Studying protein that could reduce bacterial and viral infections in humans and animals
The University of Nebraska Medical Center announced today that it will receive $100,000 in Phase I funding through Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to enable researchers worldwide to test unorthodox ideas that address persistent health and development challenges.
Thomas McDonald, Ph.D., professor in the UNMC Department of Pathology and Microbiology, will pursue an innovative global health research project involving a mammary gland protein called MAA that is produced in high amounts in the colostrum, which is the first milk of all mammals.
Dr. McDonald’s laboratory research has shown that MAA increases production of a natural protective barrier in the intestine called mucin 3. When mucin 3 is lacking or at low levels in the intestine, the risk of infections caused by organisms such as E.coli, Salmonella, C. difficile and rotavirus dramatically increases, particularly in newborns and immune compromised individuals.
Dr. McDonald will take his laboratory findings to the next level and demonstrate that MAA can initiate protective processes in the intestine that could significantly reduce bacterial and viral infections in humans and animals.
Dr. McDonald’s research will be done in collaboration with Stephen Mayfield, Ph.D., professor of biology at the University of California at San Diego and director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, and Sapphire Energy, a San Diego company known for its development of a crude oil replacement produced from algae.
Dr. Mayfield’s research team engineered edible algae to produce high levels of bovine colostrum MAA using Sapphire Energy’s algae biotechnology platform.
Dr. McDonald will take MAA containing algae produced at UCSD and demonstrate that the algae can initiate protective processes that enhance mucosal immunity in the intestine of research animals and prevent infectious organisms from colonizing the intestinal wall, the first step in the infectious process.
This research is aimed at demonstrating that the MAA expressed in the algae has the potential to significantly reduce infectious diarrheal diseases, a major cause of infant mortality in the developing world. The success of this work also will have application to other populations of individuals who are at risk for intestinal infections such as cancer patients, AIDS patients and other immune compromised individuals.
Up to 1.2 million children in the U.S. under the age of five are hospitalized each year with infectious diarrhea. For some low birth weight infants with an intestinal disorder known as necrotizing enterocolitis, it is hoped that MAA can provide life-saving attributes.
The disorder is now fatal to 30 percent of infants. Globally, diarrheal diseases account for 14 percent of deaths in children 1-59 months of age.
Grand Challenges Explorations funds scientists and researchers worldwide to explore ideas that can break the mold in how we solve persistent global health and development challenges. Dr. McDonald’s project is one of 110 Grand Challenges Explorations grants that were announced this month. Grant recipients represented 21 different countries.
“This is one of the most exciting and prestigious grants that I’ve received in my 35-year research career. It allows me to pursue avenues of research outside the traditional funding venues with the potential to benefit millions of people around the world,” Dr. McDonald said.
“We believe in the power of innovation – that a single bold idea can pioneer solutions to our greatest health and development challenges,” said Chris Wilson, director of Global Health Discovery for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Grand Challenges Explorations seeks to identify and fund these new ideas wherever they come from, allowing scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs to pursue the kinds of creative ideas and novel approaches that could help to accelerate the end of polio, cure HIV infection or improve sanitation.”
Grand Challenges Explorations fosters creative projects that show great promise to improve the health of people in the developing world. Grants target an expanding set of global health topics, and there are two award rounds per year. Projects with demonstrated success in their initial phase of research have the opportunity to receive Phase II funding of up to $1 million.
About Grand Challenges Explorations
Grand Challenges Explorations is a US $100 million initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Launched in 2008, Grand Challenge Explorations grants have already been awarded to nearly 500 researchers from more than 40 countries. 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 $100,000 are awarded two times a year. Successful projects have an opportunity to receive a follow-on grant of up to US $1 million.
About UNMC
Through world-class research and patient care, the University of Nebraska Medical Center generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.