US research institutions face funding crisis: laboratories turn to crowdfunding for support, could DeSci open up a new future?

The U.S. research community is facing an unprecedented funding crisis, and scientific research institutions are turning to crowdfunding platforms to raise funds, and DeSci may be expected to open a new picture of the future of scientific funding. (Synopsis: DeSci: The intersection of AI, Crypto, and life sciences) (Background supplement: From a scientist's perspective: Is DeSci really the future revolution of academic research? The U.S. research community is facing an unprecedented funding crisis. According to foreign media "Chronicle" and "Science", the Trump administration's major policy adjustments to federal scientific research funding have led to a significant reduction or freezing of funding from institutions such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DOD). Specifically, the NIH's requirement to consolidate multi-year projects into a single grant and conduct additional evaluations of projects that have passed the review has led to funding constraints for many research institutions, such as the National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding rate plummeted from 10% to 4%. This has made the already competitive environment for scientific research funding more severe, and many US university laboratories are on the verge of closure due to funding shortages, seriously threatening scientific research progress. University of Arizona labs turn to crowdfunding for survival The lab of Joyce A. Schroeder, a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of Arizona, is one of the research institutions that has felt the pressure of the crisis. Schroeder's research team focused on the study of the immune mechanism of breast cancer cells, especially the role of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in cancer metastasis and immune evasion, and developed a therapy that is expected to enter clinical trials. Although the lab has not yet lost its existing funding, the uncertainty of future funding makes Schroeder anxious. To solve the funding dilemma, Schroeder's doctoral student Danielle DiFranco proposed a non-traditional fundraising method: using the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to raise funds. DiFranco was inspired by his mother, whose family history of breast cancer suggested friends and family might be willing to support the study. A crowdfunding page created by Di Franco on the GoFundMe platform details the lab's research projects and funding woes, and calls for public support. The page mentions: In the past, Schroders Labs has excelled in obtaining national funding, but in recent years it has become extremely difficult to apply for funding due to changes in NIH funding priorities. The lab is currently operating with only small internal funding, and any amount of donations can help them continue their research and development of breast cancer therapies. The experiment has paid off. At time of writing, the crowdfunding page has raised $8,826, more than half of its $15,000 goal. While this funding is not comparable to NIH's million-dollar grant, it is enough to cover the lab's consumables needs for months. Schroeder also said the donation from the public provides a valuable breathing space for the lab to continue its research. The Schroders Lab's case is not an isolated case, and research crowdfunding is gradually becoming a contingency solution in the face of funding shortages. For example, an ornithology research team at Mississippi State University was terminated by a $210,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and instead raised $37,000 through GoFundMe to support the continuation of its ornithology program. This trend reflects the pervasiveness of the research funding crisis and also shows the enthusiasm of the public for scientific participation. However, while crowdfunding provides emergency funding for labs and enhances public participation, it also faces many challenges. First, crowdfunding may force researchers to become "marketers", reducing research value to slogans that attract donations, and perhaps deviating from academic peer review standards. Second, projects with "mass appeal" (such as cancer research) are more likely to receive funding, while theoretical or niche research is less likely to benefit, potentially exacerbating imbalances in research areas. In addition, crowdfunding funds may also be regarded as personal taxable income, which needs to be transferred through university foundations to standardize management, increasing administrative costs. Experts warn that long-term reliance on crowdfunding could diminish the role of the state funding system in supporting marginalized but important research and create bias based on differences in applicants' backgrounds (e.g., race, gender). Will decentralized science (DeSci) be the model of the future? With the limitations of traditional funding models exposed, many experts believe that decentralized science (DeSci) may become an emerging scientific research funding force. Using blockchain technology, decentralized networks and open source principles, DeSci aims to break down the barriers of centralized scientific research systems and promote a transparent, open and collaborative scientific ecosystem. Through blockchain, research data, capital flow and attribution of results can be recorded transparently and immutably; Decentralized storage makes data publicly accessible and reduces dependence on institutions. In addition, DeSci funds research projects through crowdfunding, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) or tokenization, allowing the public to invest directly in scientific projects, and also helping to stimulate public participation, not only may the fundraising scale be larger than state funding, but niche research will also have investors willing to funnel funds. In summary, DeSci's strength in raising research funding is its transparency, fairness and efficiency. Researchers can bypass traditional funding institutions and gain direct support from the global community, and public participation can further enhance the social impact of scientific research. Although it is difficult to replace the stability and professionalism of the state funding system in the short term, the potential of DeSci may not be truly unleashed at a time when cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology continue to move towards mainstream finance. Related stories A new chapter in DeSci! Quantum Biology DAO launched $QBIO token, BIO Protocol issued DeSci for the first time The track exploded, and the decentralized science potential endorsed by Binance Investment and CZ was explained in detail CZ and V shouted together! Bioscience meme coin pulls up a thousandfold, hot money rushes to DeSci decentralized science track [US scientific research institutions are in a funding crisis: laboratories turn to crowdfunding, DeSci is expected to open a new future? This article was first published in BlockTempo's "Dynamic Trend - The Most Influential Blockchain News Media".