In the largest single private grant ever made to UCSF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $28 million to fund a study led by Nancy Padian, PhD, aimed at controlling the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

"The funding of this study shows incredible foresight on the part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," says Padian, director of international programs at the AIDS Research Institute, which is a featured priority of the Campaign for UCSF.

She will use this support to examine the effectiveness of the diaphragm in slowing the spread of the AIDS virus. If this classic contraceptive device proves to be an effective means of preventing infection, the study could help win the battle against AIDS in Africa, where the disease kills 6,000 people per day. Infection rates are extremely high there partly because women are not empowered to negotiate condom use with their partners.

"Finding additional barrier methods that are female-controlled is a public health priority," says Helene Gayle, director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's HIV/AIDS & TB Program.

Previous studies have shown that by providing a physical barrier to transmission of the virus, the diaphragm may lower women's risk of contracting HIV. Researchers hope that this simple, inexpensive tool will stave off at least one-third of all potential infections and save countless lives.