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Grand Challenges is a family of initiatives fostering innovation to solve key global health and development problems. Each initiative is an experiment in the use of challenges to focus innovation on making an impact. Individual challenges address some of the same problems, but from differing perspectives.

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Enabling Merchant Acceptance of Mobile Money Payments in Nelamangala, India

Chrisitine YeeSmith CollegeNorthampton, Massachusetts, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Mobile Money
1 Nov 2015

Christine Yee with Darpan Bohara and Yashna Sureka of Smith College in the U.S. will develop a fingerprint scanner that can link to phone networks and banks to enable merchants to easily and quickly accept mobile money payments in India. Fingerprint identification is relatively secure and will simplify the payment process so people with different levels of literacy can use it. They will test their prototype by giving deposits to a group of students and scanners to local merchants in Nelamangala, India, and providing the associated knowledge and resources needed to use their mobile money transfer system.

Engineered H. pylori as a Diarrheal Vaccine Platform

Martin BlaserNew York UniversityNew York, New York, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Vaccines
1 Nov 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.

Engineering Hurdles: Mitigating Bacteriophage-Resistance

Samuel AlcaineUniversity of Massachusetts AmherstAmherst, Massachusetts, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Bacteriophage
1 Nov 2015

Samuel Alcaine of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the U.S. will engineer bacteriophage (viruses that infect bacteria) to produce an antimicrobial compound that helps avoid bacteria such as enteroaggregative Escherichia coli developing resistance to the phage, thereby increasing their value for treating associated childhood diseases. Phage could be valuable for treating intestinal diseases that cause severe morbidity and mortality in developing countries as they can selectively destroy pathogenic bacteria. However, some bacteria rapidly develop resistance to the phage, which renders them useless. By inducing phage-infected bacteria to also release a toxic substance (bacteriocin), this would destroy any potentially resistant neighboring bacteria. They will engineer T7 bacteriophage to express one of two selected bacteriocins and test their ability to circumvent phage resistance in E. coli.

Enhancing TB Vaccines with Gene Silencing

Jinhee LeeUniversity of MassachusettsWorcester, Massachusetts, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Vaccines
1 Nov 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.

Ensure Year-Wise Nutritional Food Security to Indian Women Through Community Level Implementation of Domestic Solar Conduction Dryer

Vaibhav TidkeScience for SocietyAurangabad, , India
Grand Challenges India
Agriculture and Nutrition
15 Dec 2015

The project aims to ensure food-security throughout the entire year in a rural district by storing food through an innovative technology known as the Solar Conduction Dryer. It also aims to add extra income to women farmers from the sale of the dehydrated products of this technology, while providing valuable lessons in post-harvest losses.

Epigenetic and Biological Markers of Preterm Birth, Fetal Growth, Early Childhood Growth and Neurodevelopment: Expanding the Scope of AMANHI Pregnancy Biorepository Cohort

Rajiv BahlWorld Health OrganizationGeneva, Switzerland
Grand Challenges
All Children Thriving
14 Nov 2015

Eradication of Malaria through the Development of Host Directed Therapy

Simon FooteMenzies Research InstituteDarwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Grand Challenges Explorations
Malaria Eradication
8 Oct 2009

Simon Foote of the Menzies Research Institute at the University of Tasmania in Australia will use "forward genetic screening" approaches identify mutations that confer resistance after exposure to malaria parasites. The team will use this powerful information to develop drug therapies that target the human host and mimic these protective genetic effects.

Estimation of Weight, Volume and Density of a Neonatal Brain

Nishant KumarEmbryyo Technologies Private Ltd.Pune, Maharashtra, India
Grand Challenges Explorations
Brain Function/Gestational Age
1 May 2015

Nishant Kumar of Embryyo Technologies Private Limited will develop a head scanner that can determine the weight and volume of the brain of a newborn to help monitor health. Current methods rely on expensive or complex techniques that require trained staff. They will develop a portable imaging scanner and a mattress that can measure the weight of the head, and use them to render a 3D mesh volume template of the head. This template can then be used to compute brain volume and weight by subtracting known volumes of bone and dermal tissues. They will test their scanner on 100 neonates and determine its efficacy by comparing the results with standard methods.

Evaluating the Impact of Social Factors and Interventions on Healthy Growth and Development: the 80 Million Brazilian Cohort

Mauricio Lima BarretoFiocruzRio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Grand Challenges Brazil
All Children Thriving
20 Oct 2015

Mauricio Lima Barreto from Fiocruz in Brazil will evaluate the impact of social and economic inequalities, and the national family allowance program (Bolsa Familia), on healthy births and early childhood health and development. They will setup a cohort, which will be derived from a central database of named households created to support Brazil’s social programs, and a data center for the analysis. They will use a variety of demographic, economic and social data on families, as well as information on births and childhood deaths, and child growth. The impact of receiving family allowance, and the effect of its value and duration, on outcomes such as birth weight, prematurity, fetal death, and early childhood growth will also be measured. This approach will generate evidence to help maximize the value of the social program and inform future related policies.

