Innovations in Low-Cost and Simplified Pathogen Sequencing Workflows
Funds research teams building low-cost, simplified pathogen-sequencing workflows that bring the cost of sequencing a sample down to about US$1-10 for use in low- and middle-income countries.
The Gates Foundation co-funds this challenge with the Temasek Foundation and the United Nations Foundation manages it, with regional pathogen-genomics networks as technical partners. Awards are tiered by maturity -- feasibility, mid-stage development, and advanced validation -- with about 15 awards expected across the three tiers, and applicants are expected to generate proof-of-concept data durin…
This Grand Challenge wants methodology and workflow innovation, not new sequencing hardware, that lets existing platforms such as Illumina, Oxford Nanopore or MGI/BGI sequence priority pathogens (including polio, measles, malaria, tuberculosis and other bacterial pathogens) far more cheaply and simply. It is aimed at researchers and innovators who can show a credible, workflow-level path to a US$1-10 per-sample cost while staying accurate enough for real public-health surveillance in low-resource laboratories.
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