UK University Looks to Crowdfunding for Cancer Research

UK based scientists are urging the public to back a funding platform in a bid to accelerate the search for a cure for cancer.

ResearchFunderNI.com (Belfast, Northern Ireland) is an online platform, created by Professor Ken Mills and his team at Queen's University, Belfast, based on the belief that research is being held back because of limited funding for smaller projects.

Professor Mills commented: "One of the barriers to cancer research is that the large scale research projects often rely on data obtained for pilots. Funding for small-scale projects can be difficult to obtain and that's why we're using technology to create a platform in essence to digitally disrupt how funding for early stage cancer research is sourced. We estimate that such funding could accelerate the speed at which new cancer drugs could be used in clinics by up to 12 years."

Eight research campaigns have already been launched in an attempt to raise up to £100,000. Projects range from the purchase of essential equipment for pilots such as an ultra-cold freezer to maintain the stability of samples at minus eighty degrees, to repurposing existing safe and approved drugs by applying them in new therapies for breast cancer.