VEuPathDB, a free online database used daily by infectious disease researchers worldwide, will shut down unless it finds a new way to pay for itself. This matters because the database is essential infrastructure for global parasitology, mycology, and vector biology research—including many Wellcome-funded projects. Rebuilding it from scratch would be prohibitively expensive and devastating for early-career scientists and researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The problem is that users currently have no budget for subscriptions, so a transition period is needed. If this succeeds, VEuPathDB will shift to a voluntary subscription model that covers its production costs, while subsidising access for LMIC researchers and instructors training the next generation. The model could then be applied to other essential but vulnerable research resources. The immediate impact is on research continuity—keeping a quietly critical tool running so scientists can mine data on pathogens, hosts, and vectors without disruption. No direct daily-life change is expected, but the downstream effect is sustained progress in infectious disease research.
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The Eukaryotic Pathogen, Host & Vector Bioinformatics Resource Center (VEuPathDB.org) is a freely available knowledgebase, widely recognized as essential for the daily activities of researchers worldwide – but this advanced data-mining resource is in imminent danger. Dissolution of the team responsible for VEuPathDB would have a devastating impact on global parasitology, mycology, vector biology & infectious disease research (including many Wellcome grants). Reconstructing a comparable resource de novo would be immensely disruptive (particularly for early-career investigators and LMIC scientists) and prohibitively expensive. Compelling evidence suggests that VEuPathDB could be supported through voluntary subscription fees, but establishing this model will require a transition period, as users plan for expenses not currently in their budgets. Following on from preliminary discussions with WT staff, we seek support to facilitate this transition, by: > providing bridge funding to cover production (not research) staff during transition to a financially sustainable subscription model, and > subsidizing subscription costs for LMIC investigators (particularly in Africa), and others based on need (e.g. instructors using VEuPathDB resources to train the next generation of research scientists). This investment addresses the critical challenge of how to ensure long-term sustainability of essential infrastructure, establishing a model applicable to other similar resources as well.
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