Maternal, Newborn, and Adolescent Health

Marc Mitchell of D-Tree International in the U.S. will develop and test a mobile phone-based tool using clinical algorithms that rapidly identify women at risk during labor and delivery and facilitate emergency transfer to a hospital. The tool is a combination of phone decision support, data storage, on-line banking and communications on a single device at the point of care to improve maternal health outcomes. If successful, this tool could significantly reduce maternal mortality in low-income countries.

Jeffrey Jensen of Oregon Health & Science University in the U.S. will test the feasibility of using the varicose vein treatment polidocanol in a foam format to close fallopian tubes. The method could be administered by minimally-trained healthcare workers and could be a low-cost, nonsurgical permanent contraceptive method for women in developing countries who want control over their long-term family planning. This project's Phase I research showed that polidocanol foam can block the fallopian tubes of rhesus macaques without causing adverse non-target effects.

Michelle McIntosh of Monash University in Australia will develop and test the stability and efficacy of a dry powder formulation of the drug oxytocin, which is used to treat post-partum bleeding, in an inexpensive inhalant format that would be a needle-free, non-refrigerated option suitable for use in remote areas with limited training. The project's Phase I research provided proof-of-concept that the inhalation of pharmaceutically engineered particles of oxytocin can rapidly induce therapeutically-relevant contraction of uterine smooth muscle.

Rachel Teitelbaum of Hervana, Ltd. in Israel will develop and test a vaginal formulation that secretes an agent which inhibits sperm motility thus interfering with fertilization. It is hoped that this non-hormonal contraceptive will need only infrequent administration to maintain its effectiveness.

More than 300 million people in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa rely on sorghum as their primary source of food. The grain is one of the few crops that grow well in arid climates, but it is deficient in most essential nutrients and is difficult to digest.

Although rice is a primary source of food for much of the world's population, it is a poor source of many essential micronutrients, as well as protein. As a result, widespread reliance on rice is the primary cause of micronutrient malnutrition throughout much of the developing world. Dr. Beyer is leading an international, collaborative effort called the ProVitaMinRice Consortium. The consortium's members are developing new varieties of rice with increased levels or bioavailability of pro-vitamin A, vitamin E, iron, and zinc as well improved protein quality and content.

Poor nutrition is a major global health problem, contributing to half of the nearly 10 million deaths that occur each year in children younger than 5 and much of the death disease and suffering impacting sub-Saharan Africa. A starchy root crop called cassava is the major source of calories for more than 250 million Africans in this region, but cassava has the lowest protein-to-energy ratio of any staple crop. Dr. Sayre is leading a multidisciplinary team of scientists, brought together as BioCassava Plus, that is working to create nutritious cassava for sub-Saharan Africa.

Bananas are the major staple food in Uganda, where the average person consumes more than 1 kilogram of the fruit each day. Banana-based diets, however, are deficient in vitamin A and iron, as well as in vitamin E. A promising long-term solution to this problem may be to genetically modify crops, including bananas, so that they contain high levels of essential nutrients. Dr.

NextGenU.org Global Scaleup

In Peru, 10% of all births are preterm. Preterm babies are subject to repetitive, invasive procedures in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), causing pain and stress that are associated with neurobehavioural and developmental issues. While tactile stimulation in the form of massage therapy has shown to reduce stress and have positive effects on growth and development of preterm infants, it can be difficult to provide for babies in incubators.