Awards

Ayokunle Olanrewaju, and collaborators Ashleigh Theberge and Erwin Berthier, of the University of Washington in the U.S. will develop a platform for at-home self-collection of blood, serum separation, and sample stabilization at sufficient sample volumes for comprehensive HIV monitoring. An existing device for home blood collection will be expanded with the development of serum separation using a simple filtration system and connected to a standard blood collection tube with serum-stabilizing reagents. The device design will be optimized to ensure that over 1 mL of blood can be processed. The resulting design will then be tested for its effectiveness for RNA and protein analysis to monitor HIV viral load and biomarkers associated with HIV treatment and care. Performance of the device will be compared to standard blood processing, using blood from healthy volunteers spiked with either HIV RNA or C-reactive protein as a model biomarker. They envision a system that can readily integrate with standard laboratory or point-of-care diagnostic workflows to enable maximal deployability.

Lisa Rohan of the University of Pittsburgh in the U.S., with Thesla Palanee-Phillips of the Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd in South Africa, will develop a vaginal film technology for the sustained release of the hormone levonorgestrel as a product that provides contraception and reduces heavy menstrual bleeding. Levonorgestrel is a progestin, a synthetic hormone that mimics the effects of progesterone. They will create and compare vaginal films with differences in mechanical properties, mucoadhesion, and drug release profiles to design a product that is low-cost, self-administered, and active for one month. They will also conduct a pilot trial of two prototype placebo films without levonorgestrel, evaluating them for safety, acceptability, and mucoadhesion in 20 women in South Africa, half with heavy menstrual bleeding.

Happy Ghosh of Kalia Health, Inc. in the U.S. will evaluate Activin A and Inhibin A as urinary biomarkers for prediction and detection of preeclampsia early in pregnancy. This work builds on an ongoing biomarker validation study in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Through collaborations, clinical studies will be performed with blood and urine sampling in cohorts of pregnant women. Studies in Stellenbosch, South Africa will assess how levels of the two proteins vary in urine during pregnancy, and studies in Bloemfontein, South Africa will assess how early in pregnancy they can serve to predict preeclampsia risk. Activin A and Inhibin A levels in urine will be measured by ELISA, and their diagnostic value will be compared to a standard assay for the biomarker protein ratio sFlt1/PIGF in blood and to clinical diagnosis by the treating physician.

Cliveland Ogallo of the Center for Public Health and Development (CPHD) with Anne-Beatrice Kihara of the University of Nairobi, both in Kenya, will assess the impact of heavy menstrual bleeding on the health and well-being of adolescent girls in an underserved community in Kenya. Girls in the Kibera urban informal settlement will be surveyed, along with guardians and health workers, to assess the prevalence of self-reported heavy menstrual bleeding; menstrual health literacy and associated cultural narratives; hygiene practices; access to healthcare products and services; and impacts including anemia, school absenteeism, and psychosocial well-being. Small-scale interventions will also be piloted, such as introducing menstrual kits with educational packets and dedicated physical spaces for menstrual hygiene.

James Beeson of the Burnet Institute with Stephen Scally of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, both in Australia, will develop candidate malaria mRNA vaccines designed to confer multiple types of immunity over multiple lifecycle stages of the malaria parasite. They will start with lead candidates that target <em>Plasmodium</em> merozoites, screening them with a human organoid model of the germinal center for their ability to activate B cell responses. Based on these tests, they will add antigens and test the resulting multi-antigen vaccines in animal models to create candidates that confer anti-merozoite, anti-sporozoite, and transmission-blocking immunity.

Brian Sullivan of Arcturus Therapeutics, with Sean Murphy of the University of Washington Foundation, both in the U.S., will pilot test a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine technology as a platform for developing malaria vaccines. They will use a mouse model of malaria, establishing infections in parallel with two different <em>Plasmodium</em> parasite species. They will test preventive treatments in this model, comparing self-amplifying mRNA vaccine technology to conventional mRNA and comparing intramuscular versus intravenous administration. They will assess the ability of each test vaccine to protect against liver-stage infection, determining the number of liver-stage parasites and how well the vaccine elicits potent, malaria-specific T-cell responses in the liver. The prolonged antigen expression characteristic of self-amplifying mRNA vaccines could be particularly valuable in inducing long-term protection against malaria.

Neha Lasure of Intignus Biotech Pvt. Ltd. in India will develop an affordable point-of-care diagnostic platform for prediction and detection of preeclampsia early in pregnancy. The diagnostic test is a lateral flow immunoassay that detects two key preeclampsia biomarker proteins in blood: sENG and PIGF. They will generate monoclonal antibodies against these proteins, manufacture test kits, and train frontline health care workers to administer and interpret the test. They will then perform a pilot study with 2,000 pregnant women in the Indian states of Pune and Mumbai, evaluating prediction accuracy compared to clinical outcomes and standard existing clinical tests.

Sarah Leeber of the University of Antwerp in Belgium, with Marie Josiane Kenfack of the Center for Research on Emerging and Reemerging Diseases (CREMER) in Cameroon, will add DNA sequencing analysis of the vaginal microbiota as a component for a set of clinical trials of menstrual hygiene products in Belgium, Switzerland, Cameroon, and Peru. The longitudinal trials compare use of different menstrual products, with participants using either the same product over time or different products in sequence, including pads, tampons, cups, and underwear. Surveys and group discussions will be used to gather data on user perceptions of the products and how acquiring knowledge of the microbiome may influence attitudes and practices. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing from self-collected samples will reveal changes in the vaginal microbiota associated with different products. Together, this data will provide a more comprehensive understanding of both the biological and behavioral dimensions of menstrual product use.

Almaz Negash of the African Diaspora Network in the U.S. will build an AI-augmented collaboration hub that matches senior African scientists with experienced researchers and innovators in the African diaspora. The hub will include AI-assisted profiling of skills and needs, focusing on areas including pharmacogenetics, pharmaceutical manufacturing for preclinical and clinical trials, infectious disease control, and data science. The hub will host monthly masterclasses and peer-learning sessions, and it will support co-designed research, co-supervision of students, joint grant applications, and technology transfers. It will be launched with an inaugural cohort of Africa-based scientists, including the Calestous Juma Fellows as an existing network of science leaders already embedded in African universities and research centers.

Margaret Ilomuanya of the University of Lagos in Nigeria will develop a multifunctional microneedle patch for delivery of agents that treat heavy menstrual bleeding while preventing disease from sexually-transmitted viral infections. The patch will be designed for use on the abdomen or thigh, and it will have a layered architecture to deliver multiple drugs: tranexamic acid and the progesterone-mimic levonorgestrel to reduce bleeding (with levonorgestrel also having contraceptive activity) and the antiviral drug tenofovir. Microneedle-delivered tranexamic acid and levonorgestrel will be tested, both for their safety and their ability to control bleeding, in assays including clotting in vitro, a rat model, and a rabbit model of menstruation. Women experiencing heavy menstrual bleeding will be engaged for group discussions to assess the acceptability, usability, and desirability of the microneedle patch compared to existing treatment options, such as oral tranexamic acid and hormonal intrauterine devices.