Five Highlights from our Scientific Research Portfolio

As with many of our blog posts, this is a cross-post from Open Philanthropy, our partner organization.

Since 2016, Open Philanthropy’s Scientific Research team has supported hundreds of projects aimed at improving human health globally. Our efforts span a broad spectrum, from advancing the fundamental understanding of high-burden diseases to backing the development of innovative health interventions. We support projects at every stage — from proof-of-concept studies to human efficacy trials — while also investing in implementation research and initiatives designed to make health technologies more affordable and accessible.

Below, we spotlight five grantees whose work exemplifies our approach to hits-based giving in scientific research. While not comprehensive, these examples illustrate different aspects of our science funding strategy and represent some of the project types we aim to support.

Washington University in St. Louis (Dr. Mark Manary): Advancing nutrition for malnourished children

The challenge: Millions of children in low- and middle-income countries suffer from severe malnutrition, which can cause long-term cognitive impairments, including deficits in memory, language acquisition and processing, and motor development.

The research: Through a series of grants starting in 2016 in collaboration with Unorthodox Philanthropy, we supported Dr. Mark Manary, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Malawi. The study compared multiple versions of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), including a new formulation that increased DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid) and decreased linoleic acid (omega-6) in the standard recipe.

The impact: The study showed significant improvements in cognitive outcomes for children who received the omega-3-enriched formulation. This evidence contributed to an updated formulation requirement adopted by UNICEF (the primary purchaser of RUTF). With over 4 million children receiving RUTF treatment for severe acute malnutrition each year, this new formula, once implemented by producers, could significantly boost cognitive development and educational outcomes for millions of children worldwide.

University of California, Berkeley (Dr. Irina Conboy): Deciphering the mechanisms of aging

The challenge: Given the central role aging plays in disease progression, a better understanding of the aging process could lead to improvements in a broad range of health outcomes.

The research: Dr. Irina Conboy, a professor in the Department of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley, has made significant strides in the scientific understanding of how blood factors — hormones, proteins, and other molecules circulating in the bloodstream — influence aging. Though Dr. Conboy’s work had already gained recognition by the time of our first grant in 2017, we believed it was still neglected relative to its potential in a field that had received much private investment but little public research funding.

With support from our team and other funders, Dr. Conboy:

• Developed micro-apheresis for mice, an innovative technique that allows filtration of blood to remove small molecules.
• Identified 10 novel biomarkers of aging.
• Uncovered a major mechanism for rejuvenation through modulation of the TLR4 receptor, which appears to play a key role in age-related inflammation.
• Revealed that diluting old blood (with saline and purified albumin) — rather than adding young blood, which has garnered provocative headlines — can have rejuvenating effects on muscle, liver, and brain tissue.

The impact: Dr. Conboy’s research offers a new perspective on how factors in blood affect aging. Her findings suggest that identifying and counteracting pro-aging factors in blood could potentially slow or reverse certain effects of aging, opening new avenues for improving human health and longevity.

International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Dr. Jeremy Herren): A novel approach to malaria prevention

The challenge: Malaria continues to be a major global health threat, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, with existing prevention methods facing challenges such as insecticide resistance.

The research: In 2022, Dr. Jeremy Herren at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenya and Steven Sinkins at the University of Glasgow discovered that Microsporidian MB, a naturally occurring symbiont, shows promise in blocking the transmission of malaria.

MB resides in the gut and reproductive tissues of Anopheles mosquitoes, where it appears to trigger immune changes that prevent malaria parasites from developing and reaching the mosquito’s salivary glands. Importantly, MB doesn’t seem to harm the mosquitoes, which allows it to spread naturally through mosquito populations without causing resistance to develop.

Over a three-year grant period, Herren and his team:

• Confirmed that MB can be sexually transmitted and vertically transmitted (from female to eggs), facilitating its spread among mosquito populations.
• Demonstrated in controlled experiments that MB-infected mosquitoes were much less likely to host and transmit malaria parasites.

The impact: Initial results suggest that Microsporidia MB could become an effective tool for reducing malaria transmission without relying on insecticides or genetic modification. While trials are still ongoing, this approach has the potential to benefit millions of people in malaria-endemic regions. The next phase of research will help determine the method’s effectiveness in real-world conditions.

R21 Phase III Trial (Dr. Halidou Tinto): Support for a malaria vaccine

The challenge: Phase III trials of the promising R21 malaria vaccine faced potential delays and complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The trials, conducted across sites in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali, and Tanzania, required additional support to sustain their momentum during the pandemic.

The research: The R21 malaria vaccine, designed and developed by Katharine Collins, now a Program Officer on our Global Health R&D Program, built upon previous vaccine approaches to create a more durable immunization. While the Serum Institute of India provided the main funding for the vaccine trial, we identified an opportunity to provide strategic supplementary support through discussions with lead researcher Dr. Halidou Tinto. This additional funding aimed to ensure the trial sites had the resources to ensure swift recruitment, follow-up, and high standards of care for participating children and their parents. The support addressed critical needs such as:

• Improving workspaces to accommodate increased staff and ensure COVID-19 safety protocols.
• Improving transportation for study participants and refrigerated sample transfer.
• Upgrading infrastructure like internet connectivity and power supply.

The five institutions that received support were the Ifakara Health Institute, Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Institut International des Sciences et Technologies, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, and Université des Sciences des Technique et des Technologies de Bamako.

The impact: The trial successfully demonstrated R21’s effectiveness, and the vaccine has since been recommended by the World Health Organization. In July 2024, Côte d’Ivoire became the first country to administer the new R21 vaccine outside of a clinical trial, marking a significant milestone in the fight against malaria. While early results are promising for reducing malaria incidence, the vaccine’s full public health impact will become clearer as more countries begin implementation programs.

International Vaccine Institute (Dr. Julia Lynch): Advancing a hepatitis E vaccine

The challenge: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is responsible for approximately 20 million infections annually, resulting in 3 million symptomatic cases and perhaps 70,000 deaths, yet it receives considerably less attention than other infectious diseases.

The research: The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is an independent, nonprofit organization committed to discovering, developing, and delivering vaccines for global public health. A current project, which we co-funded with the Gates Foundation, is focused on advancing a promising hepatitis E vaccine called Hecolin, which was developed by Innovax.

Hecolin is currently approved for use in China for adults aged 16 and older, with an observed efficacy of 100% in phase III trials. But to achieve global impact, the vaccine needs World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation.

In 2023, IVI launched a 25-month clinical trial led by Dr. Julia Lynch and Dr. Tarun Saluja to expand access to the Hecolin vaccine. The study enrolled nearly 900 volunteers in South Africa, including adults with and without HIV, teenagers, and children. The trial will test the vaccine’s safety in these diverse groups and explore alternative dosing regimens to potentially stretch vaccine supplies. We, alongside the Gates Foundation, have also previously supported a phase 1 safety trial of Hecolin in pregnant women, the group with the highest mortality rate (10–40%) following infection.

The impact: This research aims to provide the comprehensive data package needed for the World Health Organization to “prequalify” Hecolin, dramatically increasing its availability in countries that need it. If successful, this work could lead to the prevention of thousands of deaths annually, particularly in developing countries where hepatitis E outbreaks are more common.

These are just five of the hundreds of projects and organizations our Scientific Research team has supported since 2016. To learn more about our work in this area, visit our Scientific Research focus area page or check out the full list of our science grants.