our community partners here, they are moving forward new collaborations, finishing research projects, getting things that were stuck to completion, publishing papers, getting new funding which then builds the strength of the institutions that they're at into real, sustainable research institutions like the ones we see here in Massachusetts. They're also solving real problems.

So, they're making real progress on things like discovering drug targets for everything from Malaria to Diabetes. New ways to provide electricity to rural populations, better food, ways to remediate the environment. All of these things that have really local impact on their communities, on their countries, but actually also impact us as well because these are diseases and forces in climate change. All kinds of things that are at our doorstep as well. This is not just a developing world problem. These are global problems.

Last, but definitely not least, all of the folks here in Massachusetts who participate in these programs are touched also. So, we have dozens and dozens of volunteers that are a part of our programs every year. They get to connect the work that they do in the labs here with something bigger and more global. They get to connect literally with their piers in other parts of the world. And they get a new perspective on the work that they're doing here on what kinds of problems are out there to be solved, and on the kinds of resources that we have at our disposal to do that.'

Do you provide more than just supplies and instruments to impact your mission?

'We absolutely do. We are making connections between scientists through a lot of different means. Both in person, and virtually. We're providing different kinds of training. We're connecting them to resources that already exist, particularly here in Massachusetts. Things like [inaudible 00:07:34] and access to training, and the publishing help. All those kinds of things that make a scientific career work well. So, it's really about bringing all of these resources that are here in our community together and bringing that to a wider population globally as possible.'

Where do you see Seeding Labs in the next five to ten years?

'My vision is no less than a transformation of what it means to be a global science community. What I've think we've proven over the last ten years is it's not a zero sum game. Our success here in Massachusetts is even greater when we invest in our piers in other parts of the world.

So, what I see is that this becomes standard operating procedure for the scientific community. Donating surplus lab equipment is part of normal day to day business to make sure it gets into second life with somebody who can use it to drive great discoveries somewhere else in the world.

Connecting your scientists here to their piers wherever they are in the world. To collaborate on the kinds of problems that we don't even know we're facing yet. And emerging infectious diseases, epidemics, we've seen them start in one corner of the world and they end up on our doorstep within weeks. So, having our scientists here connected to their piers who are at the front lines of these emerging problems will ultimately make all of us better able to come up with the discoveries that make our lives better.'

This interview was filmed as part of BWB TV at Biotech Week Boston in September 2018. Biotech Week Boston 2019 is taking place in Boston, MA on September 9-12, 2019. Find out more here.