A retired New Hampshire physician who won a court fight to get the names of scientists rejected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is putting the final touches on an alternative Web marketplace for research ideas. FundAScientist is intended to connect scientists seeking funding with investors. All researchers are welcome to sign on, but those whose proposals were turned down by the NIH are getting a special invitation.
"The NIH is a very efficient screening tool to screen out innovation," said George M. Kurzon, the physician who plans to launch the FundAScientist Web operation this month.
He forced the agency to give up the names through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in 2001. But Kurzon is inviting rejected researchers to participate in FundAScientist, rather than simply posting the NIH no-go list. At a cost of about $1 per name, the doctor is contacting approximately 11,000 principal investigators, ...
