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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. Grants target an expanding set of global health topics, and there are two award rounds per year. Projects with demonstrated success in their initial phase of research have the opportunity to receive Phase II funding of up to $1 million.

On May 9, 2012, 107 researchers were awarded new Grand Challenges Explorations grants. Read more about these below. In addition, six Explorations projects were awarded Phase II funding. To read more about these new Phase II grants, select "Phase II" in the Grant Phase drop-down menu, while showing all topics and all rounds.

To review all Explorations projects, select “Show All Topics” in the Topic drop-down menu, "Show All Rounds" in the Date and Grant Round drop-down menu, and “Show All Phases” in the Grant Phase drop-down menu.

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Topic
Technologies
Date and Grant Round
Grant Phase
Showing Grants 1 to 10 of 107
"Bulletin Board" For Broadcasting Vaccine Supply/Demand
Primary Investigator:
Arun Ramanujapuram, Logistimo, Inc., Bangalore, India - IN
Topic:
Round:
Round 8 – May 2012
Phase:
Phase I
Arun Ramanujapuram of Logistimo, Inc. in India proposes to develop a mobile-phone based "bulletin-board" for capturing and broadcasting availability and demand information for vaccines and medicines. By bringing real-time visibility to these essential goods, stock can be appropriately redistributed to areas of need, and waste can be reduced.
A Biotic Stress Sensor Printed on Maize Leaves
Primary Investigator:
Hideaki Tsutsui, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 8 – May 2012
Phase:
Phase I
Hideaki Tsutsui of the University of California, Riverside in the U.S. will develop a low-cost stamp to directly print biosensors on maize leaves for colorimetric detection of biotic stresses.  The strategy is to develop an immunochromatographic assay using microneedle probes while printing an easily-read color-change detector.
A Device for Self-Sampling of Blood for Infectious Disease
Primary Investigator:
Ian Matthews, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom - GB
Topic:
Round:
Round 8 – May 2012
Phase:
Phase I
Ian Matthews of Cardiff University in the United Kingdom proposes to develop a self-sampling micro-needle patch device for the collection of small volumes of blood. Micro-needles will be fabricated using Deep Reactive Ion Etching. The device will permit non-refrigerated transport of collected blood for subsequent assays for diagnosis of infectious disease.
A Diagostic Test for Poor Anti-TB Drug Bioavailability
Primary Investigator:
Christopher Vinnard, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 8 – May 2012
Phase:
Phase I
Christopher Vinnard of Drexel University in the U.S. proposes to develop a low-cost point-of-care urine test that can safely and accurately identify tuberculosis patients who poorly absorb anti-TB drugs. Testing patients for inadequate drug bioavailability could enable better drug dose optimization and decrease transmission rates.
A Microbial Platform for the Biosynthesis of New Drugs
Primary Investigator:
Christina Smolke, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 8 – May 2012
Phase:
Phase I
Christina Smolke of Stanford University in the U.S. will develop synthetic biology platforms to improve the scale and efficiency of microbial systems used to discover, develop, and produce drugs based on natural products.  Such new biosynthesis approaches could lead to new and less expensive drugs for global health.
A Mobile Cloud System to Achieve Universal Vacccination
Primary Investigator:
Alain Labrique, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 8 – May 2012
Phase:
Phase I
Alain Labrique of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the U.S. will develop and field test in rural Bangladesh a cloud-based mobile phone system that will allow for universal access to vaccination records, send vaccine reminders and messaging, and provide incentives to parents and health care workers via a phone application. This new strategy could increase the reach, coverage, and public acceptance of immunization.
A Passive Solar Thermal Standard for Vaccine Storage Rooms
Primary Investigator:
Loriana  Dembele, Eau et Vie Jiduma, Bamako, Mali - ML
Topic:
Round:
Round 8 – May 2012
Phase:
Phase I
Loriana Dembele of Eau et Vie Jiduma in Mali proposes to develop new architecture and construction guidelines for vaccine storage rooms in hot climates that incorporate passive solar thermal technologies to keep vaccines at recommended temperatures. The team will construct and test prototype storage facilities using a variety of building materials to determine new standards that prevent vaccine spoilage, reduce operating costs, and improve refrigeration capabilities.
A Predictive Model for Vaccine Testing Based on Aptamers
Primary Investigator:
Alexander Douglas, Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom - GB
Topic:
Round:
Round 8 – May 2012
Phase:
Phase I
Alexander Douglas of the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford in the United Kingdom will use synthetic nucleic acid molecules known as aptamers to develop a model that can be used to predict the success or failure of new vaccines in clinical trials. This work could help to remove some of the uncertainty in the early-stage development of new vaccines.
A Probiotic-based Approach To Improve Child Nutrition
Primary Investigator:
Alip Borthakur, University of Illinois at Chicago, Plainfield, IL, United States - US
Topic:
Round:
Round 8 – May 2012
Phase:
Phase I
Alip Borthakur of the University of Illinois at Chicago in the U.S. will characterize the effects of probiotics on epithelial uptake of the fatty acid butyrate in vitro and in a mouse model to inform therapeutic strategies to cure and prevent acute diarrhea and malnutrition in children.
A Single Strategy to Attack Insect Vector and Transmitted Virus
Primary Investigator:
Stéphane Blanc, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Montpellier, France - FR
Topic:
Round:
Round 8 – May 2012
Phase:
Phase I
Stéphane Blanc of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in France will target a newly described structure at the tip of aphid stylets, the acrostyle, to block transmission of plant viruses and disturb insect feeding.  The proposed work will identify specific proteins in the acrostyle for targeting in future interventions.
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