Seems his work is mostly in brain damage by external factors. Considering the "brain damage by mining rig heat stroke" stories on here there should be a plethora of case subjects.
...or he can devise a way to use rodents in a maze to perform hashing calculations. With gates and everything.
Seriously, though, this is a small step, but very important: rather than having to rely on centralized authorities/markets to crowdfund science (petridish.org, sciencedonors.com...) , Bitcoin enables direct, easy, worldwide p2p fundraising. If Bitcoin continues to grow, and more goods and services become available directly in exchange for btc, this may become viable funding path for many.