NC Water Institute
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
In April 2024, Amazing Avens Quest for Amoeba Awareness committed $330,000 to the NC Water Institute and the UNC Billings School of Global Public Health!
As part of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, The Water Institute at UNC seeks to create a more water-secure world through research, policy and practice to provide the evidence, tools and leaders to change the way the world innovates for water solutions.
Researchers at the water institute will soon begin phase 1 of this incredible project. Phase 1 involves developing a rapid and scalable screening method to identify sites and conditions where Naeglaria risk is elevated, which can enable targeted messaging about risks. This phase will include all internal as well as initial field work to show that the process can be done effectively in the field and produce quantitative, same-day data on naegleria in surface waters.
In phase 2 and 3 The project will aim to map naegleria in recreational waters which is necessary to understanding the risks to to enable us to target preventive, corrective, and educational interventions to reduce exposures and improve public health.
We are beyond excited to have created this partnership. Our first installment of $90,000 to cover the cost of phase 1 has Been given to the the Water institute!
We were honored to have Joe Brown, PhD who will be overseeing the project attend our fundraising events over the weekend.
It is very special to have this project taking place at a university in our local community and the hospital in which Aven was treated Sharing in our vision of fighting this deadly amoeba on all fronts.
Dennis Kyle
“Discovery of Host Genetic Factors Associated with Susceptibility to infections with Brain eating amoeba”
In April 2024, Amazing Avens Quest for Amoeba Awareness committed $93,500 in a research grant to Dennis Kyle and the University of Georgia.
Dr. Dennis Kyle will use funds provided from our foundation to test the hypothesis that host genetic factors contribute significantly to susceptibility to N. fowleri. It is our hope that identifying these host factors will enable the development of strategies to prevent future infections with brain- eating amoebae or to develop life-saving therapies in the future.
Dr. Dennis kyle is the head of the Cellular Biology Department at the University of Georgia. We are so excited about this very important work and can’t wait to share updates in the future.
Research in the Velle Lab at Mass Dartmouth
“Defining the basic biology underlying disease-causing traits in Naegleri”
In January 2024 Amazing Avens Quest for Amobea Awareness committed $105,270 in a research grant! The Velle Lab seeks to define the basic biology underlying how Naegleria cells crawl, eat and divide. Throughout the next year they will use this funding to study how these cells crawl. It is our hope that this work will lead to more successful treatments for PAM infections in the future.
“Avens Assay”
In August of 2022 Amazing Avens Quest for Amobea Awareness committed $66,142 to Ashley and Annie Moseman at Duke University. The grant will provide money to go towards research needed to develop an antigen-based diagnostic tool for PAM. The goal is to provide a rapid test that can provide results quickly leading to the early diagnosis of Naegleria Fowleri.
Christopher Rice
We were honored that Christopher Rice Recently flew in to spend the weekend with us during our Golf Tournament Fundraiser. Chris is currently at Perdue University and studies free living amoeba. He focuses on drug discovery and drug development.