There is a magnet that can detect malaria at the flick of a switch, a
flu-resistant chicken, an “antiviral” tomato and a vaccine enhanced with the
use of a laser. The ideas are so bold that, as the scientists behind them
admit, they can often struggle for funding.
Today, though, more than 80 projects at the far edge of innovation in global
health research will share millions of pounds of grants to support
unorthodox thinking — and the outside chance of a world-changing discovery.
Among the recipients, announced today by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
as part of their Grand Challenges initiative, are three British scientific
teams pursuing novel approaches to prevent and treat infectious diseases
such as tuberculosis, malaria and pneumonia, as well as viruses such as HIV.
A team of engineers from the University of Exeter is attempting to create a
handheld, battery-powered device that uses a magnet to detect the presence
of malaria parasites in blood — and dramatically speed the diagnosis of the
disease.
Scientists from Royal Holloway University, London, are attempting to compile a
library of all possible mutations of HIV — the way that it manages to evade
the body’s immune system so effectively — with the ultimate goal of a
vaccine that can protect against many variant forms of the virus.
A third team is looking at how to mimic the body’s natural ability to carry
pneumococcal bacteria without contracting infections, which appears to
improve immunity to the serious illnesses that they can cause. The
scientists, from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, hope that the
work might lead to the development of an inhaled vaccine against pneumonia.
Each will receive initial grants of $100,000 (£65,000) from the Gates
Foundation, with the chance of follow-on grants of $1 million if their
projects show success. In a radical departure from conventional funding
systems the foundation asked only for a two-page application and no
preliminary data for the first stage award. It is hoped that this approach
will encourage and accelerate bold and largely unproven research.
Other projects among the 81 recipients of Grand Challenges Explorations
grants, which come from universities, research institutes, non-profit
organisations and private companies in 17 different countries, include:
giving mosquitoes a “head cold” to prevent them from detecting and biting
humans; using immunised cows as a means of killing or reducing the
reproductive abilities of the mosquitoes that bite them; creating
therapeutic tomatoes, modified to deliver antiviral drugs targeting
particular viruses; and using a laser on skin before an injection to enhance
immune responses stimulated by a vaccine.
Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health programme,
said that unconventional approaches were required to shake up the thinking
on diseases where advances had been slow. He said that the five-year
programme was designed to get projects off the ground and was likely to put
$200 million towards research. “Some things require a revolution, rather
than an evolution, in thinking. The problem is we can be locked into an
orthodoxy of thinking that shackles us and prevents us from thinking in
novel ways,” he said.
Dr Yamada said that he and Bill Gates, who was on the review board, which
comprises scientists and entrepreneurs, accepted that 90 per cent of the
projects might fail, and that there might even be the odd charlatan trying
to apply for a grant. “The point is that where there are currently no
solutions, we must work hard to find new solutions. We really believe that
true innovation is needed. Some of the ideas might seem crazy, but there is
a fine line between crazy and absolutely novel.”
Luke Savage and Dave Newman, part of the University of Exeter team, said that
the support was invaluable. “The grants are being provided with the minimum
of procedure — it cuts through the red tape and is very focused,” Dr Savage
said. “The Gates Foundation is taking on things with real importance, not
just nice, esoteric research. It is very exciting to be part of that
community.”
The two other British project leaders, George Dickson, of Royal Holloway, and
Stephen Gordon, from Liverpool, said that the possibility of accessing
funding of $1 million would transform their work. “These are projects that
are examples of high-risk research, in the sense that the outcome is less
certain,” Professor Dickson said. “It is difficult to get pilot funding for
projects like this through conventional channels.”
Bikul Das, of Stanford University Medical School, was another grant recipient,
for work to explore the potential role of stem cells in latent tuberculosis
infection. Although a specialist in the study of cancer stem-cell biology
for the past decade, Dr Das had maintained an interest in infectious
diseases, with clinical training in India and Bhutan.
“I am so excited to have this opportunity to join the war against infectious
diseases,” he said. “I hope my expertise on cancer and stem-cell biology can
help enhance the field and relieve suffering.”
The grant recipients are based in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin
America, and North America.
Applicants were selected from more than 3,000 proposals, with all levels of
scientists represented — from veteran researchers to postgraduates — and a
range of disciplines, such as neurobiology, immunology and polymer science.
The announcement marks the second wave of Grand Challenges Explorations
grants, with applications for the next round accepted until the end of this
month.
Successful applicants
— Develop a tomato that delivers antiviral drugs when eaten Eric Lam,
at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
— Immunise cows against mosquitoes, so that when the insect bites them it
might die or have reduced ability to reproduce Jefferson Vaughan, at the
University of North Dakota
— Develop “sticky nanoparticles” that attach to tuberculosis-infected cells
and slowly release anti-TB drugs. The new therapy could shorten treatment
time and reduce side-effects, using existing medications Boitumelo
Semete, at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa
— Test whether protein crystals produced by insect viruses can be used as a
new way to deliver vaccines. These “micro-cube” protein particles are
stable, could be used against multiple diseases and may not require
refrigeration Fasséli Coulibaly, at Monash University in Australia
— Examine the potential to infect malaria-carrying mosquitoes with a fungus
that, like a head cold, suppresses their sense of smell and their ability to
find human hosts Thomas Baker, at Pennsylvania State University
— Explore whether illuminating skin with a targeted laser before administering
a vaccine can enhance the immune response Mei Wu, at Massachusetts
General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
— Test whether inducing antibodies against anti-malarial drugs can
significantly prolong the half-life of those drugs in the body, extending
their effects Erich and Thomas Cerny, of Wissenschaftlicher Fonds
Inkologie in Switzerland
— Design a network of outdoor mosquito traps to help to reduce malaria
transmission in rural areas Fredros Okumu, of Ifakara Health Institute in
Tanzania
— Seek ways to generate “self-targeting antibodies” that attack a receptor
protein on human immune cells. This could potentially block HIV from
entering cells, preventing HIV infection Lucia Lopalco, of the San
Raffaele Scientific Institute in Italy
