Gates Package — page 594

Goal: To understand effects of iron supplementation during early childhood on risks of severe morbidity and mortality from malaria, especially when supplements are given to individuals who are not iron deficient. Partner: NICHD Funding: $9M ((2007-2012) Ten projects have been funded to date, including studies on absorption, iron status, stages of the malaria life-cycle, different modes of iron intervention, non-transferinn bound iron, mircobiota, coinfections. • Biomarkers for Nutrition and Development (BOND) Goal: To develop a unified, scientific approach to select biomarkers for assessing the function and effect of diet and nutrition on health and disease in individuals and populations Funding: $0.5m NIH Partner: NICHD Funding: $.0.5M (2011-2013) This project is intended to develop a process for harmonization of decisions surrounding optimal biomarkers for specific uses under specific conditions, and a research agenda that will advance the discovery, development and implementation of new biomarkers and technologies for both point of care and population based assessments of micronutrient exposure, status, and health impact. A website has been developed for the BOND project and six expert panels are developing materials on iodine, Vitamin A, zinc, iron, folic acid, and Vitamin B-12. • FNIH-Managed Initiatives with BMGF Grand Challenges in Global Health (GCGH) Goal: Overcome persistent bottlenecks in creating new tools that can radically improve health in the developing world. Funding: $201M (2003-2015) Vector-based Control of Transmission: Discovery Research (VCTR) Goal: Collaboration between NIH grantee David Williams and the NIH Chemical Genomics Center identified a promising new class of drugs for the treatment of schistosomiasis. Extend GCGH research on chemical or genetic strategies to deplete or incapacitate disease-transmitting insects Funding: $48M (2009-2016) The VCTR grant portfolio consists of five major projects extended beyond the original GCGH funding. Three of these support research on novel strategies for making mosquito populations incompetent to transmit disease agents, or for substantially reducing numbers of malaria and dengue vector mosquitoes, by the introduction of heritable microbial agents or of genetic constructs. Another two projects are working to develop repellents to prevent malaria-carrying mosquitoes from locating hosts