Foundation Invests in 81 Unconventional Global Health Research Projects - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced 81 grants of US$100,000 each to explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve health in developing countries. The grants were awarded to researchers in 17 countries through the foundation’s Grand Challenges Explorations initiative, which aims to develop a pipeline of creative ideas that could change the face of global heath.

The projects focus on novel approaches to prevent and treat infectious diseases, such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases. The first round of 104 Grand Challenges Explorations grants was announced in October 2008.

“Investments in global health research are already paying big dividends. An incredible number of new vaccines, drugs, and other tools are becoming available to improve health in developing countries,” said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program. “Grand Challenges Explorations is our way to help inspire the bold ideas that could one day help transform global health.”

The 81 funded researchers will explore a wide range of new ideas, including giving mosquitoes a “head cold” to prevent them from detecting and biting humans; developing a tomato to deliver antiviral drugs; and using a laser to enhance the effect of vaccines.

One of the new grants was awarded to Dr. Bikul Das of Stanford University Medical School, who has studied cancer stem cell biology for the last decade but maintains an interest in infectious diseases due to clinical training in India and Bhutan. The new grant will enable him to explore the potential role of stem cells in latent TB infection.

“I am so excited to have this opportunity to join the war against infectious diseases,” said Dr. Das, who read about Grand Challenges Explorations on a plane after speaking at a cancer stem cell conference. “I hope my expertise on cancer and stem cell biology can help enhance the field and relieve suffering.”

Examples of other funded projects include:

• New tools to diagnose and treat diseases:
  


• Luke Savage and Dave Newman of the University of Exeter in the U.K. will attempt to build an inexpensive, battery-powered instrument to diagnose malaria by using magnets to detect the waste products of the malaria parasite in human blood samples.
• Boitumelo Semete at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa will attempt to develop “sticky nanoparticles” that attach to tuberculosis-infected cells and slowly release anti-TB drugs. The new therapy could shorten treatment time and reduce side effects, using existing medications.
• Eric Lam at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in the U.S. will work to develop a tomato that delivers antiviral drugs when eaten.
• Erich Cerny of Wissenschaftlicher Fonds Onkologie in Switzerland, along with his brother Thomas, will test whether inducing antibodies against anti-malarial drugs can significantly prolong the half-life of those drugs in the body, extending their effects.
  
• Creative ways to prevent mosquitoes from infecting humans:
  


• Fredros Okumu of Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania will attempt to design a network of outdoor mosquito traps to help reduce malaria transmission in rural areas.
• Thomas Baker at Pennsylvania State University in the U.S. will examine the potential to infect malaria-carrying mosquitoes with a fungus that – like a head cold – suppresses their sense of smell and their ability to find human hosts.
• Jefferson Vaughan at the University of North Dakota in the U.S. seeks to immunize cattle against mosquitoes. Mosquitoes that bite an immunized cow might then die or have reduced ability to reproduce.
  


• More efficient and effective vaccines:
  


• Lucia Lopalco of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Italy will seek ways to generate “self-targeting antibodies” that attack a receptor protein on human immune cells – potentially blocking the HIV virus from entering cells and preventing HIV infection.
• Fasséli Coulibaly at Monash University in Australia will test whether protein crystals produced by insect viruses can be used as a new way to deliver vaccines. These “MicroCube” protein particles are stable, could be used against multiple diseases, and may not require refrigeration.
  


• Mei Wu at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the U.S. will explore whether illuminating skin with a targeted laser before administering a vaccine can enhance immune response.
  

Applicants were selected from more than 3,000 proposals in the second round. All levels of scientists are represented – from veteran researchers to young post-graduate investigators – as are a range of disciplines, such as neurobiology, immunology, and polymer science. The grantees are based at universities, research institutes, nonprofit organizations, and private companies in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

Learn more about the complete list of Grand Challenges funded projects.

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 May 28, 2009. Grant application instructions, including the list of topic areas in which proposals are currently being accepted, are available at the Grand Challenges Explorations web site.