It’s been a great start to 2013 at Science Exchange.

In the past couple months, we’ve grown the number of scientific services available via the Science Exchange platform to almost 5,000, including listing services from entire divisions of Harvard and Purdue University. And we’ve seen a dramatic increase in services ordered via our platform, already matching our volume from all of 2012.

As we look ahead to the rest of 2013, we’re excited to announce that Science Exchange has closed a Series A financing round, raising an additional $3 million in venture capital to further expand and grow our marketplace. You can read coverage of the announcement in the Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsD blog.

We’re excited to add an amazing set of new investors to the Science Exchange family:

• Union Square Ventures (USV). USV, who led the Series A round, has an unrivalled reputation in early stage investing with exceptional experience in supporting marketplaces such as Etsy, Shapeways, Kickstarter, and Funding Circle. We’re especially delighted to add USV partner Andy Weissman to the Science Exchange board. You can read Andy’s thoughts on the investment in Science Exchange here.
• O’Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures (OATV). OATV, which has internet legend Tim O’Reilly as a founding partner, has a real passion for science and has recently invested in PeerJ, an Open Access publisher of scholarly articles shaking up the world of scientific publishing. You can read OATV Managing Director Bryce Robert’s thoughts on the investment here.
• An amazing cast of angel investors and advisors including Esther Dyson (super-angel and 23andMe board member), Jeff Hammerbacher (Cloudera founder), Ellen Levy (ex LinkedIn exec), Kal Vepuri (Trisiras Group founder), Peter Lehrman (Axial founder and ex-GLG exec), Rob Hutter (Learn Capital founder), Lisa Gansky (TheMesh founder) and Joshua Schachter (Delicious and TastyLabs founder).

We’re also delighted to have the continued support, in the form of investment and/or advice, of many investors from our seed round including Lerer Ventures, XG Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Yuri Milner, Maynard Webb, Ash Patel, and Sam Altman.

The new financing will help us improve the Science Exchange platform. As we expand our engineering team, we’re excited about building more great features to make it even easier to find, access and pay for scientific services including enhancing the service search interface for researchers, and adding new storefronts for service providers. We also plan to expand our range of services to new scientific disciplines including bio-chemistry, clinical, and engineering services over the coming year.

As we move forward on our mission of democratizing access the global network of scientific resources and expertise, we’re looking to double our team in customer development and engineering. If you’re interested in joining the Science Exchange revolution, be sure to check out www.scienceexchange.com/jobs.

Onward,

~The Science Exchange Team

It’s been almost two years since we founded Science Exchange with the goal of making scientific research more efficient.

We started off as a small team: a breast-cancer biologist, a software engineer, and an economist. Stemming from our own experiences in scientific research, we sought to create a centralized marketplace which researchers could use to easily access the world’s scientific expertise.

After participating in the Y Combinator program, launching in August 2011 and raising funding from top-tier investors, we’ve grown Science Exchange to list over 4700 services at 71 of the top 100 research universities. Researchers from California State to Princeton University, the NIH to NASA, and small biotechs to large pharma, have all found and ordered services through the platform. And we’ve expanded globally, with press noted in Fast Company, Wired, Nature, and CNBC.

Now, we’re looking to take Science Exchange to the next level. We have exciting plans to continue to optimize our product platform for research customers, and bolster our service offerings to more disciplines. There are many new partnerships and initiatives in the pipeline, and are looking for talented engineers and scientists to help support us in this vision.

We’re hiring for a range of positions, from software engineers to data scientists, and customer development to community managers. If you’re interested, or may know one who is, check out our jobs page at:

https://www.scienceexchange.com/jobs

Sincerely,

~ The Science Exchange Team

In August 2012, we launched the Reproducibility Initiative as a partnership between PLOS, figshare, Mendeley, and Science Exchange- looking to identify and reward high quality reproducible research.

As the quality of research reported in the literature remains under intense scrutiny, with citation rates and independent publications not providing a robust measure for reproducibility, the Reproducibility Initiative has sought to provide a platform to rapidly and cost effectively screen studies, methods and reagents via independent replication of key experimental results.

We’ve spent the first 6 months of the Initiative building partnerships, funding relationships, and promoting awareness for the issue. We are now moving into the second phase of the Reproducibility Initiative, and will be splitting the program into two arms:

• The Reproducibility Initiative – Opt-In Option
• The Reproducibility Initiative – Validation Service
  

Our outreach over the past couple months has indicated that thousands of researchers wished to participate in the Reproducibility Initiative, but did not have the funding to pay for the validations. We have thus created an ‘Opt-In’ arm of the Reproducibility Initiative so that investigators can opt in their study for potential independent validation, should funding become available.

