Microwave to treat malaria and intestinal bacteria to protect themselves from HIV.

Seattle, July 14, 2011- / PRNewswire / – the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today that twelve beneficiaries have advanced to the next level of the Grand Challenges Explorations (CGE), an initiative that helps researchers around the world try Orthodox ideas that make the persistent challenges of health and development. The beneficiaries will receive additional funds to continue with phase II of their research in a period of two years.

“To find solutions to the global persistent health problems is a long, complex and expensive process.” “CGE is designed to help innovators in the world, providing the necessary resources to explore bold ideas that often are too risky for attracting funds through other mechanisms,” said Chris Wilson, director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation global health discovery.

“We are excited to allow developments continued in the new approaches that serve to prevent or reduce the burden of the diseases that kill or eliminate millions of vulnerable people in the world”.

CGE is a mechanism for granting by parties which allows the feasibility of innovative ideas to try and to provide additional resources for these projects which have proved to be promising in regard to addressing global health problems as a priority when there are still no solutions. The beneficiaries have shown their gratitude from all over the world, and projects in this round looking for new technologies of bold prevention and treatment to combat malaria, HIV and pneumonia.

Examples of projects that receive funds from phase II:

-Teun Bousema from Radboud University in the Netherlands, which is intended to interrupt transmission of malaria to deploy interventions targeting the conflicting issues of transmission;

-Carmenza Spadafora of the IASI in Panama and Jose Stoute from Pennsylvania State University, investigating if malaria can be treated by microwave irradiation;

-Fredros Okumu the Ifakara Health Institute, which aims to use vector of foreign control instruments to control malaria (founded jointly by Grand Challenges Canada and by the Gates Foundation).

Beneficiaries who receive funds for phase II will receive up to a million dollars in additional funds over a period of two years. applications for the next open round, round 8, will begin to accept since the beginning of September.

About the Grand Challenges Explorations

The Grand Challenges Explorations is a US $ 100 million initiative founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Launched in 2008, Grand Challenge Explorations grants have already awarded nearly 500 researchers from more than 40 countries. The scholarship program is open to everyone from any discipline and from any organization. The initiative uses a process of rapid and agile fellowship with brief online applications of two pages and no preliminary data required. Initial $100,000 grants are awarded twice a year. Successful projects have the opportunity to receive a scholarship of follow-up of up to 1 million $.