Evidence-Based Integration of Schistosomiasis and Malaria

Rebecca KatzGeorge Washington UniversityWashington, District of Columbia, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Community-Based Interventions
1 May 2015

Rebecca Katz of George Washington University in the U.S. will identify the most cost-efficient and effective way to integrate the existing mass drug administration program for the parasitic disease schistosomiasis with the control program for malaria in Yemen. Both diseases are widespread in Yemen, but control efforts are currently separate, so combining them would pool financial and human resources. They will build a framework to model the health systems and structures in the current individual control programs and use it to quantify the relative strengths of different modes of integration. The chosen integration method will be assessed for cost and coverage by comparing it against other methods.

Excreting HIV Using Antibodies

Edward DolkUtrecht UniversityUtrecht, Netherlands
Grand Challenges Explorations
Mucosal Immunity
6 Oct 2009

Edward Dolk of Utrecht University in the Netherlands proposes using two-sided antibodies, which bind to HIV and to transport receptors in the epithelium. Binding these receptors will cause excretion of the HIV particles outside of the body, thereby reducing viral load.

Exosomes as a Novel M. tuberculosis Vaccine

Jeff SchoreyUniversity of Notre DameNotre Dame, Indiana, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Vaccines
1 May 2009

Jeff Schorey of the University of Notre Dame in the U.S. will evaluate the use of exosomes, which are small membrane vesicles released from macrophages infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as a new platform for TB vaccines. Exosomes contain proteins and glycolipids that can elicit a robust innate and acquired immune response.

Experimental Human Carriage of Pneumococci

Stephen GordonLiverpool School of Tropical MedicineLiverpool, United Kingdom
Grand Challenges Explorations
Vaccines
1 May 2009

Because human carriage of pneumococcus usually results in improved immunity to future infections without any development of disease, Stephen Gordon of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom will use an intranasal inoculation with a safe strain of the bacteria to study the mechanisms of mucosal immunity in the lungs and to explore the potential for a vaccine based on his findings. In this project's Phase I research, Gordon successfully demonstrated that human carriage of pneumococcus provides improved immunity to future infections, and that nasal inoculation immunizes the lungs against the pathogen. In Phase II, Gordon will work to assess the reproducibility of his model to ensure its robustness as a candidate for a pneumococcal vaccine.

Exploring Mobile Money Transaction Data

Paula Hidalgo-SanchisPulse Lab Kampala - UN Global PulseKampala, Uganda
Grand Challenges Explorations
Financial Services Data
1 Nov 2015

Paula Hidalgo-Sanchis and team at Pulse Lab Kampala – UN Global Pulse in Uganda will develop software that can transform raw data on mobile money use in developing countries into user-friendly formats to inform policymakers and researchers to help expand the field. They will collect mobile money and call detail records from two collaborating network providers, while ensuring privacy of users. In parallel, they will collect complementary datasets such as household survey data to enrich the value of the financial services data. They will process the data to evaluate the relationship between mobile money usage and, for example, geographical location or local economic and environmental factors.

Fermentation Based Mosquito Repelling Device

Peter YigaAdhocWorks CCJohannesburg, South Africa
Grand Challenges Explorations
Malaria Eradication
1 Nov 2009

Peter Lubega Yiga of AdhocWorks Foundation in South Africa will test the efficacy of small household containers in which a non-toxic formulation is mixed with water, releasing carbon dioxide and alcohol vapors as a way to repel mosquitos. The investigators will test the device in independent field trials to optimize its usefulness as an alternative to insecticides.

Field Testing of Off-grid, Self-sustained, Modular, Electronic Toilet for Slums, with Solar Energy for Indian Weather and Integrated with Mixed Waste Processing Unit, with Water, Energy/Fertilizer Recovery

Midhu SVEram Scientific Solutions Pvt LtdTrivandrum, , India
Grand Challenges India
Reinvent the Toilet
25 May 2015

This project, undertaken in collaboration with the University of South Florida, U.S., aims to develop and demonstrate an innovative sanitation and resource recovery solution for the slum areas in India.

Finance Application Tool

Ruth FosterTIWA, LLCScottsdale, Arizona, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Mobile Money
1 Nov 2015

Ruth Foster of TIWA, LLC in the U.S. will develop a finance application tool using money pictures to enable illiterate users to make accurate transactions. They will design and test a tablet with touch screen and build associated software for consumers that can be used to scan barcodes, or manually add products and prices. The final cost of the purchases will be automatically displayed using images of real money, which the consumer can then use to pay the correct amount.