Already, 1,892 researchers have opted in to have their studies reproduced. We believe that opting in itself provides a valuable signal in identifying reproducible findings, and we are now approaching public, charitable, and commercial funding bodies to sponsor the validation of select studies. Any investigator can submit a publication to opt in to the Initiative in the interim, by visiting: https://www.scienceexchange.com/reproducibility

Our outreach also indicated that there are investigators at institutions and biotech companies who have the funding available for validation. To assist them in immediately validating their study, we created a ‘Validation Service’ arm to the Reproducibility Initiative.

The Validation Service will allow studies, protocols or reagents to be submitted for independent validation by expert scientific service providers in the Science Exchange network. Submitted experiments are blindly matched with an appropriate, verified provider who then reproduces the experiments on a fee-for-service basis.

All submissions will be kept confidential, with resultant data and findings kept private. Upon completion, all experimental results will be provided to the submitter who will have the option to publish the replicated results as an independent publication in the PLOS ONE Reproducibility Collection, and can share the data via the figshare Reproducibility Collection repository. The article-level impact metrics of these publications will be tracked via Mendeley’s real-time analytics platform, enabling the identification of the most robust techniques and measuring the impact of trusted reproducible work.

Any investigator can submit their study for immediate validation, by visiting: https://www.scienceexchange.com/validation

We look forward to the months ahead, as the Reproducibility Initiative expands, and the first results of the validation studies start to arrive.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Iorns, PhD

About the author

Elizabeth Iorns is Co-Founder & CEO of Science Exchange. Elizabeth conceived the idea for Science Exchange while an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami and as CEO she drives the company’s vision, strategy and growth. She is passionate about creating a new way to foster scientific collaboration that will break down existing silos, democratize access to scientific expertise and accelerate the speed of scientific discovery. Elizabeth has a B.S. in Biomedical Science from the University of Auckland, a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, and conducted postdoctoral research in Cancer Biology from the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine where her research focused on identifying mechanisms of breast cancer development and progression.

Photo Credit: Nature.com

This year, Science Exchange CEO Elizabeth Iorns helped to launch the Reproducibility Initiative- collaborative program between Science Exchange, PLOS ONE, Mendeley, and figshare that offers scientists a way to validate their studies by expert providers.

The Reproducibility Initiative has been met with welcome applause from researchers and the public alike. The launch received accolades in Reuters and Slate Magazine. Initial outreach to academic studies have received a strong response as well, with 77% of respondents opting in to have their studies validated.

In recognition of her efforts with the Reproducibility Initiative then, Nature Magazine has just noted Dr. Iorns as one of their  Ten People Who Mattered in 2012.

We are truly humbled for Elizabeth to receive such an accolade, and the awareness it brings for the important issue of reproducibility in academic research.

We look forward to the new year as The Reproducibility Initiative moves into its second phase of validating select studies.

Read Nature article at: http://www.nature.com/news/366-days-nature-s-10-1.11997

“A New Mouse Model for the Study of Human Breast Cancer Metastasis“, which was published in the open-access peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, features the work done between labs at the University of Miami and core facilities on the Science Exchange network.

In the methods section of the paper, the authors referenced their use, via Science Exchange, of the Histopathology and Tissue Shared Resource at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Applied Genomics Technology Center at Wayne State University. Highlighted quotes from the paper are shown below.

We hope this is the first of many

–Dan

Palo Alto, CA – November 5, 2012 – Core research facilities on the Science Exchange network announced today their support for those researchers affected by Hurricane Sandy.

With the hurricane affecting thousands of researchers across the Greater New York area, losing valuable enzymes, constructs, and experimental mice, the need for greater access to resources has become a concern. Core facilities, which provide specialist scientific services ranging from DNA sequencing to transgenic mouse development, have accordingly increased access to their shared resources and equipment for external use by those researchers affected.

Core facilities at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY have already offered their support for the initiative. “ Being in Upstate New York, we at Roswell Park Cancer Institute would like to convey our best wishes to our fellow New Yorkers and everyone that has been affected by the devastation which Hurricane Sandy imparted onto the East Coast of the USA,” said Aimee Stablewski, Director of the Gene Targeting and Transgenic Facility. “In light of this tragedy, we would like to offer to help researchers attain their goals by providing services from our Gene Targeting and Transgenic Core Resource.”

Other core facilities across from California to North Carolina have offered their support in helping those researchers affected as well.

“We stand ready to assist our colleagues devastated by this horrendous storm and help them to recover and preserve the scientific value of their resources” said Dr. Kent Lloyd, Director of the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program.

Dale Cowley, Director of the University of North Carolina Animal Models Core also offered his support. “We were saddened to hear of the loss of research animal models and other critical research reagents in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy,” said Dr. Cowley. “As our facility offers a full range of reproductive services including recovery of lines from cryopreserved embryos, we would be happy to provide our services to assist researchers in the New York City area to recover or re-create critical models for their research programs.”

