Six researchers affiliated with the University of California have received Grand Challenges Explorations grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They are among 107 grant recipients in the initiative's eighth round of funding, announced today (May 9).
Grantees include:
David Segal, UC Davis; Transcription Factor Screening for P. falciparum Therapy. Segal will develop a high-throughput screen to search for artificial transcription factors (ATF) that are candidates to treat P. falciparum infections. ATFs could be a gene-regulating drug resource for the study and treatment of malaria.
Claire Dillavou, UCLA; More Vaccination, Less Debris: Developing Compostable Vaccine Packaging. Dillavou will develop compostable vaccine packaging to diminish the environmental impact of residual debris from mass vaccination campaigns in developing countries lacking adequate disposal infrastructure.
Frans Walther, UCLA; Aerosol Delivery of Synthetic Lung Surfactant. Walther, of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, will develop an aerosol formulation of an advanced synthetic lung surfactant to treat lung surfactant deficiency and improve lung function in premature infants who are supported with non-invasive ventilation for prematurity-related breathing problems.
Hideaki Tsutsui, UC Riverside; A Biotic Stress Sensor Printed on Maize Leaves. Tsutsui will develop a low-cost stamp to directly print biosensors on maize leaves for colorimetric detection of biotic stresses. The strategy is to develop an immunochromatographic assay using microneedle probes while printing an easily-read color-change detector.
Todd Coleman, UC San Diego; Epidermal Electronics for Continuous Pregnancy Monitoring. Coleman, along with John Rogers of the University of Illinois, will develop wireless tattoo-like electronics to continuously monitor vital signs of the pregnant mother and fetus. The devices have the potential to be inexpensively mass produced, which could advance epidemiological studies of preterm birth.
Jay Keasling, Zagaya, Emeryville, CA; Development of a Microorganism to Produce Artemisinin. Keasling, a professor at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Lab, through Zagaya will explore the production by an endophytic fungus of artemisinin, a key ingredient in malaria treatments. If the fungus produces artemisinin in the absence of light, an enzymatic mechanism is likely involved. This mechanism could be harnessed for a new production method to reduce treatment costs for malaria patients in developing countries.