About This Project

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

HiveBio was founded by Bergen McMurray, CEO, and Katriona Guthrie-Honea, Funding Director, in mid 2012. As the organization was being built it had the good fortune to attract a strong and qualified executive team: Dr. Michal Galdzicki, CSO, Dr. Sandlin Seguin, Director of Education Programs, Elizabeth Scallon, COO, Zeb Haradon, CTO, and Anna Batorsky, Science Writer/Social Media Coordinator.

After months of hard work by this team HiveBio had it's grand opening in October of 2013. HiveBio has been able to offer it's members classes such as Basics of Biology Lab, Intellectual Property 101, Smartphone to Digital Microscope Workshop, and more. Open hours are also held for members who want to come in and carry out their own research. HiveBio is also building a relationship with some Seattle schools in order to bring the joys of biosciences to the public school system.

To carry out research in HiveBio's lab members pay a membership fee. They then submit a project proposal online to the Science, Safety, Ethics, and Education Committee (SSEE). When the project gets unanimous approval by the committee the member can then use the lab and equipment at HiveBio. The SSEE is co-chaired by the CSO and the COO and populated by experts in various bioscience fields.

The main driving forces behind this project are the science should be fun and accessible to everyone, regardless of an individual's education level or economic status. HiveBio works to keep the costs to it's members as low as possible. We have an extremely low drop-in rate for individuals interest in attending classes, workshops, and lectures, priced at $15 (plus cost of materials). We strive to be an inclusive organization.

What is the significance of this project?

Because of the wide scope of this project, it has the potential to affect a wide range of individuals and organizations. Our organization could be the jumping-off point for a career in biosciences, or a place to carry out research that a person wouldn't have the resources to do otherwise.

Education and experimentation are main thrusts of the organization. We seek to excite children and adults alike about the wonders of biosciences. Currently, science education in schools is lacking and HiveBio strives to correct that situation by offering students hands-on interaction with bioscience experimentation. By putting the tools of biosciences into the hands of citizen scientist we open science research up to innovation possibilities that might not have existed otherwise.
"It is amazing to view the world through a scientific lens. By making science accessible to everyone, HiveBio is helping people see, think,
and understand how the world works." - Nitin Baliga, Director of Institute for Systems Biology and Board Member on HiveBio

What are the goals of the project?

This Microryza project is focused on helping fund some of the resources that HiveBio offers to the community. We want to fund 10 1-month Desk Memberships and 4 runs of a class that is in high demand; Basic Molecular Biology: DNA isolation, PCR, Gel electrophoresis.

A Desk Membeship gives a member 24 hour access to the lab along with personal use of one of computer stations (and storage) at the lab. This is our highest-cost membership.

In keeping with our value of accessibility, we'd like to offer scholarships for these high-cost memberships. We would also like to be able to offer discounted entrance to our Basic Molecular Biology class. This Microryza project will help us cover the costs of materials for this class, which will make the cost of the class just $15 per student.