Gates Foundation Seeking New Diagnostics for Developing World

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is now accepting letters of inquiry for a new grant program to develop point-of-care diagnostics for the developing world.

$30 million in new grants will be available through Grand Challenges Diagnostics, a part of the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative. The program will develop components and technologies that allow assessment of multiple conditions and pathogens at the point-of-care in a variety of settings.

We are looking to fund the development and optimization of novel, accurate, feasible technologies that are low cost, easy to use, functional at high temperatures and humidity, and do not require refrigeration, reagents, water or lab equipment.

Details and application instructions are available at http://www.grandchallenges.org/diagnostics/Pages/Introduction.aspx. Letters of inquiry are being accepted online until February 16, 2010.

After a review of submitted letters of inquiry, the foundation will invite full grant proposals from selected applicants.

We look forward to receiving innovative ideas from scientists around the world and from all scientific disciplines. If you don't submit a letter of inquiry yourself, we hope you will forward this message to someone else who might be interested.

Thank you for your commitment to solving the world's greatest health challenges.

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people - especially those with the fewest resources - have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.