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Vaccines of the Future Could be Delivered by MosquitoesBANGKOK, Thailand,

October 22, 2008 (ENS) - Hiroyuki Matsuoka at Jichi Medical University in Japan

thinks it may be possible to turn mosquitoes that normally transmit disease into

" flying syringes, " so that when they bite humans they deliver vaccines.

Yen Wah Tong at the National University of Singapore will attempt to create

nanoparticles to " soak up " viruses circulating in the body; the particles will

be imprinted with the viruses in order to mimic the three-dimensional structure

of cells that the virus normally tries to infect.

Huan Nguyen of the International Vaccine Institute in North Korea will explore

whether green fluorescent protein is endowed with unique immunological

properties which could be used to develop a universal flu vaccine.

Leonard Damelin at the National Health Laboratory Service in South Africa will

attempt to improve bacteria that naturally line the walls of the vagina and

cervix in order to enhance their ability to fight infections.

They are four of 104 grantees announced today by the Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation in the first round of funding from Grand Challenges Explorations, an

initiative to help lower the barriers for testing innovative ideas in global

health.

The grants of US$100,000 each will be made to scientists from 22 countries and

five continents to explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve global

health.

The focus in this $10.4 million first round of grants is on preventing or curing

infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and TB, and limiting the emergence of drug

resistance.

" We were hoping this program would level the playing field so anyone with a

transformational idea could more quickly assess its potential for the benefit of

global health, " said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of global health at the Gates

Foundation, who announced the grants at the fourth annual meeting of the Grand

Challenges in Global Health initiative in Bangkok.

Mosquito prepares to bite. (Photo by Saminda Ranatunga) " The quality of the

applications exceeded all of our expectations, " he said. " It was so hard for

reviewers to champion just one great idea that we selected almost twice as many

projects for funding as we had initially planned. "

U.S. scientists were funded for some novel proposals, with nanotechnology high

on the grantee list.

ny He of Indiana University has a new hypothesis. He proposes to engineer

biodegradable nanoparticles that target active and latent HIV-infected cells by

binding to the carbohydrate portion of the protein gp120, which the virus uses

to seek out host cells. He believes the “sticky” nanoparticles would then bind

HIV, either in the blood, or within cells, killing the virus.

Yasmin Thanavala at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York will

use her grant to develop a single dose vaccine that can be given as close to

birth as possible to protect against multiple diseases, delivered by

nanoparticles.

Dan Feldheim, University of Colorado is the primary investigator of a funded

project that will use nanocrystals for the treatment of pathogens that are

resistant to a number of different drugs.

Alfred Roca at the University of Illinois is funded to investigate his new

hypothesis - the genetic resistance to HIV in human African forest populations.

All levels of scientists are represented, including young investigators who

never before have received a research grant, and those who were applying

experience from other fields like bioengineering.

Grants were made to universities and other nonprofit organizations, government

agencies, and six private companies.

Applications for round two of the grants are now being accepted. Visit:

http://www.gcgh.org/Pages/default.aspx

Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by chief executive Jeff Raikes and

co-chairs H. Gates Sr., Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Melinda French

Gates.

In developing countries, the foundation focuses on improving health, reducing

extreme poverty, and increasing access to technology in public libraries.. In

the United States, the foundation seeks to ensure that all people have access to

a great education and to technology in public libraries.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.