UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 27 May 2009 -  Recently the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced 81 grants of US$100,000 each to explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve global 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 by preventing and treating  infectious diseases, such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases.

“Investments in global health research are already paying big dividends," stated Dr. Tachi Yamada, who is the president of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program. "An incredible number of new vaccines, drugs, and other tools are becoming available to improve health in developing countries,” 

The grantees are based at universities, research institutes, nonprofit organizations, and private companies in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

Applicants were selected from more than 3,000 proposals and represented all levels of science – from veteran researchers to young post-graduate investigators – as are a range of disciplines, such as neurobiology, immunology, and polymer science. 

A wide range of new ideas will be explored by 81 researchers that include giving mosquitoes a “head cold” to prevent them from detecting and biting humans; the development of a tomato to deliver antiviral drugs; and the use of a laser to enhance the effect of vaccines.

Dr. Bikul Das of Stanford University Medical School was awarded a grant to study 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. “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 include:

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.

Creative ways to make vaccines more efficient and effective include:

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.

For a more complete list of grantees, see: Grand Challenges funded projects.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aims 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. 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.