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Description The Gates Foundation is inviting proposals for novel interventions that target placental and gut inflammation and oxidative stress to improve fetal growth outcomes and address fetal growth restriction in high-burden settings. The opportunity is structured around three focus areas. Track 1, Mechanism and Target Discovery, supports mechanistic investigation and target nomination related to maternal gut-placenta inflammatory or oxidative stress axes, with projects expected to validate at least one target or pathway and nominate an actionable intervention strategy. Track 2, Candidate Validation and Translational Advancement, supports the advancement of a defined intervention candidate with a clear mechanistic rationale and requires biomarker-linked evidence of biological activity and translational validation. Track 3, Early Clinical Proof-of-Concept, supports early human studies of advanced or repurposed candidates for placental or gut applications, with emphasis on biological activity, safety, feasibility, and biomarker modulation. Fetal Growth Restriction, also known as intrauterine growth restriction, remains a major contributor to stillbirth, neonatal mortality, and long-term morbidity worldwide. The burden is especially high in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where a large share of small-for-gestational-age births occurs and where fetal growth restriction is linked to preterm birth, impaired immune and metabolic development, and higher risk of non-communicable diseases later in life. The challenge highlights placental dysfunction as a central cause of fetal growth restriction, often involving impaired vascularization, altered nutrient transport, and dysregulated immune signaling. It also notes growing evidence that inflammatory processes and gut-placenta inflammatory axes may influence placental function, metabolism, and fetal growth, although definitive causal pathways are still being explored. Applicants are expected to begin with plausible mechanistic hypotheses supported by existing evidence and to work within established experimental platforms or well-characterized human datasets and biobanks. Proposals should clearly define the pathways linking inflammation or oxidative stress to gut and placental function, explain how those pathways will be investigated during the award period, and include quantitative success criteria and go or no-go thresholds for future advancement. Projects should be ambitious but feasible within the available time and budget. The call excludes purely observational studies without an intervention component, interventions that depend on highly specialized infrastructure unlikely to be scalable in the global south, and nutritional interventions that do not directly address inflammatory or oxidative stress mechanisms. The call is open to a wide range of applicants worldwide, including nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, academic institutions, research institutions, international organizations, and consortia. Collaboration with institutions and investigators in the global south is strongly encouraged to improve relevance and ensure respect for local contexts. However, individuals and organizations classified as individuals for U.S. tax purposes are not eligible for funding under this initiative. Successful proposals are expected to show a strong scientific rationale, a novel or significantly advanced intervention approach, measurable timelines and deliverables, and a clear plan for generating preliminary data that can guide future investment and development decisions. Multidisciplinary expertise, including fields such as immunology, obstetrics, pharmacology, and translational biology, is also encouraged. Funding levels vary by track. Track 1 offers up to US$400,000 for up to 18 months. Track 2 offers up to US$750,000 for up to 24 months. Track 3 offers up to US$1,000,000 for up to 30 months. Budgets must be justified in relation to proposed deliverables, and indirect costs should remain within standard institutional policy thresholds where applicable. The challenge will not fund proposals involving commercial nutritional supplements already on the market without evidence of mechanistic relevance, the use of antibiotics or antimicrobials that could contribute to antimicrobial resistance, or drugs, biologics, or bioactive compounds known to be contraindicated during pregnancy or lactation.

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