Hello.

My name is Emma Hilton, and I am a developmental biologist at the University of Manchester (U.K.) with internationally recognised expertise in sex development and the biological basis of sex differences relevant to sport.

ORCID: 0000-0002-3750-577X

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=A8zl2ggAAAAJ&hl=en

My research record includes highly cited publications on sex, athletic performance and female sports categories, with demonstrable impact on eligibility regulations adopted by numerous national and international sporting bodies, courts, and policymakers.

The problem

Sports federations such as World Athletics and World Boxing are reintroducing sex screening to ensure that the female category remains protected for women and girls. Current sex screening protocols are conceptually straightforward: cheek swabs collect DNA-containing cells, and a routine laboratory assay is used to confirm the presence or absence of the SRY gene that initiates male development.

In practice, however, these protocols require specialist reagents, equipment, and technical expertise, and are associated with delays due to laboratory processing. As a result, access to testing may be limited on a global scale. Although financial support has been offered, costs may still prove prohibitive for some international federations, particularly in developing countries.

A solution?

As a developmental biologist, I have extensive experience in gene detection, including SRY. Using my spare laboratory time, I have been developing a very rapid, low-cost method to detect SRY from cheek swab samples.

To date, this work has been conducted at a laboratory proof-of-concept level. The next phase requires formal standardisation, validation and alignment with international quality standards, all of which require dedicated time and materials.

My aim is to then adapt my standardised, validated SRY detection method into an accessible, on-site, rapid-detection assay that could be deployed without reliance on specialist laboratory infrastructure.

To do this, I am seeking financial support. This is a highly niche area of research, outside of my standard academic research, and I have been unable to identify formal funding streams that support this type of early-stage, applied assay development.

I am therefore seeking private support, via crowdfunding, during this initial “priming” phase. Future funding will be sought from UKRI-backed technology funding streams, supported by my institute.

Project plan and costs

I plan to spend six months, starting January 2026, working full-time on assay development.

I have budgeted total costs of £30,000 for a six-month pilot project. I am currently an unpaid honorary fellow; this budget covers a modest, post-doctoral grade salary (including tax and pension contributions), and the necessary reagents and materials I need to run a small-scale, cross-disciplinary development and validation project spanning developmental biology and materials science.

For contributors interested in making a substantial investment, with a view to potential future commercialisation of the technology platform, I can provide a detailed working budget, payment schedules, relevant supporting documentation, and structured progress reports. Please contact me for further information.

For other supporters, I will publish brief monthly updates here.

For obvious reasons, the technical details of the assay itself are subject to non-disclosure restrictions for those outside my institute.

Any funds remaining at the end of the pilot phase would be used to extend, strengthen and disseminate the project, with full transparency and in line with donor intent.

Disclaimer: This project is my independent academic research. It is not sponsored or commissioned by any of my affiliated organisations. All views and outputs are my own.

Update 1: 28th December

Hello all. I've just passed 25% of my target. Thank you all so much for donating to my research.

I know scientific research can seem a bit 'out there' for some, and many of you won't be aware of what's actually involved. Some of the things I have to buy are expensive in terms of 'up front' cost (the price per assay will stay very cheap), and some things are very inexpensive but as essential as all the fancy, expensive stuff.

OK, there is some 'mad scientist', glow-in-the-dark work afoot, but all of this needs to happen in simple plastic tubes and plates that cost a couple of quid a bag, moved around in sterile pipette tips that are penny apiece, mixed into the most expensive water on the planet (OK, maybe not at a very fancy restaurant). And I have to pay my institute for some electricity (the regular, not 'mad scientist', kind) and so on.

All of your donations count, and I promise to look after the £2s as well as the £200s. I am very honoured you have chosen to back me on this.