Zika Grand Challenge Projects

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In 2016, USAID launched Combating Zika and Future Threats: A Grand Challenge for Development. Twenty one projects were subsequently selected from over 900 submissions, in the fields of vector control, personal protection, vector and disease surveillance, diagnostics, and community engagement.

USAID contracted IVCC to undertake Programme Management of nine of these projects, to advise and support the research to proof-of-concept stage in the field. Project activities commenced in 2017 and ran through to the end of September 2019. The projects are directed towards novel ways to control and monitor the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is responsible for the transmission of a number of viral diseases including Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya and Yellow Fever.

Projects

RNAi Natural Yeast-based Larvicides – Indiana University, Indiana University School of Medicine and University of Notre Dame, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Chromobacterium Larvicide and Adulticide – Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Electronic Mosquito Barrier – Barcelona Institute For Global Health, Barcelona, Spain
Low-Cost Treated Sandals – Ifakara Research Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Low-Tech Treated Fabric for Outdoor Use – Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), Liverpool, United Kingdom
Passive Emanator for Indoor Use – QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Human Scent Mimic Mosquito Lure – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Intelligent Trap to Enhance Zika Surveillance – São Paulo University, São Paulo, Brazil
VectorWEB Smart Trap – Johns Hopkins University Center for Bioengineering, Innovation, and Design, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Funder

Project Partners

Zika ESAC

ESAC 5 was convened to provide expert scientific, technical, regulatory and commercial advice to the Zika Grand Challenges Projects. The Committee has met twice a year since the projects’ inception. Initially, ESAC 5 were involved in establishing the Target Product Profiles (TPPs) for each project, together with the Principal Investigators. At ESAC 5 meetings, each project’s progress towards achieving the TPP was discussed between the project and ESAC 5, and guidance given.

Where relevant, ESAC 5 have arranged for extra support from consultants, especially on regulatory, toxicology and economic/commercial aspects. ESAC 5 have also suggested and established introductions to potential commercial partners.