Gates Scholar Entrepeneurs Fight Tuberculosis

  • May 6, 2008

Gates Scholars Christopher Rumball and Kelly Karns recently returned from Houston, Texas, where they competed in the Rice Business Plan Competition in the hopes of finding investment for their newly-formed company, AutoTB.

A MoneyCNN.com article features the Cambridge team in a roundup of the prestigious competition’s competitors.

Thirty-six of the top MBA/graduate schools from around the world competed in this year’s competition, the largest and richest in the world. Ultimately, more than $675,000 in cash and prizes was awarded. AutoTB was successful in winning the Challenge round in the medical device group, although they did not make the grand final round.

In an endeavour to combine both commercial and social motivations, AutoTB is developing an innovative diagnostic test for tuberculosis, one of the major killers in our world today. The device improves on the current standard of care, resulting in earlier and cheaper diagnoses while maintaining the simplicity and robustness that is necessary for diagnostics in the developing world.

As a result of discussions with potential investors and professional advisors, which is an integral part of the Rice Competition, AutoTB plans to continue advancing its technology and funding-base in the coming months. It will shortly compete in the finals of the Cambridge University Entrepreneurs business plan competition

Latest News

New book explores future of the Arctic

A Gates Cambridge Scholar has co-written a book about the future of the Arctic which has been praised by the executive director of the Arctic Economic Council for bringing the Arctic […]

Behind the scenes in discussions on Inter-American rights treaties

What is the difference between how we think of human rights and economic and social rights? Several decades in the case of Mexico, according to research by Andrés Ruiz Ojeda [2023].  […]

Exploring the mechanisms of human life

Marcelo Mesa Costa Lima [2025] is interested in one of the fundamental questions of science – what gives us life. His PhD, which follows on from previous research experience working […]

Why adaptive leadership matters in a turbulent age

The global move against internationalism has meant organisations like the Gates Foundation have had to adapt – to change their language, to look at where technology can make efficiencies and […]