$100,000 has been donated to Southampton University as part of a global funding giveaway by The Gates Foundation.
The money will go towards helping researchers create a new vaccine that will fight against bacteria that causes Meningitis and Pneumonia.
The Southampton team, which is led by microbiologist Dr Jermey Webb, will be joined by researchers from the Liverpool school of tropical medicine and Bristol University.
The aim will be to create a vaccine that stops biofilm forming which causes the body to fight off its own immune system and antibiotics.
Dr Webb says “Vaccines in use today are generally based on the properties of single-celled bacteria. Our approach is new because we will target properties of the protective biofilms in order to design new vaccines.”
If a successful vaccine is made then researchers hope it will reduce the low mortality rates that are associated with Meningitis and Pneumonia.
Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation’s ‘Global Health Program’ says: “The winners of these grants show the bold thinking we need to tackle some of the world’s greatest health challenges. I’m excited about their ideas and look forward to seeing some of these exploratory projects turn into life-saving breakthroughs.”
I think that it is fantastic to have researchers, the world over, being recognised and helped to take what could be a life saving idea one step closer to becoming reality.
The Gates Foundation could have pooled all its resources into America but its chosen to look at what the rest of the world also has to offer when it comes to innovative ideas and research. This gives the whole world a fighting chance when it comes to beating the diseases that take so many lives each year.
Resources used: The Southern Daily Echo and Southampton University website.
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