FAQ
I would like to ask you about...
Hint: read it backwards.
Seerave is named for Eva Rees, whose experience fighting metastatic melanoma inspired her husband David to establish the Foundation in 2015.
It is pronounced SEE-rayv.
Seerave aims is to improve cancer patients' lives by leveraging the symbiosis between the immune system and the microbiome.
Seerave aims to improve cancer patients's lives by leveraging the symbiosis between the immune system and the microbiome. We do this by supporting collaborative, cross-disciplinary academic endeavors and early-stage ventures that translate scientific insights into novel clinical guidelines and tools.
No.
Yes. Many outcomes from our activities can be considered relevant for a broad audience interested in health and science topics. Some of them have been featured in documentaries and news articles:
- The potential of Microbiome science in health explained in a documentary accessible to laypeople (The Invisible Extinction)
- Periodic Table of Food Initiative launches with an aim to revolutionize human and planetary health (PR Newswire)
- BiomeSense raises $3 million in funding round (HealthTechWorld, Business Wire)
- Healthy gut bacteria may improve the success of cancer treatment (Guernsey Press, Jersey Evening Post)
- Why scientists are preserving gut bacteria from around the world (Razor documentary on YouTube)
Yes. Please contact info@seerave.org with media inquiries.
No. There are FDA-approved microbiome therapies accessible for patients with Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection but not yet for cancer. However, there is more and more evidence emerging and new clinical trials launched, all of which may pave the path towards novel diagnostic and therapeutic routes in the future:
- Melanoma and microbiota: Current understanding and future directions: https://www.cell.com/cancer-cell/fulltext/S1535610823004312
- Association of a Mediterranean Diet With Outcomes for Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Blockade for Advanced Melanoma: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2801594
- Long-term dietary patterns are associated with pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory features of the gut microbiome: https://gut.bmj.com/content/70/7/1287.abstract
- Fecal microbiota transplantation plus anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in advanced melanoma: a phase I trial : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37414899/
We unfortunately are not able to do so at this stage. However, we recommend that you look into the following resources:
- For personalised information on your cancer journey: My Cancer Navigator of the Anti Cancer Fund
- Cancer Commons is a non-profit network of patients, physicians, and scientists united by a shared goal—to optimize each patient’s outcome and maximize collective learning to benefit the next patient.
- To look for ongoing clinical trials globally: clinicaltrials.gov
Seerave is comfortable both as a lead investor or as part of a syndicate of aligned investors. Furthermore, Seerave seeks to play an active role in accelerating technology development, leveraging its team and network to support portfolio companies, beyond its financial commitments.
As an impact investor, Seerave will focus on companies where we can have a catalytic impact on their development. In practice, this means Seerave will likely focus on pre-Seed and Seed stage companies, though Seerave will remain stage agnostic.
Seerave Foundation has a firm policy not to pay any overheads to governing institutions when making donations, gifts or grants to research partners. We therefore request that applicants not allocate any portion of the Seerave Foundation's funds toward indirect costs or overheads but to direct the entire amount to the relevant research projects.
Seerave Foundation provides grants for scientific studies as well as other science-based projects that may accelerate our mission. Proposals are by invitation only. Currently, Seerave is working to build a consortium of research institutions and hospitals with clinical data on a combined >5,000 cancer patients to address specific evidence gaps concerning the impact of microbiome modifiers on cancer immunotherapy.
Seerave Ventures makes equity investments in early-stage startups with strong technical merit. Often, these are spinouts of university labs. Seerave enables the sustainable clinical development, validation, market approval, and commercialization of new technologies through high-level engagement and support of 3-5 mission aligned companies.
Principles:
- Seerave Ventures is designed to deliver scalable impact to advance Seerave’s mission (within 5 years)
- Seerave Ventures is a vehicle for delivering impact (before returns)
- Seerave Ventures is intended to fill a gap in the market, not to displace market players
Proposals are by invitation only.
Yes, we are very much open to collaborating with other philanthropic entities.
Some examples of our collaborations include:
No. We support efforts that achieve our goals without regard to political affiliation.
The funding comes from a family endowment. David Rees co-founded the downstream oil company Greenergy, which was sold in May 2017 and the resulting proceeds were bequeathed to Seerave to fund its philanthropic activities.
Yes. Seerave Foundation is a registered NPO under Non-Profit Organisations (Jersey) Law 2008, with registration number NPO-7095.
The Seerave Foundation was incorporated in Jersey on 26 March 2015 as a foundation under the Foundations (Jersey) Law, 2009, as amended, with registration number FD280.
Seerave uses a combination of traditional grant donations for academic researchers as well as equity investments into early-stage start-ups. All of our collaborations are mission-aligned. Our project portfolio is built around international alliances of world-leading institutions, visionary scientists and entrepreneurs.
Seerave is a proactive family Foundation established in Jersey (Channel Islands). We are inspired by personal experiences and driven by the conviction that through collaboration we will be able to accelerate science and catalyse innovation to enable our vision that every cancer patient has access to personalised, integrative treatment and care.