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BGU Prof. Receives Gates Foundation Grant

BGU Prof. Receives Gates Foundation Grant

November 10, 2014

Medical Research, Press Releases

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, November 10, 2014 – BGU Professor Zvi Bentwich has received a Grand Challenges in Global Health Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for his project in Ethiopia to wipe out parasitic worm infections.

The funding will help support mass drug eradication efforts against these infections by implementing in parallel a health education campaign run by local students with the provision of clean water and sanitation facilities. Behavioral change and hygiene are essential for the eradication of many diseases.

Prof. Zvi Bentwich

Prof. Zvi Bentwich

Prof. Bentwich is a member of BGU’s Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics and heads the Center for Emerging Diseases, Tropical Diseases and AIDS (CEMTA). His groundbreaking research in the 1990s uncovered a strong link between intestinal worms and immune system deficiencies, and he has been working to eradicate worms in Ethiopia ever since.

Prof. Bentwich will test his approach in an Ethiopian region with 30 schools, connected to a wider population of 200,000 people. Families will be treated with anti-parasitic drugs. Local students will be trained to provide health education, explaining the causes and symptoms of diseases, and how to avoid contracting them. The grant will also make it possible for the research team to provide water and latrines to schools. The effect of their approach on infection rates will be evaluated over an 18-month period.

The Center for Emerging Diseases, Tropical Diseases and AIDS was established in 2006 within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the BGU. This multidisciplinary center works to enhance existing scientific collaborations and facilitate new collaborations both inside and outside of Israel.

“We applaud Prof. Bentwich who has dedicated his career to solving the problems of Neglected Tropical Diseases,” says Doron Krakow, Americans for Ben-Gurion University executive vice president. “It is immensely gratifying to see that a prestigious grant organization such as The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recognizes the groundbreaking work our faculty is passionate about to bring hope to all corners of the world.”

Grand Challenges has given out 1,689 grants in 80 different countries across the globe.

ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY

By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.

About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.

We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.

BGU at a glance:  

20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.

 

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