Martha Carlin is an accountant by profession, but after her husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, she became convinced that what he was eating was part of the problem. Her citizen scientist journey where she delved into a possible connection led to her co-found a company called The BioCollective along with two other partners including a researcher from the University of Chicago.

The BioCollective offers members the opportunity to participate in scientific discovery by providing microbiome samples for researchers. With consent, every sample is divided and sold to academic and commercial microbiome researchers. Phase I of the business is sample collection, preservation and building a base of research customers. Phase II offerings will include the opportunity for members to store a sample while they are healthy for potential use in the restoration of microbial balance in the future. Members share in the revenues generated from the sale of their samples and ultimately in shared discoveries from their research customer base.

Martha says she uses the same skills she applied in accounting and operations management where she applied systems to understand small breaks in a system that might be the cause of issues.

Martha Carlin is one of the NeuroConX 2018 Conference speakers in Charlottetown, July 8-10th in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Martha will also present her story at a public lecture on Sunday, July 8th at 7:00 p.m.

Listen to her TEDx talk and learn more about her fascinating story: