The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is now accepting grant proposals for Round 7 of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to encourage innovative and unconventional global health 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 May 19, 2011 on the following topics:

*Explore Nutrition for Healthy Growth of Infants and Children

*Apply Synthetic Biology to Global Health Challenges

*The Poliovirus Endgame: Create Innovative Ways to Accelerate, Sustain, and Monitor Eradication

*Create the Next Generation of Sanitation Technologies

*Design New Approaches to Cure HIV Infection


*Create Low-Cost Cell Phone-Based Solutions for Improved Uptake and Coverage of Childhood Vaccinations

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

http://www.grandchallenges.org/gce/