The creator of a marketplace for scientific research explains how it could transform the enterprise
Last week, Science Exchange in Palo Alto, California, launched a website allowing scientists to outsource their research to ‘providers’ — other researchers and institutions that have the facilities and equipment to meet requesting scientists’ needs. Nature asked the company’s co-founder, researcher-turned-entrepreneur Elizabeth Iorns, how the website works, and what an online marketplace for experiments could mean for the future of research.
What is Science Exchange?
It is an online marketplace for scientific experiments. Imagine eBay, but for scientific knowledge. You post an experiment that you want to outsource, and scientific service providers submit bids to do the work. The goal is to make scientific research more efficient by making it easy for researchers to access experimental expertise from core facilities with underutilized capacity.
Where did the idea come from?
It was through my work as a breast-cancer biologist at the University of Miami in Florida. I wanted to conduct some experiments outside my field, and realized that I needed an external provider. What followed was an entirely frustrating process, and when I found the provider it was difficult to pay them because they were outside my university’s purchasing system. When I talked to other scientists, it became clear that this was a really big problem, but also one that could be solved with a marketplace. Development of the website started around a kitchen table in Miami in April.
Why would researchers want to participate?
So they can access technologies that their university doesn’t offer; if their own institutional facilities are too busy; if they just generally want to speed up the research process; or if they want a good deal. Prices can vary dramatically: for example, through our platform I have seen bids to perform a microRNA study ranging from US$3,500 to $9,000. Those who do the work can also build reputations independent of their publications by gaining feedback from those they work with.
Why might universities want their facilities to participate?
There are huge budget incentives. It allows institutions to make the most of their existing facilities, which means that they don’t have to subsidize them as much. Also, if researchers can use Science Exchange to access the latest equipment, institutions can be more flexible about when they buy new instruments.