Matt Cottingham of The Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom will work to engineer an adenovirus vaccine vector that includes HIV antigens as well as the immune evasion genes of cytomegalovirus (CMV). Such a vector could be used in an HIV vaccine to elicit the strong immune response typical of a CMV-vectored vaccine, but without the typical safety issues that accompany the use of CMV in vaccines.

Alison Hill and Daniel Scholes Rosenbloom of Harvard University in the U.S., working with Seyed Alireza Rabi and Greg Laird of Johns Hopkins University in the U.S., propose to engineer a gene therapy that delivers a viral transcription factor to reactivate CD4 cells that are latently infected with HIV along with a suicide gene that is triggered by HIV protein production to effectively kill the infected cells. This therapy could allow complete clearance of HIV from the body and a permanent cure for HIV infection.

Richard Fletcher of Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health in the U.S., in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is developing a cell phone system that can aid in vaccination campaigns in developing countries. Cell phone cameras will capture images of hand vein patterns for biometric patient identification, tagging it via GPS to store vaccination location information, and cameras will also scan temperature indicator labels on doses to assess the quality and expiration of the vaccine.

James Petrie of CSIRO in Australia will provide proof of concept that a readily available leafy green vegetable in Africa can be engineered to produce long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Such locally grown greens could be used in diets to improve infant cognitive development.

James Berkley of Oxford University in the United Kingdom and Kelsey Jones of Imperial College, working at the KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya will test whether enhancing therapeutic meals for malnourished children with essential fatty acids derived from the local Nile Perch fish could improve their immune defense systems and reduce severe infections that lead to mortality. If successful, these meals could enhance immune response instead of simply producing growth in malnourished children.

Satoshi Kashiwagi of Massachusetts General Hospital in the U.S. will test whether pre-treating the skin at the site of vaccination with an infrared laser light to stimulate antigen-presenting cells will result in a stronger immune response to the polio vaccination. The laser-based technology could reduce the number of vaccinations required to protect children from polio.

Terri Finkel of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in the U.S. will test whether synthetic BET (bromodomains and extraterminal) protein antagonists can inhibit the replication of HIV and the establishment of latency, while also promoting the reactivation of latently infected cells. Such molecules could be used to control and cure HIV infection.

Zhengxian Gu and colleagues at PTC Therapeutics, Inc. in the U.S. will investigate the mechanism of action used by a class of small molecules shown to specifically activate HIV. Understanding the pathways for reactivation of latent HIV could inform development of drug therapies to eliminate latent HIV reservoirs and effectively cure HIV.

Mark Holtzapple of Texas A&M University in the U.S. seeks to demonstrate that carboxylic acid fermentation can be adapted as a sanitation treatment to not only kill pathogens in the waste but also convert it to liquid fuels, compost, and potable water that can be used for economic gain.

Phillip M. Gerk of Virginia Commonwealth University in the U.S. will test the ability of fatty acid transporters to deliver antiretroviral drugs to the central nervous system and gut-associated lymphatic tissues, which provide sanctuary for latent HIV.

Daniel Yeh of the University of South Florida in the U.S. will develop a decentralized sanitation system which uses an anaerobic digester and membrane biotechnology to treat waste water and produce methane for energy, clean water, and fertilizer for agriculture.

Stephen Davis of Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia will collect footprints from infants at 0, 2 and 6 months of age to test whether the spatial patterns produced by ridge lines and creases stay unique and constant despite the physical growth of the footprint. These footprints could be captured using low-tech mobile phone cameras to provide a biometric identification system for use in immunization programs.

Michelle Lane and colleagues at the University of Adelaide in Australia will use a mouse model to examine how interventions in a father's diet at the time of conception could improve the molecular health of his gametes, which could improve the health of the pregnancy and the development and health of the offspring. Interventions to improve men's health thus might lead to healthier pregnancies and children.

