Wildlife Disease Association Challenge launches to support scientists studying emerging diseases
Today we are launching the Wildlife Disease Association Challenge Grant, a new partnership between the Wildlife Disease Association and Experiment.
Founded in 1951, the Wildlife Disease Association is a non-profit member organization founded with a mission to acquire, disseminate, and apply knowledge of the health and diseases of wild animals.
This launch follows our first ever Wildlife Disease Grant Challenge in 2016 where 367 Experiment backers crowdfunded $28,385 to fund five wildlife disease research projects. Two of the projects have already completed and shared scientific results on chytrid fungus and white-nose syndrome.
This year, the Wildlife Disease Association approved 16 research projects to tackle emerging threats in wildlife disease. To ensure eligibility and quality, projects are reviewed for clarity, scientific accuracy, and feasibility. On September 11th, the project with the most number of backers will be awarded an additional $1,000 grant sponsored by the Wildlife Disease Association.
We are proud to be partnering with the Wildlife Disease Association because of the institution’s history of being the first to bring attention and funding to many overlooked emerging diseases.
In the field of wildlife disease, how quickly we fund research ideas makes a big difference in the outcomes for wildlife health. The efficiency of funding low budget research projects and the accessibility of the scientific results can be the difference between losing or saving a species. In order to prevent the spread of wildlife disease sometimes a small injection of research funding is all it takes to scientifically evaluate the root problem, so we can make more evidence-based decisions regarding wildlife health.
Our intention with this new partnership is to spotlight the work of potentially promising but unfunded wildlife disease projects across the whole world. By encouraging a large number of individual backers to contribute amounts as small as $1, we can financially support scientists to run experiments and share scientific results openly. Our hope is that this program grows and scales into a lasting community of members that prioritize democratizing access to the research process, so that anyone can contribute to wildlife disease research.
Visit the Wildlife Disease Association Challenge Grant to see the 16 featured projects in this year’s program.
