The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is now accepting grant proposals for Round 8 of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to encourage innovative and unconventional global health and development solutions. Applicants can be at any experience level; in any discipline; and from any organization, including colleges and universities, government laboratories, research institutions, non-profit organizations and for profit companies.

Grant proposals are being accepted online until November 17, 2011 on the following topics:

•    NEW - Protect Crop Plants from Biotic Stresses From Field to Market
•    NEW - Design new approaches to optimize immunization systems
•    NEW - Explore New Solutions in Global Health Priority Areas
•    Explore Nutrition for Healthy Growth of Infants and Children
•    Apply Synthetic Biology to Global Health Challenges

Initial grants will be US $100,000 each, and projects showing promise will have the opportunity to receive additional funding of up to US $1 million. Full descriptions of the new topics and application instructions are available at: www.grandchallenges.org/r8_gce

If you have interest in proposing to this opportunity, please contact your Program Development Specialist in the ORSP.