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 Grand Challenges Explorations Grants

Grand Challenges Explorations fosters creative projects that show great promise to improve the health of people in the developing world. Initial grants are awarded two times a year, and successful projects have the opportunity to receive additional funding of up to $1 million.

On May 10, 2010, the Gates Foundation announced that 78 new global health projects received Grand Challenges Explorations grants. Learn more about these below. Round 5 grants will be announced in October 2010.

To review all 340 Explorations projects, select "Show All Rounds" in the Round drop-down menu.

 Find Awarded Grants By

Topic
Technologies
Round
Showing Grants 1 to 10 of 22
A Novel Approach of Creating an Attenuated Pneumonia Vaccine
Primary Investigator:
Vijay Pancholi, The Ohio State University Research Foundation, Columbus, OH, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 3 – October 2009
Vijay Pancholi of The Ohio State University Research Foundation in the U.S. will attempt to attenuate the S. pneumonia bacteria by altering export of the GAPDH enzyme, a function thought to be essential to the bacteria’s survival. Preventing export of this key enzyme will decrease bacterial virulence, allowing the attenuated strain to be used for development an affordable live vaccine for pneumococcal pneumonia.
A Novel Effective Vaccine Against Cholera
Primary Investigator:
Michael Lebens, University of Gothenburg Institute for Vaccine Research (GUVAX), Gothenburg, Sweden - SE
Topic:
Round:
Round 3 – October 2009
Michael Lebens of the University of Gothenburg Institute for Vaccine Research in Sweden proposes to develop a new oral cholera vaccine using a single cholera strain that expresses antigens for both the Inaba and Ogawa serotypes, as well as produces cholera toxin subunits that act as an adjuvant to stimulate mucosal immune activity.
A Single Vaccine Against Pneumococcus and Typhoid Fever
Primary Investigator:
Yingjie Lu, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 3 – October 2009
Yingjie Lu and Richard Malley of Children's Hospital Boston in the U.S. will develop a bivalent vaccine by conjugating a fusion of three novel, highly-conserved pneumococcal antigens to the already approved Vi polysaccharide vaccine used for typhus. The team will test its ability to induce strong humoral and cellular immune responses against both pneumococcus and typhoid fever.
Dendritic Cell Receptor-Targeted Malaria Vaccines
Primary Investigator:
Rajan George, Paladin Biosciences, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - CA
Topic:
Round:
Round 3 – October 2009
Rajan George of Paladin Biosciences, a division of Paladin Labs Inc. in Canada will produce a vaccine with multiple malaria antigens to target dendritic cell receptors and without the need for an adjuvant, in an effort to induce both antibody and cell-mediated immune responses to the malaria parasite at various stages of the infection.
Develop Novel Receptor Blocking Vaccines Against P. falciparum and P. viva
Primary Investigator:
Deepak Gaur, International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, Delhi, India - IN
Topic:
Round:
Round 3 – October 2009
Deepak Gaur, Chetan Chitnis and Virander Chauhan of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology in India will attempt to develop a blood-stage malaria vaccine that uses a combination of two proteins found among a wide diversity of malaria parasites. Their goal is to stimulate antibodies that would stop parasite infection of red blood cells by blocking multiple pathways of invasion.
Development of a Genetically-Attenuated Live Malaria Vaccine
Primary Investigator:
Krystal Evans, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Australia - AU
Topic:
Round:
Round 3 – October 2009
Krystal Evans of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Australia will knock out several proteins that support the expression of the major virulence factor for the malaria parasite. Their aim is create a genetically-attenuated live malaria vaccine that elicits a strong immune response against diverse strains of the parasite.
Engineered H. pylori as a Diarrheal Vaccine Platform
Primary Investigator:
Martin Blaser, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 3 – October 2009
Martin Blaser of the New York University School of Medicine in the U.S. proposes to engineer a harmless modification of H. pylori, a bacteria commonly found in the human stomach, to deliver antigens to protect against intestinal pathogens such as cholera and campylobacter. This modified H. pylori can only survive in the presence of an enzyme supplied in special drinking water, allowing those administering the vaccine to regulate its colonization.
Enhancing TB Vaccines with Gene Silencing
Primary Investigator:
Jinhee Lee, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worchester, MA, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 3 – October 2009
Jinhee Lee and Gary Ostroff of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the U.S. will test the idea of delivering small interfering RNA (siRNAs) via glucan particles in an oral TB vaccine formulation. The team will utilize the siRNAs’ ability to block immunosuppressive signaling and amplify the immune response.
Genetic Fossils Used As Vaccine Targets for HIV
Primary Investigator:
Jonah Sacha, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 3 – October 2009
Because HIV infection activates endogenous retroviruses (ERV) in human cells, which are naturally dormant, Jonah Sacha of the University of Wisconsin in the U.S. will target T-cells against these ERV antigens. If true, new host-directed vaccines could be developed to eliminate HIV infected cells.
Ghost HIV Virus to Stimulate the Immune System
Primary Investigator:
Paul Kim, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 3 – October 2009
Paul Kim of Johns Hopkins University in the U.S. will modify HIV by removing the viral genome and replacing the outer domain of the gp120 protein, used by the virus to invade host immune cells, with receptors normally used by gp120 to bind to host cells. When this modified ghost virus encounters native HIV during an infection, hidden epitopes are exposed to the host immune system, stimulating antibodies to clear the infection.
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