Researcher nears crowdfunding goal in fight against Ebola

A scientist at the Scripps Research Institute is nearing her goal of raising $100,000 through a crowdfunding website to buy equipment to assist the international effort to find a cure for Ebola.

As of Saturday morning, the appeal on Crowdrise.com by Erica Ollmann Saphire had raised $70,520 from 702 donors. Once the $25,000 match from an anonymous donor is figured in, the appeal is close to Saphire’s goal of $100,000.

Saphire, a professor in the department of immunology and microbial science at the La Jolla-based institute, placed an appeal on Oct. 9 in hopes of raising money to supplement funding from the federal government.

Twenty-five laboratories in seven countries are sending antibodies to Scripps so that Saphire and other researchers can hunt for the best combination to fight Ebola. “With the Ebola virus, we’re in a race,” Saphire said.

Saphire’s appeal was the first time that a researcher at the institute has turned to crowdfunding, an increasingly popular method of seeking public financial support for academic projects.

David Blinder, senior vice president for external affairs at the institute, said the crowdfunding donations “will have an immediate impact on the work of Dr. Saphire and her team and speed the discovery of treatments for this deadly virus.”