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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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An Enhanced Condom Using Nanomaterials

Aravind VijayaraghavanUniversity of ManchesterManchester, United Kingdom
Grand Challenges Explorations
Next Generation Condom
8 Oct 2013

Aravind Vijayaraghavan and a team from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom propose to develop new elastic composite materials for condoms containing nanomaterials like graphene. This composite material will be tailored to enhance the natural sensation during intercourse while using a condom, which should encourage condom use.

A Cell-Based Screen for Discovery of a Macrofilaricide

Kelly JohnstonLiverpool School of Tropical MedicineLiverpool, United Kingdom
Grand Challenges Explorations
Neglected Tropical Diseases
8 Oct 2013

Kelly Johnston and others from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom will develop a cell line from a parasitic filarial nematode worm that can proliferate continuously in vitro to enable high-throughput screening of candidate anti-filarial drugs. Current drug screening efforts are limited by the complex life cycle of the worms and the difficulties of obtaining sufficient numbers of worms. They will isolate worm cells from various life cycle stages and use a high-content screening approach to monitor thousands of cells cultured under different conditions to increase the probability of detecting a stably growing cell line. Once one or more stable cell lines have been produced, they will establish optimal culture conditions for drug screening assays.

High-Resolution Ecological Mapping of Filarial Vectors

Louise Kelly-HopeLiverpool School of Tropical MedicineLiverpool, United Kingdom
Grand Challenges Explorations
Neglected Tropical Diseases
8 Oct 2013

Louise Kelly-Hope of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom and Thomas Unnasch of the University of South Florida in the U.S., along with their research teams, will develop high resolution tools to map the locations and chart the habitats of vectors of several parasitic worm infections to promote safer and more effective control strategies. Some of the drugs that can successfully treat parasite infections become harmful in the presence of other parasites, but predicting where these co-infections are most likely to occur is difficult. Using the fly vectors for the parasitic nematode Loa loa, they will develop a remote sensing model for predicting its presence by identifying environmental factors that the flies favor using satellite technology and geographic information systems, and validate the model by performing ground-based studies in several African countries.

Exploiting IVIS Imaging Technology to Advance Chemotherapeutic Discovery in Filarial Worms

Eileen DevaneyUniversity of GlasgowGlasgow, United Kingdom
Grand Challenges Explorations
Neglected Tropical Diseases
8 Oct 2013

Eileen Devaney and Elmarie Myburgh of the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom will determine whether parasitic filarial worms can be visualized in the lymphatic system of live animals as a means to measure drug activity. Testing candidate anti-filarial drugs using in vivo models is preferable to the current in vitro assays because the selected drugs are more likely to be effective in humans. They will infect mice with either larval or adult stage parasites, and then inject them with bioluminescent substrates of specific immune cells. This should enable them to image the host inflammatory response to the infection, track the parasites within the lymphatic system, and determine the parasites' longevity. Probes to directly detect excretory-secretory products in live adult parasites will also be developed. This approach will ultimately be used for in vivo drug screens.

Ultra Sheer "Wrapping" Condom with Superior Strength

Ron FrezieresCalifornia Family Health CouncilLos Angeles, California, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Next Generation Condom
8 Oct 2013

Ron Frezieres of the California Family Health Council in the U.S. along with Max Abadi of Unique International in Colombia and I.MAXX Inc. in the U.S. are developing a stronger and thinner male condom made of polyethylene to promote condom use. Polyethylene is a non-toxic and hypoallergenic material that wraps and clings rather than squeezes, thereby enhancing sensation and enabling easier application. In Phase I, in collaboration with the polyethylene condom inventor/manufacturer in Colombia, the team optimized the material, tested compatibility with different lubricants, designed discreet packaging, and manufactured two prototypes with either a pull-tab applicator or a flanged base.These were compared with traditional latex condoms for performance and usability by 34 couples that overall preferred the pull-tab condom. In Phase II, they will further optimize the condom by improving the lubrication and application, and develop more economical packaging for developing countries. They will also perform a larger clinical study of the modified product using 300 couples.

Ultra-Sensory Condoms Based on New Superelastomer Technology

Jimmy MaysUniversity of TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Next Generation Condom
8 Oct 2013

Jimmy Mays of the University of Tennessee in the U.S. will develop a prototype male condom made from superelastomers (a highly elastic polymer). This will enable the manufacture of thinner and softer condoms that will enhance user experience. It will also simplify the condom manufacturing process and make it less expensive.

Saving Labor at the Village Level via Biological Weed Control

David SandsMontana State University BozemanBozeman, Montana, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Women Farmers
8 Oct 2013

David Sands of Montana State University in the U.S. will work with Kenyan women farmers to evaluate the performance of a biological control method for eliminating the parasitic weed Striga (witchweed), which can cause up to 80% loss of maize, millet, and sorghum yield in smallholder African farms. Striga is a problem in 43 African countries, and manual weeding is highly time- and labor-intensive. They have previously developed a virulent fungal strain to inhibit weed growth, and shown that it can be easily transported on toothpicks for safe and effective distribution. Preliminary field-tests in one village showed that this fungus could effectively control Striga, and in some instances double crop yield. Sands will expand this testing phase to women maize farmers in 50 villages and evaluate crop yield, weed reduction, and farmer satisfaction over 12 months.

New Molecular Therapies for Parasitic Helminth Infections

Tim DayIowa State UniversityAmes, Iowa, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Neglected Tropical Diseases
8 Oct 2013

Tim Day and Mostafa Zamanian of Iowa State University in the U.S. will evaluate a new approach for treating parasitic worm infections based on blocking parasite microRNAs. Parasitic worms (helminths), such as Schistosoma, release small vesicles called exosomes containing microRNAs, which are thought to target host genes and aid infectivity. They will test this directly using a mouse model of schistosome infection by identifying the relevant microRNAs, designing anti-microRNAs to block them, and determining if the mice can be made resistant to infection. This approach could be expanded to other parasitic worm infections and ultimately used to develop an effective human therapeutic.

Exosomes: New Diagnostic Tools for Schistosomiasis

Paula RibeiroMcGill UniversityMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Grand Challenges Explorations
Neglected Tropical Diseases
7 Oct 2013

Paula Ribeiro of McGill University in Canada will develop a simple diagnostic test for schistosomiasis, which is caused by parasitic worms, based on microRNAs. Current diagnostics suffer from lack of sensitivity or an inability to distinguish current from past infections. They will evaluate parasite microRNAs contained within small extracellular vesicles (exosomes) as infection biomarkers by first isolating and sequencing them from infected mice. Using this information, they will develop a simple, inexpensive test to amplify the microRNAs from human blood using sera from infected patients in West Africa and Egypt. Their approach could ultimately be used to distinguish between different stages of infection and be broadened to other helminth infections.

Ultra-Sensitive Reconstituted Collagen Condom

Mark McGlothlinApex Medical Technologies, Inc.San Diego, California, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Next Generation Condom
7 Oct 2013

Mark McGlothlin of Apex Medical Technologies, Inc. in the U.S. will produce a male condom with enhanced strength and sensitivity using collagen fibrils from bovine tendons, which are widely available from meat processing. Collagen fibrils would provide a hydrated micro-rough skin-like surface texture that facilitates heat transfer to produce a more natural sensation. They will develop methods to best arrange the fibrils and more safely crosslink them. Barrier properties of the engineered condom will be quantified, enhanced if necessary, and sensitivity will be tested.

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