Finding Malaria Relapse Using Liver Function Tests

A. NagVivekananda International Health CentreKolkata, West Bengal, India
Grand Challenges Explorations
Malaria Eradication
1 Nov 2009

Abani Nag and Amiya Hati of Vivekananda International Health Centre in India will test the hypothesis that ultrasound measurements of the liver and spleen, as well as functional liver enzyme tests, will to help differentiate cases of relapse versus re-infection of malaria, leading to more appropriate treatment and drug therapies.

Functional Microdispensers for Reducing Outdoor Malaria Transmission

Noel ElmanGearJump Technologies, LLCRevere, Massachusetts, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Malaria Transmission
1 May 2015

Noel Elman of GearJump Technologies in the U.S. will produce a biodegradable device that can be used outdoors for the controlled release of pesticides and mosquito repellants in a defined area. Current methods for reducing malaria transmission by chemically targeting mosquitoes are quite crude and can cause widespread or prolonged exposure of the human population to toxic chemicals. They will build a functional microdispenser (FMD) from biodegradable polymer that releases chemicals contained in a porous membrane upon exposure to oxygen, which can be controlled by various parameters such as pore size. These FMDs can be manufactured at low cost using 3D printers, and will be tested in large outdoor cages.

GAP Year Program (Girls Achieve Power) - Using Sport to Empower Girls at Critical Time of Adolescent Transition

Saiqa MullickWits Health Consortium (Proprietary) LimitedSouth Africa
Grand Challenges
Women and Girls
3 Dec 2015

Saiqa Mullick of Wits Reproductive Health & HIV Research Institute (RHI) in South Africa, along with Grass Root Soccer (GRS), Sonke Gender Justice, and the Population Council, will empower adolescent girls in South African townships as they progress in education by increasing their educational, health, social, and economic assets, while at the same time shifting gender attitudes and encouraging positive behavior among adolescent boys. The “Girls Achieve Power” (GAP) Year Program will work with schools and communities to encourage a culture of health and safety, and promote school retention among adolescent girls. Using soccer as a program platform, and enlisting local coaches as facilitators, the program will enable a healthy and productive progression for adolescent girls through secondary school. Aside from these direct benefits, the program will also expand the evidence base around the impact of asset-building approaches for adolescent girls.

Generation of Influenza-Resistant Chicken by Triple Combination Lentiviral Vector-mediated Genetic Modification

Chen YangchaoThe Chinese University of Hong KongHong Kong, China
Grand Challenges Explorations
Infectious Diseases
1 May 2009

Chen Yangchao of the Chinese University of Hong Kong proposes developing a lentiviral vector that targets the entry and replication of influenza viruses in domestic chickens. The team plans to test the ability of these modified chickens to be resistant to various influenza viruses in an effort to reduce the frequency of flu epidemics in poultry and, ultimately, in humans.

Genetic Fossils Used As Vaccine Targets for HIV

Jonah SachaOregon Health and Science UniversityPortland, Oregon, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Vaccines
1 Nov 2009

Because HIV infection activates naturally-dormant endogenous retroviruses (ERV) in human cells, Jonah Sacha will target T cells against these ERV antigens. Such targeting to eliminate HIV infected cells could be the basis for new host-directed vaccines. In this project’s Phase I research, Sacha and collaborators demonstrated that ERV-specific antibodies are specifically triggered by infection with an exogenous retrovirus like SIV or HIV. In Phase II, Sacha, now at the Oregon Health & Science University in the U.S., will investigate whether ERV-specific antibodies can block transmission of AIDS viruses in animal models, leading to their potential use as a therapeutic and prophylactic vaccine.

Ghost HIV Virus to Stimulate the Immune System

Paul KimJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, Maryland, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Vaccines
1 Nov 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.

Girls for Health: Empowering Rural Girls' Transition from School to Employment as Health Workers

Fatima AdamuFederal University Birnin KebbiBirnin Kebbi, Nigeria
Grand Challenges
Women and Girls
16 Nov 2015

Fatima Adamu from the Federal University Birnin Kebbi in Nigeria will support the transition of adolescent girls from secondary school into heath-related careers such as medicine, midwifery, and nursing to address the shortage of female health workers specifically in rural northern Nigeria. Social norms dictate that women only receive reproductive care from females, so a shortage means that many, particularly in the North, do not receive any health care during pregnancy. Additionally, women who pursue careers are more likely to have children later, which is associated with a healthier life. They will integrate existing and new education strategies, including coaching particularly female teachers in student-centered learning methods, to improve core academic and vocational training, and enhance life skills for girls. Their approach will be tested using a controlled trial.

Giving Malaria Mosquitoes a "Head Cold" to Stop Odor-Driven Feeding on Humans

Thomas BakerPennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, Pennsylvania, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Malaria Eradication
1 May 2009

Thomas Baker, Matt Thomas and Andrew Read of Pennsylvania State University in the U.S. will infect malaria mosquitoes with an insect-specific fungus to determine if the infected mosquitoes' sense of smell is suppressed and their ability to find human hosts and transmit malaria is reduced.

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