November 10, 2009
A vaccine under development by two faculty at The University of Texas at Austin received a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge Award.
Dr. Jennifer Maynard, assistant professor of chemical engineering, and Dr. Nicholas Peppas, professor of biomedical engineering, chemical engineering and pharmaceutics and chair of the Biomedical Engineering Department, seek to engineer proteins that can be delivered by oral vaccine and introduced directly to the mucosal system, inducing a targeted, stronger immune response.
Their project was one of 76 winning awards out of the 3,000 proposals submitted. All awards were selected for their unconventional approach in fighting infectious diseases.
Grand Challenges Awards foster creative projects that show great promise to improve the health of people in the developing world. Initial grants are awarded two times a year, and successful projects have the opportunity to receive additional funding of $1 million or more.
About the Cockrell School of Engineering:
The Cockrell School ranks among the top ten engineering programs in the United States and aspires to move into the top five. With the nation's fourth highest number of faculty members elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the Cockrell School's more than 7,000 students work with many of the world's finest engineering educators and researchers. This environment prepares graduates to become engineering leaders and innovators working for the betterment of society.