Dear Colleague,
We are writing to announce a new Grand Challenges grant opportunity, "Innovations in Low-Cost and Simplified Pathogen Sequencing Workflows." We are seeking bold ideas that substantially lower the cost and complexity of pathogen sequencing, with a target of US$1–10 per sample-to-sequence. Rather than developing new sequencing hardware, this call prioritizes methodology and workflow that enable existing sequencing platforms to be used more affordably, reliably, and at scale. Proposed solutions should be adaptable across pathogens and platforms and explicitly designed for routine deployment in public health laboratories in low- and middle-income countries.
Grand Challenges brings together partners to solve big problems. This unique multi-partner initiative is co-funded by the Gates Foundation and the Temasek Foundation, will be managed by the United Nations Foundation, and will be implemented in collaboration with a network of global and regional partners, including the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) hosted by the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI), and the Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Asia PGI).
Applications are due no later than September 29, 2026, 11:30 a.m. U.S. Pacific Time. We will host a webinar on September 1, 2026, from 5:30-6:30 a.m. U.S. Pacific Time to provide a comprehensive overview of the RFP and answer your questions. To participate, please register and submit questions in advance. If you cannot attend live, the webinar will be available on the challenge page after the session.
Please share this email with colleagues and others in your network who may be interested. Breakthrough solutions depend on global partners bringing expertise and perspectives to difficult problems and we are grateful for your continued engagement in this work.
We are eager to review the proposals.
Sincerely,
The Global Partnerships & Grand Challenges Team