The foundation set up by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda is to provide $100,000 in funding to scientists at University College Cork to study the gut bacteria and viruses of infants in developing countries.
The researchers at the APC Microbiome Institute won the funding from Grand Challenges Explorations – an initiative which aims to support the exploration of high risk, high reward ideas in one of five critical global heath and development topic areas.
The team was among 40 recipients to receive a grant from Grand Challenges Explorations, and will use the $100,000 for a first phase pilot project
The project will see researchers Dr Jennifer Mahony and Prof Douwe van Sinderen analyse faecal stool samples from infants in developing countries to try to get a picture of the bacteria and viruses in their gut – known as microbiota.
In particular they will examine how the bacterial viruses, or phages, influence the balance of good bacteria and harmful bugs.
The team aims to establish whether phages can be used to destroy the bad bacteria in order to make the gut health of the infants in developing countries better.
