Infectious Disease

Peter M. Piermarini of the Ohio State University in the U.S. will use high throughput screening to discover chemicals that induce kidney failure in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae.

Robert M. Kennedy of the Vestaron Corporation in the U.S. will develop synthetic chemical mimics of selectively insecticidal natural peptides.

Jeffrey R. Bloomquist of the University of Florida in the U.S. will investigate a voltage-sensitive potassium channel as a new target for mosquitocides.

Harsha Thirumurthy of the University of North Carolina in the U.S. along with colleagues in Kenya will encourage individuals in sub-Saharan Africa to use self-testing HIV kits to screen their current and future sexual partners for HIV status. An oral test for HIV that can be performed by an individual at home has been approved in Kenya, reducing social and economic barriers of testing in a clinic.

Peter Gichangi of the International Centre for Reproductive Health Kenya in Kenya will develop a website for 10 - 24 year olds with HIV to help guide them safely through adolescence and improve adherence to treatment. This age group experiences unique physical and emotional stresses, and for those with HIV, adherence to treatment is relatively low.

Ann Don Bosco of Good Business in the United Kingdom will run a prevention campaign to reduce the transmission of tuberculosis by making coughing without covering your mouth socially unacceptable. Tuberculosis is a major problem in developing countries, particularly in South Africa, and is primarily spread by coughing. Previous cough prevention campaigns have focused on changing the behavior of the infected person. However, healthy individuals should be more willing to promote preventative behavior in order to avoid becoming infected.

Andrew Cross of Microsoft Research India in India will try to improve adherence to tuberculosis medication in India by evaluating an inexpensive approach combining personalized pill packaging with mobile phones to report when medication has been taken and to receive reminders. Less than half of people with chronic diseases take their medication correctly. And for diseases like tuberculosis this can lead to drug-resistance, which is a serious problem. Solutions such as the electronic pillbox have been successful, but are expensive.

Nicholas Sowden from Penda Health in Kenya will test whether offering free manicures to health center visitors increases the number of visitors and frequency of visits by low-income Kenyan women and their families. Kenyan women with a limited income still spend money on personal care including manicures and hairstyling. They hypothesize that coupling these desirable goods and services with preventative health services will motivate more women to attend medical centers.

Svetha Janumpalli from New Incentives in the U.S. will test whether conditional cash transfers and incentives can prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in Nigeria. While preventative measures such as medication, and facilities exist to decrease the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission, they are often not utilized by the most vulnerable women.

Carlton Evans of Asociacion Benefica PRISMA in Peru will use conditional cash incentives to encourage individuals in poor communities that have been newly diagnosed with tuberculosis to help identify neighboring tuberculosis sufferers and encourage them and their families to receive treatment. Effective treatments exist for most forms of tuberculosis, but reaching the poor and most vulnerable individuals has proven challenging.