Rice 360° has awarded seed grants to four new research collaborations in high-performance, low-cost global health technologies. These grants were made possible by a generous gift from Jim and Molly Crownover.
Yeast-based Vaccine Technology
Rice professor Mike Gustin is working with Baylor College of Medicine professors Mary Estes, Margaret Conner, and Sarah Blutt on a low-cost, yeast-based technology to develop and deliver vaccines for rotavirus. Rotavirus, one cause of diarrheal illness, is responsible for approximately 600,000 deaths per year, primarily in children under five in poor countries. The team will genetically engineer yeast cells to produce the outer coat of rotavirus. These particles, which are non-infectious, will be tested in mice as an oral vaccine. Yeast is a proven system for producing vaccines; most recently, it produced the HPV vaccine against some strains of the virus that cause cervical cancer. Because yeast is culturally acceptable, easy to produce, and durable, it will be relatively easy to transfer to developing countries as a vaccine.
New Tools to Detect Tuberculosis
Rice researcher Tomasz Tkaczyk and University of Texas Medical Branch researcher Clinton White are finding new, cost-effective tools to detect tuberculosis, a disease that is responsible for 1.6 million deaths per year. The project aims to develop a prototype of a portable, inexpensive, battery-powered device to better detect tuberculosis in developing countries. The device is an array of miniature microscopes that uses LEDs, inexpensive color filters, and standard digital cameras.
Wound-Healing Dressings
Rice professors Jane Grande-Allen and Jennifer West are working with Professor Edward Mason from Baylor College of Medicine to develop wound-healing dressings. Skin diseases can lead to very serious illness in populations that do not have adequate nutrition or hygiene, and can promote the spread of dangerous bacteria. If not treated sufficiently, these bacterial skin infections can lead to infection of heart valves, muscles and lungs. The team will test long chains of complex carbohydrates, called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), for anti-microbial properties. Using the anti-microbial fragments, the team will develop a wound-healing dressing to prevent bacterial infection, with the goal of developing a bioengineered wound-dressing that promotes normal healing of wounds.
Improved Disease Screening through Programmable Nanodroplet Chemistry
Rice researcher Lisa Biswal is working with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers Peter Gascoyne, Jody Vykoukal, and Daynene Vykoukal to improve disease screening in patients through a new technology of programmable nanodroplet chemistry. This technology offers a cost-effective way to test for a variety of variables quickly and efficiently.