Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Brad Stone, PhD, BRI Research Assistant Member and Principal Investigator for the grant, will pursue an innovative global health and development research project, titled "Rapid Vaccine Development Using Synthetic Minigene Libraries."
"We are excited to partner with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in an effort to accelerate vaccine design for malaria and other infectious diseases of global importance," said Dr. Stone. "This award represents a significant opportunity to leverage new DNA synthesis and sequencing technologies for world health."
Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) funds individuals worldwide who are taking innovative approaches to some of the world's toughest and persistent global health and development challenges. GCE invests in the early stages of bold ideas that have real potential to solve the problems people in the developing world face every day. Dr. Stone's project is one of over 80 Grand Challenges Explorations Round 9 grants announced today by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.