MEDIA RELEASE PR36615
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Funds 76 New Ideas to Improve Global Health, From
Chewing Gum to Chocolate
ARUSHA, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Three scientists in India selected for their unconventional projects to fight infectious diseases
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, including three from India, 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:
-- Ranjan Nanda, K.V.S. Rao and Virander Chauhan of the International
Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology in Delhi will attempt to
create a handheld "electronic nose" that gathers and analyzes breath
samples to diagnose tuberculosis in resource-poor settings;
-- Abani Nag and Amiya Hati of Vivekananda International Health Centre in
Kolkata will test whether liver ultrasounds and functional liver enzyme
tests can help care providers differentiate between relapse and re-
infection of malaria, leading to better treatment in endemic areas;
-- Deepak Gaur, Chetan Chitnis and Virander Chauhan of the International
Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology in Delhi will work to
develop a malaria vaccine that blocks invasion pathways used by a wide
diversity of malaria parasites.
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
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
For high-resolution still photography and information about the foundation's work, please visit:
SOURCE: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
CONTACT: Suparna Srivastava,
Vaishnavi PR,
+91 98180 05280,
suparnag@vccpl.com
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