About
Our standards
Five commitments. They are how we decide what to fund, what to say, and what to spend.
- Every statistic links to a named source.
We checked each journal article's DOI against the Crossref registry and requested every external link on September 21, 2026. The full list is on the sources page.
- We confirm every position before we pay.
A student applies with the lab, the mentor, and the dates. We contact the lab to confirm the position exists and does not pay enough to live on.
- Money goes to named costs for named students.
A gift pays rent, a stipend, books, or a journal fee for a specific student. We do not pool gifts into overhead.
- We report back.
Each funder hears what its gift paid for: the kind of position, the costs covered, and what the student produced.
- We stay small.
A handful of college students runs SRI. We buy no advertising and run no paid programs, so the money reaches students.
How we choose students
A student qualifies when three things are true: they hold an offer for a research position in the health sciences, the life sciences, or health economics; the position pays nothing, or less than it costs to take; and the money would decide whether they accept. We do not judge the research idea beyond confirming it is real. The lab already did that when it made the offer.
How we confirm a position
We contact the mentor or the lab and confirm the dates, the hours, and what the position pays. A position we cannot confirm does not get funded.
How we direct money
Each gift is tied to a named cost for a named student. We pay housing to the landlord or the student, stipends to the student on a schedule, book budgets against receipts, and journal fees to the journal.
How we cite
Every statistic on this site carries a numbered reference to a named source. Journal articles are cited by DOI, and we checked every DOI against the Crossref registry. We requested every external link on the site and removed any that failed. The sources page lists everything and shows where each source appears.
How we keep overhead low
A small team of college students runs SRI. We buy no advertising and run no paid programs. Website and tooling costs stay near zero.
What we will not claim
We do not claim decision influence or outcomes we cannot show. Where the evidence has limits, we say so: see the last section of the evidence page.
For companies and foundations
Fund a student researcher
Your gift pays for rent, a stipend, books, or a journal fee. It goes to a student who has the position and lacks the money to take it.