TED Fellows | Nina Dudnik

Professional Role

Current Titles:

CEO

Current Organizations:

Seeding Labs

Photos

Flickr Photostream

Videos

Projects

Global lab equipment transfer
03/03/2003 – present
We reduce waste in the developed world and affordably equip science in the developing world. We match the surplus of gently-used and new scientific lab equipment from private and academic institutions in the West with vetted universities in developing countries. This equipment has enabled over 4000 students to be trained on modern laboratory equipment, helped labs achieve an average 216% boost to lab funding and produce over 125 publications and 1 patent in areas of high local and global importance.
Project Website »

Global science corps
? – present
Science has the power to produce advances in medicine, agriculture and the environment. To unlock its potential at universities across the developing world, we seek to build a global corps of Western-trained post-doctoral Fellows, placed in research labs for 1 year to teach, jumpstart research and connect scientists in a worldwide innovation network.
Project Website »

Technician summer corps
? – present
A thriving science and technology sector will sustainably employ investigators, administrators and technical support staff - but as the academic infrastructure begins to grow, proficient technicians may not be immediately available. We aim to send annual corps of volunteer engineering and technical students to assist universities with equipment set-up, maintenance and repair.
Project Website »

Biography

I decided at the ripe old age of 13 that I would become a geneticist. An article about the Flavr Savr tomato in my local newspaper fired me up not only about genetics, but about feeding people. I wanted to create new varieties of rice that would grow in the Sahara! Bananas containing edible vaccines! My interest in science always had a humanitarian angle. After finishing my BSc in biochemistry at Brown I worked for several years in international agricultural development including a year in the Ivory Coast as a Fulbright scholar growing and studying rice.. I worked with scientists from dozens of countries conserving local plants and provide better varieties to farmers in poor communities. I moved back to Boston for a PhD in molecular biology at Harvard University, and simultaneously founded Seeding Labs to help scientists like the ones I had met abroad. In 2008 I launched the organization formally with the help of an Echoing Green fellowship. Seeding Labs is dedicated to ensuring that talented scientists worldwide have the resources to do life-changing science. We have now provided over $1.3M worth of laboratory equipment and training to scientists in 17 countries, helped over 4000 students get a hands-on science education, and we are working towards establishing the scientific equivalent to the Peace Corps.