News Archive: 2021
Presenting: The Pandemic Lab Safety Challenge Winners
December 2, 2021
SANBio and Seeding Labs have selected two winners for the Pandemic Lab Safety Challenge.
Watch the winning videos now!
Gratitude Tuesday 2021: Celebrating the Seeding Labs Community
November 30, 2021
Today, we are celebrating #GratitudeTuesday, the Seeding Labs version of #GivingTuesday.
We are grateful for all of you champions of global science who believe that building stronger labs in developing countries builds a stronger future.
Join us in celebrating the efforts of an entire community that works tirelessly to build a better future for science around the world!
Teaming up to investigate an unusually high number of twins in Nigeria
November 16, 2021
No one knows why Igbo-Ora, Nigeria—also known as “Twin Town”—has one of the world’s highest rates of twin births.
Now, Profs. Roseangela Nwuba and Akhere Omonkhua are using molecular biology to investigate, potentially unlocking new avenues of research and treatments for infertility!
Seeding Labs CEO Talks Scientific Equity on New Podcast
The Caring Scientist Podcast — November 15, 2021
Seeding Labs CEO Melissa P. Wu, PhD, discusses ecological sustainability and social equity with Adriana Wolf Perez, PhD, and Nikoline Borgermann, PhD, hosts of the podcast "The Caring Scientist."
In this episode, the three discuss how used and surplus lab equipment sees new life in labs across the world through Seeding Labs' Instrumental Access program and the impact this equipment has for creating a more equitable scientific ecosystem.
Instrumental Access Impact Update: Teaching
November 10, 2021
In 2020 and 2021, Instrumental Access awardees expanded their teaching capacity and helped to train the next generation of scientists and healthcare workers.
With the right equipment in place, they were able provide hands-on educational opportunities to thousands of students around the world.
Instrumental Access Impact Update: Research
October 12, 2021
In 2020 and 2021, Instrumental Access awardees expanded their research projects, focusing on everything from portable energy storage to combating tropical diseases.
With the right equipment in place, they were able to advance key findings and publish at higher rates, spreading their expertise across the world.
Exploring Sustainable Energy Storage in Colombia
September 7, 2021
Dr. Esteban Garcia-Tamayo and colleagues at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana are using the waste from when fique plants are turned into textiles to create new sustainable energy storage. The team produced bacterial nanocellulose, tiny nano-scale fibrils of the plant material, from the agricultural waste. In the process, they have restored energy to their own department's research profile.
MilliporeSigma & Seeding Labs Promote Access to Global Science Learning With Expanded TeleScience Website
3BL Media — August 24, 2021
Sharing knowledge and lab tips is one way to increase access and bring the global scientific community together. Resources, such as the TeleScience platform from Seeding Labs, make it easier for scientists and researchers to access, connect and learn, whether they are in Boston or Nigeria. Seeding Labs is a signature partner of the Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, whose US and Canada business operates as MilliporeSigma.
Introducing an All-New TeleScience Site
August 24, 2021
Today we are unveiling an all-new TeleScience site! Our online library of videos is now full of even more lab tips, research tricks, and how-tos that help share scientific skills and expertise across the globe.
Instrumental Access Impact Update: COVID-19
August 9, 2021
Over the course of this year, our metrics and evaluation team connected with 19 Instrumental Access awardees who used their labs and expertise to contribute to their institutional, regional, and national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turning Obstacles to Opportunities
July 7, 2021
In a little over a year since Instrumental Access equipment arrived on campus at the Université d’Abomey-Calavi in Benin, Dr. Victorien Dougnon's research and publication schedule has been accelerated exponentially. Their lab’s expanded capacity now allows them to perform sample analyses on-site, increasing both the speed and accuracy of their findings.
Setting New Expectations in Cameroon
June 9, 2021
Five years ago, the Department of Biochemistry at the Université de Dschang in Cameroon had promising research in progress on medicinal plants and tropical diseases, but little infrastructure to see the projects to completion. With Instrumental Access equipment, they are now collaborating with departments across campus and the Ministry of Higher Education.
