Nine Bold Teams, One Shared Mission: BioPREVAIL Reveals Built Environment Design Challenge Cohort

October 3, 2025, 04:45 GMT

BioPREVAIL, a One Health security innovation initiative, is pleased to announce the selection of nine innovative teams for the inaugural cohort of its Built Environment Design Challenge (BE-Design Challenge), a global initiative designed to accelerate innovation in the design, operation, and sustainability of diagnostic containment laboratories.

Launched in July 2025, the BE-Design Challenge is the first international innovation initiative dedicated to improving how laboratories are built, maintained, and sustained to meet the complex biosecurity needs of the 21st century. The call for proposals attracted strong global interest, with applications from 31 countries across every continent. Notably, 27% of submissions were from women-led teams, reflecting the critical role of diverse leadership in advancing science and innovation.

All submissions underwent a rigorous technical and strategic evaluation by an independent panel of expert judges. Based on their assessments and recommendations, BioPREVAIL made the final selection of nine teams whose solutions demonstrated exceptional potential to deliver contextualized, scalable, and impactful innovations in three priority areas identified by the BioPREVAIL Built Environment Advisory Committee (BE-AC):

  • Laboratory facility design and construction
  • Equipment maintenance
  • Laboratory waste management

Introducing the 2025–2026 Cohort

The selected teams represent a broad range of geographies, disciplines, and approaches, united by their shared ambition to transform laboratory environments for a safer, more sustainable future:

  • Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC), Cambodia – (Led by Sofia Perez) – Circular economy solution for plastic waste-to-resource system
  • BioAssets Corporation, Philippines – (Led by Zyne Baybay) – Mobile veterinary diagnostic laboratory with ruggedized systems tailored to the unique geographic setting of the Philippines.
  • BioKite Labs / 10Billion.org, United Kingdom – (Led by Joel Christoph) BioKite Resilience Kit to reduce lab downtime in challenging environments.
  • Research World Partnerships, Kenya – (Led by Ronald Odero)-SL-BioLock Smart Waste Bin
  • AFMS International, South Africa – (Led by Abraham Van Rensburg)- Undercounter effluent treatment system for laboratory waste.
  • GSSHealth, United States – (Led by Paula Fernandes)- Portable solar-powered diagnostic systems
  • University of Cape Town / WNWN International, South Africa – (Led By Sarah Fernandes) – Bioremediation approach for treating Guanidinium Thiocyanate (GTC) waste
  • T2 Design Lab, South Africa – (Led by Thembalethu Moyo)-High-containment laboratories (HCL) Sandbox Design
  • Portable Biocontainment, India and Mexico – (Led by Ketan Thorat)- Portable BSL-3 Biocontainment Unit

Each of these teams brings a distinct perspective and bold vision to the challenge. In the coming weeks, we will highlight their work in greater depth and explore how their solutions could shape the future of diagnostic laboratories.

BioPREVAIL extends its sincere thanks to the Built Environment Advisory Committee (BE-AC) and the judging panel, whose expertise and guidance were instrumental in shaping this initiative and ensuring a rigorous and thoughtful review of all submissions.

Built Environment Advisory Committee (BE-AC):

  • Uwe Mueller-Doblies, Advisory Committee
  • Jane Shallcross, CEPI and UK Health Security Agency
  • Geofrey Jagero, Biorisk Management Association of Kenya (BMAK)
  • Sacha Wallace, IFBA
  • Debbie Eagles, CSIRO
  • Indrawati Sendow, Indonesian Research Center for Veterinary Science
  • Ken Ugwu, Public Health Agency of Canada (retired)
  • Emmanuel Allegye-Cudjoe, Ghana Veterinary Services
  • Mark Wheatley, Director Environment & Services Ltd.
  • Samuel Yingst, Columbia University

Judging Panel:

  • Talkmore Maruta, African Society for Laboratory Medicine
  • Stuart Blacksell, MORU/ University of Oxford
  • Jonathan Ewbank, ERINHA AISBL
  • Erin Sorell, Johns Hopkins University
  • Miguel A. Grimaldo, University of Texas Branch
  • Phoebe Readford, Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness
  • Claudio Mafra, Full Professor, Federal University of Vicosa, Brazil (retired)
  • Luciana Vasquez, WENS
  • Miranda Smith, Biodefense Advisor, USAID (until 2 Sept 2025); Co-Founder, Biosecurity Forecasting Group; Chemical & Biological Warfare Researcher, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
  • Anne-Sophie Lequarre, European Commission
  • Samantha Letsholo, Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand
  • Musonda Mandona, Ministry of Health – Zambia
  • Kirsten Engel, Secure DNA Foundation
  • Daxaben Sakhiya, Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission
  • David Harper, Chatham House
  • Carrie Batten, The Pirbright Institute
  • Samuel Yingst, Columbia University
  • Mark Wheatley, Director, Environment & Services Ltd.
  • Indrawati Sendow, Research Center for Veterinary Science, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia
  • Rica Zinsky, WHO
  • Biju Jacob, Health Innovation Exchange (HIEx)
  • Aparupa Sengupta, NTI | Bio
  • Saskia Popescu, Global Health Security Network (GHSN)

Next Phase: The BioPREVAIL Academy

With their selection confirmed, the nine teams now begin a six-month innovation journey as part of the BioPREVAIL BE-Design Challenge, an initiative designed not only to accelerate solution development and deployment, but also to strengthen the capacity of emerging innovators to navigate the complex landscape of global health security.

The journey unfolds in two stages:

  • Development Phase (3 months): Through the BioPREVAIL Academy (BP Academy) and mentorship, teams will refine their concepts into robust, implementable solutions. This phase concludes with the Innovation Showcase in December 2025, where teams will present their work to partners and stakeholders.
  • Pilot Testing Phase (3 months): Following the showcase, teams will validate and demonstrate their solutions in real-world contexts — a critical step toward scalability and long-term impact.

The BP Academy goes well beyond technical training. It equips teams with the skills, insights, and networks needed to turn ideas into impactful, scalable solutions. Participants will receive targeted support in:

  • Customer discovery and end-user engagement
  • Legal, policy, and regulatory frameworks relevant to diagnostic containment
  • Communications, branding, and resource mobilization
  • Technical mentorship from leading experts in biosafety, engineering, and laboratory design
  • Strategic planning and partnership development to support long-term sustainability and impact

Join the BioPREVAIL Mentor Pool

If you have expertise that could help shape innovative solutions and are interested in working alongside motivated teams tackling real-world biosecurity challenges, we invite you to join us as a mentor. Your insights and guidance can make a tangible difference in supporting these pioneering projects. To express your interest, please contact us at admin@bioprevail.org.

Save The Date

The BioPREVAIL Innovation Showcase on 16 December 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland marks a major milestone in the BE-Design Challenge. Following three months of intensive solution development, cohort teams will present their innovations to a diverse audience of stakeholders, including policymakers, funders, technical experts, investors, and global health partners. This showcase will highlight the progress achieved in the development phase and set the stage for the upcoming three-month pilot testing phase.

Additional details, including venue and registration information, will be shared soon.

We would like to thank Global Affairs Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program and the World Organization for Animal Health for their foundational support of the BioPREVAIL Program.

About Global Health Security Fund (GHS Fund)

Based in Geneva, the Global Health Security Fund (GHS Fund) is a nonprofit organisation combining venture capital and entrepreneurship principles with traditional philanthropy to identify and scale the most promising locally driven global health innovations. We identify global health security innovations and validate innovations based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) impact and investment potential, connecting market-ready innovations with investors. To learn more, visit GHSFund.org. Join the conversation, visit us @GHSFund.