Global Grand Challenges
  • Grant Opportunities
  • Challenges
  • Awards
  • Champions
  • Partnerships
  • News
  • About

The Phageome of Environmental Enteropathy

Lori Holtz of Washington University in the U.S. will analyze the composition of bacteriophage (viruses that infect bacteria) in the gut of young children to see if it is linked with the chronic inflammatory gut condition, environmental enteropathy, which is highly prevalent in low-income countries and is linked to malnutrition and stunted growth. They will perform metagenomic sequencing on available fecal samples taken over a 6-month period from 489 children under age two from Malawi who were tested for gut dysfunction. They will analyze both RNA and DNA bacteriophage populations as well as the bacterial microbiome and evaluate their association with each other and with the development of environmental enteropathy. Specific bacteriophage associated with the presence or absence of the disease could lead to the development of new treatments.

More information about Addressing Newborn and Infant Gut Health Through Bacteriophage-Mediated Microbiome Engineering (Round 15)

Great ideas come from everywhere.

Sign up for email updates of the latest grant opportunities and awards.

View the Grand Challenges partnership network

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is part of the Grand Challenges partnership network. Visit www.grandchallenges.org to view the map of awarded grants across this network and grant opportunities from partners.