Science Exchange, the online marketplace for scientific services, will be helping these core facilities to promote their services to researchers in need. The company provides an online platform for researchers to request quotes and order services from over 300 institutions, and will be waiving all of its fees to researchers affected by the hurricane through the end of the year.

“We felt that in this time of need, many researchers would be able benefit from the expertise of the facilities listed on the Science Exchange network,” said Dr. Elizabeth Iorns, co-founder and CEO of Science Exchange. “Core facilities and CROs provide access to expert specialist services in a timely and efficient manner, and could be critical to helping scientists recover their work.”

Researchers can order over 1300 services from core facilities listed on the Science Exchange network by visiting: www.scienceexchange.com

Power outages, flooding, and loss of storage has affected years of work in antibodies, enzymes, constructs, and other research material. And yesterday we learned that thousands of experimental mice were lost due to flooding at the New York University Hospital. As a former breast cancer biologist, it is heartbreaking to hear of the loss suffered by researchers in the affected areas.

To help assist wherever we can, Science Exchange will be waiving all our fees till the end of this year for anyone whose research has been affected by the hurricane. We hope this will help affected researchers, whose own institutions may be either closed or at capacity, to continue their research by accessing expert providers from our network of 300 institutions across the country.

We are also working with our network of expert providers to see if they are able to offer their services and excess resources to researchers affected by the hurricane.

For researchers working on transgenic mouse projects, we’ve already had several providers, including the Mouse Biology Program at UC Davis, the Animal Models Core at UNC Chapel Hill, and Gene Targeting and Transgenic Facility at Roswell Park, indicate their support for helping affected researchers.

We’ll be providing further updates over the coming days as we get further commitments from providers of the over 1,300 services offered on www.scienceexchange.com.

We hope this small gesture may help in this difficult time. If you have any questions, you can reach  us at support@scienceexchange.com.

–Elizabeth

UPDATE: Science crowdfunding site Microryza has started a campaign to raise money for science and research facilities at NYU Langone Medical Center that were devastated by the events of Hurricane Sandy. Microryza are waiving their normal fee so 100% of the funds raise will go directly to NYU researchers as a gift. You can donate to the fund here.

About the author

Elizabeth Iorns is Co-Founder & CEO of Science Exchange. Elizabeth conceived the idea for Science Exchange while an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami and as CEO she drives the company’s vision, strategy and growth. She is passionate about creating a new way to foster scientific collaboration that will break down existing silos, democratize access to scientific expertise and accelerate the speed of scientific discovery. Elizabeth has a B.S. in Biomedical Science from the University of Auckland, a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, and conducted postdoctoral research in Cancer Biology from the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine where her research focused on identifying mechanisms of breast cancer development and progression.

Science Exchange has been selected for Health 2.0 2012!

Health 2.0 is a world leader in health care technology, and the Health 2.0 conference is known as a leading showcase of cutting-edge innovations that will transform health, health care and research. Since 2007, over 500 technology companies have been introduced to the world stage at the Health 2.0 conference.

Science Exchange Co-Founder & CTO Ryan Abbott will demo Science Exchange during a session called “Accelerating Discovery: Tools for Transforming Research“. The session which will showcase some of the leading new developments in the area of scientific research. Along with Science Exchange, the session will showcase new tools from the National Cancer Institute, Medidata, Traitwise, Everyday Health and Alliance Health Networks.

Health 2.0 is on at the Hilton Union Square between October 7-11. The “Accelerating Discovery: Tools for Transforming Research” session takes place tomorrow between 2:30-3:25pm (in the Franciscan CD room). If you’re at the conference please come and say Hi!

Talks are currently scheduled at 11 university institutions in the northeast United States, including Yale, Columbia, Harvard, and Brown. See below for more details on dates and venues, or contact your local Post-Doc association for further info.

Be sure to stop by if you’re in the area, as Elizabeth would love to meet with you!

Conference Tour:

Tuesday, 9/18 @4PM: Yale University (Anylan Center Auditorium, 300 Cedar St. New Haven CT)

Wednesday, 9/19 @ 12:30PM: Columbia University (701 W. 168th st. Hammer Health Science building Room LL203, New York NY)

Thursday, 9/20 @ 1:30PM: SUNY – Stony Brook (Charles B. Wang Center theater, Stony Brook NY)

Friday, 9/21 @ 4:30PM: New York University (Smilow Seminar Room, Langone Medical Center, 550 First Avenue, New York NY)

Monday, 9/24 @ 12PM: Brown University (Brown CareerLab, 167 Angell Street, Providence RI)

Wednesday, 9/26 @ 4:30PM: Princeton University (Green Hall Room 0-S-6, County Road 526 & William St, Princeton NJ)

Friday, 9/28 @ 9:30AM: Harvard University (60 Oxford Street, Room 330, Cambridge MA)

