The Global Alliance for Rapid Diagnostics (GARD) is a multidisciplinary peer-to-peer network of equals committed to improving health worldwide founded in 2016 by MSU Prof. Evangelyn Alocilja.

GARD currently has more than 100 members across all six continents, and every year, the free virtual GARD Forum allows experts, academics, and participants to discuss the use of innovative technologies to sustain all aspects of health. You can learn more about GARD and the GARD Forum via their website.

Global Innovation Challenge

One part of the GARD Forum is the Innovation Challenge, a competition in the form of three-minute elevator pitches open to undergraduate and graduate students and professionals worldwide, with the goal of fostering skills such as ingenuity, leadership, and collaboration.

Participants have to demonstrate a clear understanding of the challenge and provide a clear and comprehensible description of their solution including benefits for their main target audience and other market-related aspects.  After deliberation by the judging panel, three winners are selected and awarded cash prizes.

Learn more about the 2023 Innovation Challenge in this news article, or visit the official website for more information about the Innovation Challenge as a whole.

Save the Date: 2024 GARD Forum & Innovation Challenge!

Taking place on March 14 - 16, 2024 virtually through WHOVA, the themes for this virtual forum will be:

• Antimicrobial Resistance In Respiratory Diseases And Sepsis In Immunocompromised Populations (ARSIP)
• Transboundary, Emerging, And Aquaculture Diseases (TEAD)
• Sustainable Health Initiative (SHI)
• Human, Animal/Food, And Environment In Alignment With Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Affordable And Accessible Diagnostic Technologies (AADT)
• Pandemic Preparedness And Surveillance (PPAS)

There will be worldwide technical sessions, short courses, virtual cultural presentations, and a Global Innovation Challenge. Please visit https://bit.ly/GARD2024 to register.