Infectious Disease

Carl Lowenberger of Simon Fraser University in Canada proposes to develop novel antibiotics by combining regions of insect antibacterial peptides in abnormal conformations that will increase the types of organisms they will control and reduce the drug concentration required to kill existing and drug resistant bacteria.

Vipul Bansal of RMIT University in Australia will develop a nanochip patch that utilizes a surface enhanced raman scattering platform to detect infectious diseases along with Malaria. The patch will be equipped with micro-needles that when applied to the skin come in close proximity to blood vessels which carry biomarkers for infectious diseases. Using a battery-operated laser scanner, Bansal will detect low concentrations of these molecules due to their unique Raman signature.

Daniel Stein and Phillip DeShong of the University of Maryland in the U.S. will construct and test a vaccine platform that utilizes low-cost, stable surfactant vesicles to deliver antigens for a sustained mucosal immune response. If successful, the platform could be used to develop low-cost vaccines for bacterial infections where carbohydrates form the basis of protective immunity, such as bacterial pneumonia and diarrheal diseases.

Venigalla Rao of The Catholic University of America in the U.S. will develop and test a DNA vaccine for HIV that encapsulates multiple HIV envelope genes into bacteriophages that will target antigen presenting dendritic cells. If successful, this could lead to a powerful multivalent DNA vaccine delivery platform against many diseases.

Ashley Styczynski of the University of Illinois in the U.S. is investigating the use of a copper-based compound as a microbicide to prevent HIV infection through sexual transmission. A ring will be made with the organic molecule CuPCS to maintain the efficacy of the copper anti-HIV properties without disturbing beneficial vaginal bacteria.

Adam Renslo of University of California San Francisco in the U.S. will develop a new drug delivery technology that exploits the high ferrous iron concentrations in malaria parasites. If successful, this technology would allow delivery of existing and new therapeutics with increased safety margins and reduced potential for the development of drug resistance.

Rosemarie Hartman and Seth Rose of Arizona State University in the U.S. will develop and test novel skin-binding insect repellents that slowly release the repellent over a period of weeks. The reduced need for repeated application could increase usage to provide sustained protection against mosquitoes that transmit malaria.

Guiyun Yan of the University of California, Irvine in the U.S. will develop and field test in Africa new formulations of biological larvicides which utilize plaster matrix materials for the slow release of the insecticide in an aquatic environment, as well as chemical lures that attract and stimulate feeding by the mosquito larvae.

Raffi Aroian of the University of California, San Diego in the U.S. proposes to develop a delivery system for non-toxic, anti-roundworm proteins. With this system, mass production of a safe, potent cure for intestinal Roundworms that is cheap and compatible with global distribution should be possible. This project's Phase I research demonstrated that an anthelmintic protein could be expressed in three food-grade bacterial strains safe for humans.

Ruth Connor of Symbiora Inc. in the U.S. will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a low-cost oral solution derived from beneficial strains of human gut bacteria to prevent and treat acute diarrheal illness in infants.