Deadline: Various
- For Africa: 16 May 2018
- For India: 25 May 2018
- For Brazil: 28 May 2018
- For South Africa: 16 May 2018
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is seeking proposals for the four Grand Challenges Explorations round in India, South Africa, Brazil and Africa on the topic “New Approaches to Characterize the Global Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance”.
The Foundation seeks new approaches that have the potential to transform public health action on a regional or global scale by identifying and filling gaps in knowledge on the burden of resistance to antibacterial agents –they are not seeking incremental improvements in typical disease surveillance solutions. Specifically, they seek projects that propose innovation in the following areas:
- Data sources: Pilot tests of new sources of data, particularly those that would bring together different research communities from different disciplines for new perspectives on the problem
- Analytical methods: Pilot tests of bioinformatics approaches, including new ways to analyze, combine or connect existing databases
- Biomarkers: Pilot tests of new biomarkers or combinations of biomarkers that could lead to new understanding of the actionable implications of antimicrobial resistance surveillance data
- Low-cost technologies and products: Exploratory work in developing new technologies and products, including 1) those that specifically target improved infection prevention and control in healthcare settings to reduce reliance on healthcare provider behavior change, and 2) technologies to remove antibiotics from effluents
Priorities
The Foundation will give highest priority to those projects that:
- Pilot test approaches that could be added to existing surveillance platforms, since we are not seeking to create new surveillance platforms
- Incorporate multiple of the areas of innovation listed above
- Could contribute to a portfolio of funded projects that addresses a country’s regional diversity and the diversity of vulnerable populations
- Explain how proposed approaches will be tested so that they have the highest likelihood of being relevant for implementation in the country’s public health system
Project Examples
Examples of what they are looking for:
- Characterizes type examples of the burden of AMR (e.g., exploring the role of AMR in community or hospital sepsis-related mortality, focusing on children)
- Includes data sources that could indirectly reflect AMR burden (e.g., antimicrobial usage patterns or specifically how vaccination against respiratory or diarrheal diseases impacts antimicrobial use)
- Addresses the diversity of vulnerable populations and the different aspects of the AMR burden that might be reflected in urban versus rural settings
- Includes data sources ranging from the level of the individual (e.g., microbiome across body sites) to the community (e.g., public toilets and sanitation systems), while maintaining a focus on gaining new understanding of the actionable consequences of AMR gene flow.
- Includes data sources that could reflect AMR transmission dynamics between communities (e.g., modes of transportation) or within communities over time (e.g., seasonal-related behaviors)
- Provides an ecological perspective, such as a One Health perspective integrating antimicrobial use in livestock or perspectives that can integrate environmental monitoring in the community setting with medical monitoring in the hospital setting – if these perspectives are explicitly linked to human health outcomes and particularly a focus on vulnerable populations
- Leverages opportunities to build in new ways on existing public health interventions or environmental monitoring platforms – and to bring together different research communities
- Contributes to control of infections in healthcare settings: novel techniques and products to control hospital infection rates and break the chain of transmission of bacteria in clinical settings
- Exploratory work into developing low-cost technologies to remove antibiotics and associated chemicals from effluents
How to Apply
Applicants can apply online via following links:
- For African applicants: https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-africa-new-approaches-characterize-global-burden-antimicrobial-resistance
- For Indian applicants: https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-india-new-approaches-characterize-global-burden-antimicrobial-resistance
- For Brazilian applicants: https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-brazil-new-approaches-characterize-global-burden-antimicrobial-resistance
- For South African applicants: https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-south-africa-new-approaches-characterize-global-burden-antimicrobial