Dr. Huan Nguyen (right), a viral immunologist at the IVI, and his research
assistant Park Hae-jung conduct an experiment at his laboratory.

On October 22, the IVI was awarded a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a pioneering project to develop an effective influenza vaccine. The project, led by Dr. Huan Nguyen, a viral immunologist at the IVI, constitutes one of the 104 novel ideas the Gates Foundation singled out to support the “exploration of bold and largely unproven ways” to improve global health. Each awardee received a US$100,000 grant, with an opportunity for successful projects to receive a follow-on Phase II grant of US$1 million.

Dr. Nguyen´s research seeks to follow up on the unexpected finding that a fluorescent green protein originally intended as a research control could be the basis of a highly effective influenza vaccine. The Nobel Prize in chemistry for 2008 was awarded to the discoverers of this protein.

Dr. Nguyen will conduct research on vaccines at the new high-tech Biosafety Level 3+ (BSL 3+) laboratories that have been refurbished at IVI headquarters in Seoul with support from the Government of Korea. The facilities enable scientists to safely handle dangerous pathogens, including avian influenza and tuberculosis.

The Gates Foundation announced on October 16, 2008 the 104 grants that were awarded to scientists from 22 countries in a first round of funding from its Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to help lower the barriers for testing innovative ideas in global health. The Foundation stated that the initial set of grants will inject fresh perspective into research for preventing or curing infectious diseases, and limiting the emergence of drug resistance.

According to the Foundation, 104 grants were selected from nearly 4,000 proposals, and were made to universities and other nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and private companies.