Introducing the Pandemic Lab Safety Challenge
June 3, 2021
Seeding Labs is proud to partner with SANBio, the Southern Africa Network for Biosciences, to issue a challenge! Labs across the world are in various stages of reopening, so how are you working to keep your environments safe?
To all the innovators and problem solvers devising new ways to keep their labs sterile during the COVID-19 pandemic: show us how you do it!
Lab Notes: A Pharmacy Program on the Rise in Zambia
May 26, 2021
After their Instrumental Access award in 2016, opportunities to analyze natural products opened up for the University of Zambia's Department of Pharmacy. Now, graduate students are publishing original research at an incredible pace.
Seeding Labs Instrumental Access Award
University of eldoret - May 10, 2021
Dr. Emmy Chepkoech, a faculty member in the Department of Biotechnology at the University of Eldoret, was successfully awarded laboratory equipment from Instrumental Access.
MilliporeSigma Partnership Spotlight: Seeding Labs
MilliporeSigma - April 28, 2021
Our own Christina Viola Srivastava, director of programs, sat down with one of our longtime partners, MilliporeSigma, to discuss our mission and and efforts for the global scientific community.
Tanzanian Transformation: Instrumental Access Equipment Brings New Life to a Chemistry Program in Need
April 27, 2021
Five years ago, the Chemistry Department at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education was losing students and outsourcing sample analysis to other facilities. Now students are completing their studies and researchers are publishing new work on pollution in Tanzania’s fresh water lakes.
Reclaiming Agency over COVID-19 in Malawi
March 17, 2021
Dr. Gama Bandawe and his colleagues at the Malawi University of Science and Technology are proving that having the right infrastructure in place prepares researchers to meet any task. They are now at the forefront of their nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Equipment Donation to Developing Countries
Eisai - March 17, 2021
Eisai has been participating in the Instrumental Access initiative of Seeding Labs since 2015. Instrumental Access donates equipment, a powerful means to drive discoveries and tackle global health issues, to scientists and students in research organizations such as universities in developing countries.
Decolonizing Science Diplomacy: A Case Study of the Dominican Republic’s COVID-19 Response
Frontiers in REsearch Metrics & Analytics - March 11, 2021
This article discusses a case of how science diplomacy and a relatively new law fostering public-private partnerships allowed an Instrumental Access university, Universidad Iberoamericana, to play a major role in public health response in the Dominican Republic while generating knowledge to inform public policy decisions in an unprecedented manner in the country. Science diplomacy is discussed in the context of decolonization and the importance of the local gaze when creating academic partnerships in the context of global health emergencies.
Dr. Joanne Kamens Elected Chair of the Seeding Labs Board of Directors
March 2, 2021
Seeding Labs is thrilled to announce that Joanne Kamens, PhD, has been appointed as chair of our Board of Directors. Dr. Kamens, who joined the board in 2016, succeeds Alan C. Lee, who served as board chair since 2018 and will remain a director and important guiding voice on the Seeding Labs Board.
Seeding Courage (and COVID-19 Tests) for the Future of Armenia
February 25, 2021
Dr. Arsen Arakelyan and his colleagues at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia were tasked with delivering 100,000 COVID-19 test kits that could be administered in Armenia. Using Instrumental Access equipment, delivered those tests. And they showed that the scientific community in Armenia is prepared to meet any challenge put before them.
MilliporeSigma Announces Expanded Partnerships to Increase Science Education & Research Equity
February 4, 2021
Building on its commitment to accelerate scientific research and science education, MilliporeSigma has announced seven expanded partnerships with leading nonprofit organizations across the world, including Seeding Labs. These long-term, multi-dimensional partnerships are designed to increase educational and research equity.
Seeding Labs Recognized as Best Practice in Access to Medicine Index
January 26, 2021
The Access to Medicine Foundation named Seeding Labs’ Instrumental Access program a Best Practice for R&D Capacity Building in the 2021 Access to Medicine Index. This is an extraordinary recognition of how our work is accelerating scientific discovery and education in developing countries worldwide.