Harnessing the power of crowds for cancer prevention

Four years ago, HSPH alumnus Eric Ding, SD ’07, a researcher and instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, created the Campaign for Cancer Prevention, the first online platform where donors can contribute directly to individual cancer prevention research. Ding was profiled by The New York Times on December 8, 2011.

All of the research projects on the site are affiliated with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, which is linked to Harvard Medical School, and have been vetted by a scientific steering committee. The Campaign has more than six million members and has raised more than $400,000.

Ding hopes to continue expanding the scope of the site, he told the Times. “I’d like eventually to translate prevention research into actual prevention, not just for cancer, but also for lots of diseases,” he said. “I feel like the work I’m doing now is just the beginning.”

Read The New York Times article