Monday, 10/1 @ 1PM: University of Massachusetts (Lazare Auditorium, S1-607, Medical School, Worcester MA)

Tuesday, 10/2 @ 12PM: Boston University (Room L-211/213 BU School of Medicine, Boston MA)

Thursday, 10/4 @ 3:30PM: Dana Farber Cancer Institute (Smith bldg 3rd floor rooms #308/309, Boston MA)

Friday, 10/5 @ 3PM: MIT (MIT building 6-120, Cambridge MA)

Palo Alto, California – August 14, 2012 – Science Exchange, in partnership with the open-access publisher PLOS and open data repository figshare, announced today the launch of the Reproducibility Initiative (www.reproducibilityinitiative.org) – a new program to help scientists, institutions and funding agencies validate their critical research findings.

“In the last year, problems in reproducing academic research have drawn a lot of public attention, particularly in the context of translating research into medical advances. Recent studies indicate that up to 70% of research from academic labs cannot be reproduced, representing an enormous waste of money and effort,” said Dr. Elizabeth Iorns, Science Exchange’s co-founder and CEO. “In my experience as a researcher, I found that the problem lay primarily in the lack of incentives and opportunities for validation—the Reproducibility Initiative directly tackles these missing pieces.”

The Reproducibility Initiative provides both a mechanism for scientists to independently replicate their findings and a reward for doing so.  Scientists who apply to have their studies replicated are matched with experimental service providers based on the expertise required.  The Initiative leverages Science Exchange’s existing marketplace for scientific services, which contains a network of over 1000 expert providers at core facilities and contract research organizations (CROs). “Core facilities and commercial scientific service providers are the solution to this problem,” said Dr. Iorns. “They are experts at specific experimental techniques, and operate outside the current academic incentive structure.”

Scientists will receive the results of their validation studies and have the opportunity to publish them in the journal PLOS ONE as part of a Special Collection highlighting the importance of reproducibility in scientific research.  They can also upload their primary data to the open-access repository figshare. Replications published in PLOS ONE will link back to the original publications upon which they are based.  Prominent publishers, including Nature Publishing Group and Rockefeller University Press, have expressed their support for this acknowledgement of reproducibility.

The Reproducibility Initiative will potentially provide a mechanism for industry to identify robust drug targets for developing effective new therapies. “Improving the robustness of published data on early targets would have a significant impact on the efficiency of the drug development process,” said Dr. Christopher Haskell, Head of the US Science Hub at Bayer HealthCare. “The Reproducibility Initiative seeks to address this challenge.”

In agreement were Dr. Lee Ellis of MD Anderson and Dr. John Ioannidis of Stanford University, both Advisors to the Reproducibility Initiative. “It is critically important to independently validate preclinical data before moving to the clinic,” said Dr. Ellis, who co-authored a widely read article in Nature earlier this year on the need to improve the reliability of preclinical cancer studies. Dr. Ioannidis, who published a study in PLOS Medicine titled “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False,” also offered his support, stating “The Reproducibility Initiative is a very important pilot effort, offering valuable insights on how reproducibility checks can work in real life.”

The Reproducibility Initiative is initially accepting 40-50 studies for validation. Studies will be selected on the basis of potential clinical impact and the scope of the experiments required and, in aggregate, may eventually serve as a proof-of-concept for this mechanism of validation to funding agencies and patient groups. Josh Sommer, Executive Director of the Chordoma Foundation, agreed with the potential promise of the Initiative, noting: “As a patient group ourselves, we can’t afford to fund anything but research that is reproducible and robust enough to be developed into new therapies.”  Sommer will participate with Iorns and PLOS editor Dr. Elizabeth Silva in an upcoming webinar about the Initiative hosted by the advocacy organization, Faster Cures, in early September 2012.

Reproducible science incentives could build a foundation for robust translational research and improved therapies. “As awareness of irreproducibility grows, we wanted to provide a way for top quality researchers to distinguish themselves.  This is truly a great opportunity for scientists with potentially groundbreaking results to garner direct validation of their work, and to lead the charge for reproducible science” said Dr. Iorns.

Scientists can submit their study for validation at: www.reproducibilityinitiative.org

Core facilities or CROs can join Science Exchange at: www.scienceexchange.com/provider

REPRODUCIBILITY INITIATIVE SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD

The Scientific Advisory Board for the Initiative includes leaders from a variety of scientific disciplines who have championed the need for new ways to ensure the integrity and reproducibility of published research: Lee Ellis (University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center), John Ioannidis (Stanford University), Victoria Stodden (Columbia University), Bernard Munos (InnoThink Center for Research in Biomedical Innovation), Brian Nosek (University of Virginia), Bruce Booth (Atlas Ventures), George Robertson (Delhouise University), Heather Piwowar (Duke University), G. Sitta Sittampalam (NIH NCATS), and Elizabeth Iorns (Science Exchange).