Background

High-throughput approaches to genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics have identified diverse candidate biomarkers of health and disease. Validated biomarkers coupled with new technologies for miniaturization and highly parallel detection could enable radically new ways to diagnose health and disease states in an individual, even in remote or impoverished settings.

Roadblock

Lack of accurate and sensitive biomarkers appropriate for point-of-care assessment tools in the developing world means that many health risks and illnesses remain poorly defined and receive inappropriate treatment. In addition, little information about the burden of disease is available to guide population health decisions.

Challenge

To discover and validate biomarkers for use in simple, low-cost tests appropriate for achieving definitive point-of-care assessment of health and disease states in individuals in developing world settings.