Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Funds 76 New Ideas to Improve Global Health,
From Chewing Gum to Chocolate
Scientists from 16 countries selected for their unconventional projects to
fight infectious diseases
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation today announced 76 grants of US$100,000 each to pursue bold ideas
for transforming health in developing countries. The grants support
researchers in 16 countries with ideas as diverse as developing an electronic
nose to diagnose tuberculosis and using chocolate to help prevent malaria.
"Some of the biggest stumbling blocks in global health are now being overcome
with promising new vaccines and treatments," said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president
of the Gates Foundation's Global Health Program. "Grand Challenges
Explorations will continue to fill the pipeline with possibilities and
hopefully produce a breakthrough idea that could save untold numbers of
lives."
In three rounds of the foundation's Grand Challenges Explorations initiative,
262 researchers representing 30 countries have been awarded grants.
Newly-funded projects include efforts to develop a paper cup that turns
TB-positive sputum samples a bright orange, use a peptide found in scorpions
to block development of the malaria parasite, and adapt a protein that
parasites use to seal their egg cases as a "sticky coating" for intranasal
vaccines.
Grantees from round 3 were selected from almost 3,000 proposals. All levels
of scientists are represented - from young post-graduate investigators to
veteran researchers - as are a wide range of disciplines, such as chemistry,
bioengineering, electronics, mechanical engineering, infectious disease, and
epidemiology. They are based at universities, research institutes, nonprofit
organizations, and private companies around the world. Examples include:
-- Innovative ways to diagnose infectious diseases:
-- Andrew Fung of University of California, Los Angeles aims to
develop
chewing gum that can detect malaria biomarkers in saliva;
-- Ranjan Nanda of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering &
Biotechnology in India will attempt to create a handheld
"electronic
nose" that gathers and analyzes breath samples to diagnose
tuberculosis;
-- Udantha Abeyratne of the University of Queensland in Australia
will
equip mobile phones and mp3 players with microphones to record
cough
and sleep sounds, which could then be screened to diagnose
pneumonia.
-- New strategies to fight malaria and mosquitoes:
-- Steven Maranz of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York will
test
the ability of a compound found in chocolate to keep malaria at
bay;
-- Annette Habluetzel of the University of Camerino in Italy will
create a micropellet food which, when activated by the sun, could
generate toxins that kill mosquito larvae;
-- Peter Lubega Yiga of AdhocWorks Foundation in South Africa will
test
the efficacy of a fermentation-based household mosquito repellent.
-- More effective vaccines:
-- Cecil Czerkinsky of the International Vaccine Institute in Korea
will explore whether vaccines administered under the tongue can
produce strong immune responses in distant organs such as the
lungs
and reproductive tract;
-- Margaret Njoroge of Med Biotech Laboratories in Uganda will
develop
an intranasal vaccine for mothers, designed to induce antibodies
against malaria in breast milk and confer immunity on their
babies;
-- Kate Edwards, at the University of San Diego will study how a
brief
bout of exercise may enhance the efficiency of pneumococcal
vaccine.
About Grand Challenges Explorations
Grand Challenges Explorations is a five-year, $100 million initiative to
promote innovation in global health. It is part of the Grand Challenges in
Global Health initiative, which is supported by the Gates Foundation to
achieve major breakthroughs in global health.
Applications for the next round of Grand Challenges Explorations are being
accepted through November 2, 2009. Grant application instructions, including
the list of topics for which proposals are currently being accepted, are
available at http://www.grandchallenges.org/explorations.
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In
developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them
the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United
States, it seeks to ensure that all people--especially those with the fewest
resources--have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and
life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes
and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda
Gates and Warren Buffett. Learn more at www.gatesfoundation.org.
For high-resolution still photography and information about the foundation's
work, please visit: www.gatesfoundation.org/press-room/Pages/news-market.aspx.
SOURCE Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, +1-206-709-3400, media@gatesfoundation.org
