We are asking for $8,000 for this project. We will generate uterine organoids using biopsies from volunteers already undergoing hysterectomy. We will grow them in conditions mimicking the local cellular environment. We will test these organoids for their identity and functions to confirm that they behave like the real organ. The majority of funds will go towards this crucial step.

We will infect the organoids with Thai patient-isolated Zika viruses and measure the level of infection at different stages to determine the basis of Zika infection. We will then treat them with Zika-neutralizing antibodies. We expect that they would eliminate Zika in the uterine organoids and prevent further transmission.

Your support is critical for us to kickoff and get preliminary data to secure additional funding to expand the project. Ultimately, we will build a multi-organ platform to understand how Zika virus can pass from mother to infant, and how to stop this process entirely.

Additional Information

Crowdfunding for Science

With more and more constraints on scientific funding worldwide,
researchers are having a difficult time securing supports for their
work, especially among those relative early in their career like PhD
students, postdoctoral fellows or young principal investigators.
Funding is crucial at this stage where new investigators can establish
their career path.

With many startups turning to crowdfunding
to help complete their projects, you are now seeing new campaigns
offering all these fun gadgets and technologies almost everyday. What
crowdfunding does here is to bring you, as potential customers, closer
to the companies. It generates buzz for the biz, and you get a glimpse
of the products you will likely purchase. Crowdfunding connects the
startup owners with broader audiences who are as passionate about the
projects as they are. In turn, these audiences have a chance to be a
part of the projects through small donations. While money raised from
crowdfunding may not entirely replace the more traditional routes like
angel funding or venture capital, it allows the people who make the
campaigns to take their first few steps.

Just like crowdfunding for business, crowdfunding for researches allows scientists to connect with the people they are helping. With the
traditional route of research grants, you share your ideas with limited
circles of people--grant reviewers, experts in the fields and that
friend you asked to proofread your proposal in exchange for
freshly-baked cookies. Now, with crowdfunding campaigns, you, as
scientists, are sharing your ideas, hope and goal to the public. These
are the people who are likely going to benefit from your next
discoveries firsthand, whether it be a cure for cancer or a new
anti-malaria drug or a new strain of rice with higher yield.

To give back to your backers, you, the science guys, are updating them
on your progress, letting them know that even just small amount of
donations can drive your experiments towards the next big discovery. In a
way, this is your product to give back to your backers. With the magic
of the internet, crowdfunding campaigns can bridge the gap between lab
bench and the public, thus increasing transparency and building trust
between scientists and the general public.

It is true that fund raised through crowdfunding is often far from the traditional research grants, and its success is not guaranteed.
However, a small amount of money can allow researchers to conduct some
preliminary experiments, set up a new space for future projects or
generate enough data to make that Figure 1 for their grant proposal.
Everything counts.

Crowdfunding is a relatively new and unexplored territory for scientific
research communities. TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, at World Health Organization recognizes this as a great opportunity to help researchers fund their projects given the increasing
difficulties to secure research funding. Our project on "Blocking Zika
Virus Mother-to-Child Transmission" won this year's TDR crowdfunding
challenge. For this project, we will be using a new and innovative
tissue engineering technique to study the biology of Zika virus and how
it can pass from pregnant mother to her fetus. With your help through
crowdfunding, we will develop a way to block this transmission to
prevent the child from Zika-related complications such as microcephaly.

More information on our mission and fun posts from our lab please visit our blog at

https://busymosquitoes.blogspot.com/

Battle Against Zika

Zika Virus

With the rapid spread of Zika virus infection and the strong
correlation between Zika virus infection among pregnant mothers and later microcephaly cases among their newborns (underdeveloped brain upon birth), World HealthOrganization (WHO) declared Zika a Public Health Emergency of International Concern regarding microcephaly and Zika infection in early 2016. While WHO announced that Zika was no longer a global "emergency", the risk assessment of Zika is still the same. The real meaning of it all is worse as this means Zika is here to stay, and we need a long-term strategy to control Zika virus infection.

The Threat

Zika virus can spread through specific species of mosquitoes, and from infected mother to her unborn child. While Zika virus infection symptoms are mild, if any, in adults, it is no confirmed that Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause severe brain damages in newborns and even death.

Zika virus infection is health and socioeconomic problems. The affected child needs constant check-ups with healthcare providers throughout their life. The cost of proper cares for a child with birth defects can add up to millions of dollars throughout their life time—sadly a cost that not every family can afford.

The Solutions

Mosquito control programs worldwide can help slow down the spread of Zika virus. But, that is not enough. At the moment, there is no effective drugs or vaccines to protect the fetuses. That is where we come in, we are trying to develop a way to prevent the spread of Zika virus from pregnant mother to her unborn child. Our bioengineering team is developing a cell culture model to understand how Zika virus can pass from pregnant mother to her unborn child. With this model, we can further test our anti-Zika factors to see if they can block its transmission.

We would like to reach out and raise awareness of the real danger of Zika virus. We are inviting you to be a part of our mission to combat Zika viruses. We hope that you guys are as SUPER excited about developing drugs that can block Zika virus transmission, and ending its threats among children once and for all.

More information on our mission and fun posts from our lab please visit our blog at

https://busymosquitoes.blogspot.com/