Montreal Gazette - One household, two winners

The first step toward becoming one of Grand Challenges Canada's Rising Stars in Global Health was learning to be succinct.

"We're used to writing 12-page grant proposals which are full of science and references" says Dr. Nitika Pai. "This was a very different pitch: a two-pager where you put your best ideas out there." That's a lot closer to a 140-character Tweet than to a PhD dissertation. And it was particularly difficult for the female doctor in the Pai household.

"My wife is not used to being brief," Dr. Madhukar Pai said. Nor was either Pai accustomed to explaining research projects in two-minute videos, another requirement of the program. Their efforts paid off. Each doctor has been named a Rising Star and received a $100,000 grant, with the possibility of scaling up to $1 million in additional funding.