We're calling it the "Help Buy a Researcher" Fund :) Angela Christiano has notified HairlossTalk that the recent Kirsch grant funding the latest follicle cloning research project for herself and Dr. Colin Jahoda will be one of the first to open its doors for donations from the general public. Now you can actually do something to contribute to speeding up hair loss research...
Back at the beginning of January, we met with Dr. Angela Christiano and Dr. Colin Jahoda at Columbia University in New York City to discuss their latest updates on their hair research projects. It was a very informative meeting, and the announcement was given to us at that time that they were in the process of being approved for a fund from the Kirsch foundation to join the race for finding a successful way to perform follicle cloning.
Later that month, the Kirsch foundation made their formal announcement about this grant, and the buzz has been going for quite some time as to what it all might mean. (See the Kirsch announcement here: http://www.kirschfoundation.org/hair_follicle.html)
Finally, you can Make a Difference
Dr. Christiano
Can you spare a dollar? HairlossTalk serves up now over 130,000 users a month. If everyone gave only $1 it would be sufficient to fund this project, and would get the attention of the pharmaceutical and research industries, that we consumers are anxiously awaiting some progress. We believe this will result in future projects that will not be limited by the "marketability" issue which has resulted in denied grants to those who can help find a cure. The people will begin to influence what gets researched, and future projects should spring up from foundations like Kirsch, who exist to fund research projects *for the people*, not for big business.
Dr. Christiano told us that this will be one of the only major hair research
projects that the public will actually have an opportunity to directly affect. Private sponsorship
by the general public can now directly increase the speed and efficiency at which the search for a marketable follicle cloning technology is conducted. Many feel that if and when this technology is perfected, it will be the cure to hair loss, and the next natural progression of the hair transplant and surgical hair restoration industry. It will likely also signal the end to pharmaceutical and topical treatments that consumers subject their bodies to, in a desperate attempt to keep their hair.
The actual grant amount, $230,000, as many have pointed out, is not considered substantial as research grants go. It is sufficient to fund Dr. Christiano, Dr. Jahoda, and 2 team members for each of them, in their respective research facilities, for one year. 2 people is not much, and as a bare-bones operation, the speed at which it moves may be limited.
The good news is that every bit of help they can get from private investors will directly increase the number of researchers who are assigned to this project, and consequently increase the speed and efficiency at which the research is done.
How much will actually make a Difference?
Dr. Jahoda
According to the doctors, to fund one additional researcher for this project would
require about $75,000. This would include the Researchers salary, and 1-2 years
of laboratory supplies, and additional expenses for performing the work. For some,
$75,000 is a mountain of money and for others, $75,000 given to a worthwhile cause
like curing hair loss for the first time in human history may seem like pocket
change. Our goal at HLT is not to beg for money on behalf of these researchers. There are enough of you out there that you only need to send in one dollar to fully fund this project.
HairlossTalk serves nearly 1.5 million users per year right now. "If each
person who visits HairlossTalk for 1 month gave even just $1, that would be enough
to provide us with nearly 2 new researchers, and that will only help speed up
the process. Every little bit helps." said Dr. Christiano.
You can actually contribute to this grant and be personally responsible for adding
additional researchers to it.
