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Awarded Grants

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.

Emergency Aerial Delivery of Blood and Life-Saving Medicines to Mothers in Rural Tanzania for Less Than $10: The Stork Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Delivery System

Zacharia MtemaIfakara Health InstituteIfakara, Tanzania

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2015

Lack of fast, affordable delivery of blood profoundly restricts the number of lifesaving transfusions performed in the Dodoma region. We will use an autonomous Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) called Stork to transport screened and typed blood from a blood bank in Dodoma to peripheral health facilities, on-demand. In many cases, ground transport of blood would either be impossible or too costly using traditional means. Stork can already deliver over 1kg over 75km in less than 45 minutes at a cost of $10, outperforming all known alternatives.

Nanobiosym Pilot Validation Study of Gene-RADAR Nanotechnology Platform Point-of-Care for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV in Rwanda

Anita GoelNanobiosym, IncCambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2015

In collaboration with the Rwandan Ministry of Health National Research Laboratory, and our on the ground implementing partners, Nanobiosym will reduce HIV related deaths in infants by scaling up access to its novel POC nanodiagnostic platform by validating Nanobiosym's proprietary Point-of-Care Gene-RADAR diagnostic platform's ability to measure HIV positive mothers' viral load thereby ensuring they are responding to ART and reducing their chances of transmitting HIV to their child in-utero, at birth, or during the breastfeeding period.

BiliSpec: Low-Cost, Point-of-Care Bilirubin Measurement Device to Diagnose Neonatal Jaundice and Monitor Phototherapy

Rebecca Richards-KortumRice UniversityHouston, Texas, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2015

Our idea is to develop BiliSpec, a bilirubin monitoring device with a per-test cost of less than $0.10. BiliSpec includes: (1) a lateral-flow device to separate serum from whole blood in under 30 seconds and (2) a battery powered reader to measure light transmission through the separated serum on the strip and display the bilirubin concentration. We estimate our device could prevent the deaths of approximately ninety-thousand neonates who die every year due to lack of access to effective treatment and monitoring for neonatal jaundice in low-resource settings.

Streamlining the Screening of Pregnant Women During ANC Through Development of the ANC Panel: A Single Point-of-Care, Sensitive, Low-Cost, Rapid, Paper-Based Microfluidic Diagnostic Test for Anemia, HIV, HBV, and Syphilis

Christina SwansonDiagnostics For AllCambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2015

Diagnostics For All will develop a sensitive, low-cost, rapid, paper-based microfluidic diagnostic test to screen pregnant women for anemia, HIV, HBV, and syphilis, from one drop of blood. This antenatal care (ANC) test panel will ensure that women who attend ANC at least once are tested for the most critical diseases and provided results on the spot. This ANC panel could improve maternal and child health outcomes for up to 31 million pregnant women in the developing world and their children.

Preclinical Studies to Finalize the Development of the Bd Odon™ Birthing Device Prototype for Testing in WHO Study A65711

N/A N/ABecton, Dickinson and CompanyResearch Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2015

Preclinical studies to finalize the development of the BD Odon™ Birthing Device prototype for testing in WHO study A65711

Development of a Low-Cost, Point-of-Care Bilirubin Measurement Device to Diagnose Neonatal Jaundice and Monitor Phototherapy in Low Resource Settings

Rebecca Richards-KortumWilliam Marsh Rice UniversityHouston, Texas, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2015

Our idea is to develop BiliSpec, a bilirubin monitoring device with a per-test cost of less than $0.10. BiliSpec includes: (1) a lateral-flow device to separate serum from whole blood in under 30 seconds and (2) a battery powered reader to measure light transmission through the separated serum on the strip and display the bilirubin concentration. We estimate our device could prevent the deaths of approximately ninety-thousand neonates who die every year due to lack of access to effective treatment and monitoring for neonatal jaundice in low-resource settings.

Streamlining the Screening of Pregnant Women During ANC Through Development of the ANC Panel: A Single Point of Care, Sensitive, Low-Cost, Rapid, Paper-Based Microfluidic Diagnostic Test for Anemia, HIV, HBV, and Syphilis

Christina SwansonDiagnostics For AllCambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2015

Diagnostics For All will develop a sensitive, low-cost, rapid, paper-based microfluidic diagnostic test to screen pregnant women for anemia, HIV, HBV, and syphilis, from one drop of blood. This antenatal care (ANC) test panel will ensure that women who attend ANC at least once are tested for the most critical diseases and provided results on the spot. This ANC panel could improve maternal and child health outcomes for up to 31 million pregnant women in the developing world and their children.

Nanobiosym (NBS) Pilot Validation Study of Gene-RADAR Nanotechnology Platform Point-Of-Care (POC) for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in Rwanda

Anita GoelNanobiosym, IncCambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2015

In collaboration with the Rwandan Ministry of Health & National Research Laboratory, and our on the ground implementing partners, Nanobiosym will reduce HIV related deaths in infants by scaling up access to its novel POC nanodiagnostic platform by validating Nanobiosym's proprietary Point-of-Care Gene-RADAR® diagnostic platform's ability to measure HIV positive mothers' viral load thereby ensuring they are responding to ART and reducing their chances of transmitting HIV to their child in-utero, at birth, or during the breastfeeding period.

Emergency Aerial Delivery of Blood and Life Saving Medicines to Mothers in Rural Tanzania for Less Than $10: The Stork Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Delivery System

Zacharia MtemaIfakara Health InstituteIfakara, Tanzania

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2015

Lack of fast, affordable delivery of blood profoundly restricts the number of lifesaving transfusions performed in the Dodoma region. We will use an autonomous Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) called Stork to transport screened and typed blood from a blood bank in Dodoma to peripheral health facilities, on-demand. In many cases, ground transport of blood would either be impossible or too costly using traditional means. Stork can already deliver over 1kg over 75km in less than 45 minutes at a cost of $10, outperforming all known alternatives.

Validation Testing of Novel Multi-Use Intrauterine Device Inserter in Bangladesh

Shuchi KhuranaBioceptive, Inc.New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2015

Bioceptive aims to expand access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) for the estimated 222 million women around the world with an unmet need for modern family planning resources. The discreet intrauterine device (IUD) is one of the most applicable LARC methods for global use due to its long term of use, high efficacy, and minimal user effort. However, IUD access is frequently limited because the insertion procedure is complicated and only carried out by highly trained physicians. Bioceptive has developed a novel, reusable, sterilizable IUD inserter that makes the procedure simpler and intuitive and allows any healthcare worker to confidently insert an IUD with minimal training, thus using improved technology to overcome existing barriers to service delivery.