The Trinity Challenge Announces Judges for Multi-million Prize Awards

Tsitsi Masiyiwa and Mark Dybul to co-chair a panel of 20+ expert judges awarding a prize fund of up to £6m.

Updated 3rd June 2021

London, UK, 6 March 2021: With two weeks to go until the April 15 submission deadline of its first innovation Challenge, The Trinity Challenge is proud to announce its 2021 judging panel, who will select the finalists and winners of The Trinity Challenge this June. 

The Trinity Challenge is a coalition of over 40 members, from across academia, private and public organisations and charities, committed to bringing together the best thinking, capabilities, and tools in data and analytics to make sure that we never again have to suffer from a pandemic like COVID-19.

Earlier this year, The Trinity Challenge launched its call for submission of solutions to its health innovation Challenge in partnership with MIT Solve, The Trinity Challenge will award prizes from up to a total fund of £6m to innovative solutions that use data, digital tools and analytics to help better identify, respond to, and recover from future health emergencies. 

Individual winners stand to receive up to £2m to help them develop, deploy, and scale their solutions for the global public good, and will benefit from support and mentorship from The Trinity Challenge’s coalition of Members. Members of The Trinity Challenge span organisations from the private sector - including pharma/medtech and tech more broadly, academia, and the social sector.

The Trinity Challenge has brought together a cross-disciplinary panel of experts and leaders in the fields of technology, analytics and artificial intelligence, public health, epidemiology, investments, non-profit and social sectors. The judging panel includes:

• Mark Dybul (Co-Chair), Professor of Medicine, Co-Director, Center for Global Health Practice and Impact, Georgetown University Medical Center
• Tsitsi Masiyiwa (Co-Chair), Founder and Co-Chair, Higherlife Foundation
• Amandeep Gill, Project Director/CEO, The International Digital Health & AI Research Collaborative (I-DAIR)
• Christina Bitar, Senior Partner, Azerta
• Dylan George, Vice President, In-Q-Tel
• Erik Berglof, Chief Economist, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
• Githinji Gitahi, Group Chief Executive Officer, Amref Health Africa
• Gloria Seruwagi, Team Leader, Centre for Health and Social Economic Improvement (CHASE-i), Makerere University
• Henry Mwanyika, Regional Director-Africa, PATH
• Jacqueline Miller, Senior Vice President Infectious Diseases, Moderna
• Jayasree Iyer, Executive Director, Access to Medicine Foundation
• Jia Li, Co-Founder, DawnLight
• Karel Vredenburg, Director, IBM Global Design Leadership & Academic Programs
• Patricia J. Garcia, Professor, School of Public Health at Cayetano Heredia University (UCPH)
• Mainga Hamaluba, Chair of Clinical Research, KEMRI-Wellcome
• Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India
• Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director, Women in Global Health
• Sajit Joseph, Chief Innovation Officer, American Red Cross
• Sheetal Silal, Founder and Director, Modelling and Simulation Hub Africa (MASHA), University of Cape Town
• Swati Gupta, Vice President and Head of Emerging Infectious Diseases, IAVI
• Tan Chorh Chuan, Executive Director & Chief Health Scientist, MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation & Ministry of Health Singapore,
• Yves Boussemart, Chief Technology Office, Xerxes Global

Dame Sally Davies, Chair of The Trinity Challenge, said “We are excited to convene a judging panel that is representative of the various sectors, industries, and geographies that we hope to engage - in line with our aim to attract the best solutions from anyone, anywhere. Our panel includes some of the world’s pre-eminent experts in analytics, design, public health, epidemiology, and public and social sector. We are confident that these judges will help us identify the most exciting and impactful solutions to better prepare us for the next global health emergency.” 

Hala Audi, CEO of The Trinity Challenge agrees and adds: “Each judge brings a tremendous wealth of experience. All have had exceptional impact in their respective field, pushing the envelope of what is possible in technology, drug development, epidemiology and public health.”

Tsitsi Masiyiwa, Co-Chair of The Trinity Challenge judging panel indicates “I am very honoured to be taking part in the judging panel for The Trinity Challenge. As an African philanthropist, I believe that this is a distinctive opportunity to identify and support the creation of globally accessible public goods that would strengthen healthcare systems for pandemic preparedness. I look forward to seeing the solutions submitted to this Challenge from across the world”

Alex Amouyel, Executive Director of MIT Solve, said “We are delighted to partner with The Trinity Challenge and its esteemed judges to select innovative solutions to health emergencies. Partnerships and improved coordination across all sectors are key to preventing the worst effects of health emergencies. Through the Trinity Challenge, there is an immersive opportunity to unlock the full potential of data and analytics to support better responses to outbreaks and plans for more equitable recoveries in their wake.”  

The Trinity Challenge is still accepting applications for its inaugural Challenge until April 15th on the MIT Solve platform. Prospective applicants with questions about submitting solutions to The Trinity Challenge can register to join the applicant Q&A session on Wednesday, April 7: 4-5pm BST / 11-12pm EDT. Staff from Solve and The Trinity Challenge will answer questions about the application.

About The Trinity Challenge

The Trinity Challenge brings together a coalition of 40 institutions to help the world achieve deep shifts to better prepare for future health emergencies. Our Challenge is a call to action for anyone to contribute innovative solutions to better identify, respond to, and recover from global health emergencies, and provides up to £6m to scale the best solutions. Using data, analytics, and digital tools, we must do better now and next time, to be more effective, and benefit more people and communities. For more information, visit www.thetrinitychallenge.org, and follow @joinTTC on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

The Trinity Challenge is a registered charity in England and Wales (1191909).

About MIT Solve

Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a mission to solve world challenges. Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation. Through open innovation Challenges, Solve finds incredible tech-based social entrepreneurs all around the world. Solve then brings together MIT’s innovation ecosystem and a community of Members to fund and support these entrepreneurs to help them drive lasting, transformational impact. Join Solve on this journey at solve.mit.edu.

Contacts

For more information about The Trinity Challenge or to organise an interview with Hala Audi, please e-mail info@thetrinitychallenge.org.