Anthony van den Pol of Yale University in the U.S. proposes to engineer a highly immunogenic virus to express replication-restricted poliovirus proteins for use in a new nasal spray polio vaccine. The spray will then be tested for its ability to generate a strong immune response against the virus and refined to increase its shelf life at room temperature.

Paul Freemont and colleagues at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom will develop and test a self-replicating biosensor that can quickly detect proteases released by parasites. Rapid detection of parasites could lead to early treatment as well as help track the spread of disease.

Sean Moore and colleagues at Cincinnati Children's Hospital in the U.S. will generate a mouse model of human environmental enteropathy, which is characterized by stunted growth and physiological defects in the gut, and is caused by malnutrition and repeated infections. The model will be used to test whether environmental enteropathy is affected by diet and contaminated water, and whether it reduces the effect of oral vaccines. In Phase I, they proved that feeding mice a nutritionally deficient diet mimicked at least some of the features of the human disease. To improve on this, in Phase II they will also modify DNA methylation in intestinal stem cells and induce inflammation. They will also test whether a rotavirus vaccine is less effective in these mice.

Loredana Quadro of Rutgers University in the U.S. will engineer strains of bacteria found in the human gut to produce the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene, and test in a mouse model the hypothesis that vitamin A-deficiency could be controlled and healthy growth of children and infant promoted through colonization of the gut by these engineered probiotics.

Alvin Tamsir and Karsten Temme of Pivot Bio, Inc. in the U.S. will use a synthetic gene regulation system to transfer a nitrogen-fixing gene cluster from naturally occurring bacteria into agricultural crops. These engineered crops could capture and metabolize nitrogen from the atmosphere, reducing the need for petrochemical fertilizers and reducing the cost of farming in developing countries.

OraLee Branch of New York University in the U.S. will research the hypothesis that inflammation of the placenta affects the postnatal growth of offspring by altering programming in the fetus that determines the makeup of the child's intestinal microbiota. Correcting such fetal programming could promote nutrient absorption and healthy growth.

Francis Delpeyroux of the Institut Pasteur in France will research whether adding immune pressure against proteins found in the attenuated strains of the oral polio vaccine could lead to the emergence of recombinant circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses. Identifying this mechanism could help in development of better vaccines to control polio outbreaks.

Russell Poulter of the University of Otago in New Zealand will use a microbial biosynthesis platform to develop cyclic analogues of the viral protein Tat, which is major regulator of HIV transcription, and test their ability to activate latent HIV. The reactivated HIV would be susceptible to retroviral therapies enabling comprehensive killing of HIV infected cells.

Jaranit Kaewkungwal of Mahidol University in Thailand proposes to develop a phone-to-phone application that will transmit photo and name pronunciation information among health care workers to help achieve vaccination targets among stateless hill-tribal children in Thailand. The application could be expanded to include maternal healthcare and childhood diseases and nutrition.

Luiza Cintra Campos of the University College London in the United Kingdom proposes to develop a simulation tool that can be used in developing communities that have non-networked sanitation systems to effectively evaluate new sanitation technologies. By including parameters such as pit latrines served, distance to treatment, and potential for energy recovery, the simulation tool can aid communities in determining the best new systems for local needs.

Robert Borden of North Carolina State University in the U.S. will develop an inexpensive method to efficiently and hygienically remove human waste from cesspits. Borden will modify readily available gasoline powered augers and PVC pipes to operate as a progressive cavity pump for filling drums or other easily transported containers. In Phase I, Borden produced and tested an inexpensive machine that could effectively remove medium- to high-viscosity waste from a range of pits with different accessibilities in South Africa. In Phase II, he will further optimize the design to enable emptying of a wider range of pits containing waste with higher solid or liquid compositions. He will also develop a method to determine the amount of waste in pits and its composition prior to emptying, and incorporate a disinfection step during waste removal. The aim is to develop a comprehensive pit emptying system involving training in pit assessments, equipment maintenance, and use, which will be tested in at least four developing regions.