Shanghai Institute of Veterinary Research (SHIVR) of CAAS announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Zhou Jinlin will pursue an innovative global health and development research project, titled “Development of the dsRNAs as an anti-tick biological agent”.

Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) funds individuals worldwide to explore ideas that can break the mold in how we solve persistent global health and development challenges. Dr. Zhou’s project is one of more than 80 Grand Challenges Explorations Round 11 grants announced today by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

To receive funding, Dr. Zhou and other Grand Challenges Explorations Round 11 winners demonstrated in a two-page online application a bold idea in one of five critical global heath and development topic areas that included development of the next generation condom, agriculture development, and neglected tropical diseases.

Dr. Zhou proposes to develop a novel anti-tick biological agent based on the dsRNAs of key genes, through investigating target dsRNA effects by body surface absorbing under different conditions. If successful, the dsRNAs should be the alternative agent for tick control.

Researches on tick and tick-borne protozoan have been carried out for more than ten years in the Dr. Zhou’s laboratory. The objective is to understand the molecular interaction between tick and tick borne pathogens and develop anti-tick or pathogen-transmitted blocking vaccine.

About Grand Challenges Explorations
Grand Challenges Explorations is a US$100 million initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Launched in 2008, over 850 people in more than 50 countries have received Grand Challenges Explorations grants. The grant program is open to anyone from any discipline and from any organization. The initiative uses an agile, accelerated grant-making process with short two-page online applications and no preliminary data required. Initial grants of US$100,000 are awarded two times a year. Successful projects have the opportunity to receive a follow-on grant of up to US$1 million.