H3Africa Projects

H3Africa projects have been funded between 2011 – 2021 by the National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, African Academy of Sciences, and the Science for Africa Foundation. Members from all project groups participate in the Working Group and Steering Committee activities.

H3Africa projects investigate the genomics of non-communicable and communicable diseases in African contexts and the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of this research. Additionally, there are projects that help develop capacity: biorepositories, the bioinformatics network, a coordinating center, and the bioinformatics training programs.

Download H3Africa Project Map

Biorepositories

Project Description	Project Description	PI Name(s)	Location
H3Africa Regional Biorepositories	Establishment of an H3Africa Biorepository at Clinical Laboratory Services	Dr. Elizabeth Mayne, Prof. Ute Jentsch	South Africa
H3Africa Regional Biorepositories	Integrated Biorepository of H3Africa Uganda – IBRH3AU	Prof. Moses Joloba	Uganda
H3Africa Regional Biorepositories	IHVN H3 African Biorespository (I-HAB) Initiative	Dr. Alash’le G Abimiku	Nigeria
Pilot Biorepository	Development of H3 Africa Biorepositories to Facilitate Studies on Biodiversity, Disease & Pharmacogenomics of African Populations	Dr. Akin Abayomi	South Africa

H3Africa Regional Biorepositories

H3Africa Administrative Coordinating Centre

Project Description	PI Name(s)	Location
H3Africa Adminisrative Coordinating Centre: Enabling and Supporting Genomics and Health Research Capacity Building in Africa	Dr. Michelle Skelton	South Africa

Bioinformatics Network

Project Description	PI Name(s)	Location
H3ABioNet: A Sustainable African Bioinformatics Network for H3Africa	Prof. Nicola Mulder	South Africa

Bioinformatics Training Programs

Project Description	PI Name(s)	Location
Eastern Africa Network for Bioinformatics Training (EANBIT)	Daniel Masiga	Kenya
Nurturing Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Capacity in Africa (BRECA)	Dr. David Kateete, Dr. Daudi JJingo, Dr. Irving Jordan, Dr. Graeme Mardon	Uganda
West African Center of Excellence for Global Health Bioinformatics Research Training	Dr. Seydou Doumbia, Dr. Jian Li, Dr. Jeffrey Shaffer	Mali
West African Sustainable Leadership and Innovation Training in Bioinformatics Research (WASLITBRe)	Dr. Ezekiel Adebiyi, Dr. Peter Amoako-Yirenky, Dr. Seydou Doumbia	Nigeria

Collaborative Research Centers

Project Description	PI Name(s)	Location
AWI-Gen: Genomic and Environmental Risk Factors for Cardiometabolic Disease in Africans	Michele Ramsay	South Africa, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Kenya
Eyes of Africa: The Genetics of Blindness	Adeyinka Ashaye	Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Malawi
Genomic Characterization and Surveillance of Microbial Threats in West Africa	Christian Happi	Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone
Sickle Cell Disease Genomics Network of Africa (SickleGenAfrica)	Solomon Ofori-Acquah, Gordon Awandare, Julie Makani	Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania
Center for Research on the Respiratory Microbiota of African Children (ReMAC)	Mark Nicol	South Africa, The Gambia, Malawi
Systematic Investigation of Blacks with Stroke – Genomics (SIBS-Genomics)	Mayowa Owolabi, Bruce Ovbiagele	Nigeria, Ghana
Collaborative African Genomics Network (CAfGEN)	Mogomotsi Matshaba, Gabriel Anabwani, Moses Joloba, Adeodata Kekitiinwa, Graeme Mardon, Sununguko Wata Mpoloka, Oathokwa Nkomazana	Botswana, Eswatini, Uganda
H3Africa Kidney Disease Research Network	Dwomoa Adu, Akinlolu Ojo, Salako Babatunde	Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon
African Collaborative Center for Microbiome and Genomics Research (ACCME)	Clement Adebamowo	Nigeria, Zambia
Burden, spectrum and etiology of type 2 diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa	Prof. Ayesha Motala	South Africa
TrypanoGEN: An integrated approach to the identification of genetic determinants of susceptibility to trypanosomiasis and TrypanoGEN +: The Genetic Determinants of Two Neglected Tropical Diseases	Enock Matovu	Uganda, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea
The RHDGen Network: Genetics of rheumatic heart disease and molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus pyogenes pharyngitis	Mark Engel and Bongani Mayosi	South Africa
TBGENAfrica: TB Genetics Network in Africa	Dr. Abraham Aseffa	Ethiopia
Genetic interactions between human populations and malaria parasites in different environmental settings across Africa	Dr. Alfred Amambua Ngwa	The Gambia
HI-GENES Africa: Hearing Impairment Genetics Studies in Africa	Prof. Ambroise Wonkam	South Africa, Mali, Cameroon

Research Projects

Project Description	PI Name(s)	Location
The Genomics of Schizophrenia in the South African Xhosa People	Dr. Dan Stein, Prof. Raj S. Ramesar	South Africa
Transgenerational Effects of Maternal Stressors: Investigating the Role of Infant Gene Expression	Dr. Dan Stein, Dr. Nastassja Koen, Dr. Kerry Ressler, Dr. Aliza Wingo	South Africa
Reprogramming of the Trypanosoma brucei Epigenome during Human Infection: Opportunities for New Therapies	Hugh-George Patterton	South Africa
The Nasopharyngeal Microbiome and Respiratory Disease in African Children	Prof. Mark Nicol	South Africa
Intergenerational Epigenomics of Trauma and PTSD in Rwanda	Dr. Leon Mutesa, Dr. Monica Uddin, Dr. Derek Wildman, Dr. Stefan Jansen	Rwanda, Uganda
Immunoglobulin Gene Diversity in an African Population and Impact Antibody Function in HIV Infection	Prof. Lynn Morris	South Africa
DDD-Africa: Deciphering Developmental Disorders in Africa (DDD-Africa) – Evaluating Clinical Exome Sequencing in an African Setting	Dr. Zane Lombard	South Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Clinical and Genetic Studies of Hereditary Neurological Disorders in Mali	Prof. Guida Landoure	Mali
Host and Microbial Genetic Determinants of febrile illness in West Africa	Prof. Christian Happi	Nigeria
Systems Biology for Molecular Analysis of Tuberculosis in Ethiopia	Prof. Gobena Ameni	Ethiopia
RAFAgene: Contribution of genetic variation to pharmacokinetic variability and toxicity in patients undergoing multi-drug tuberculosis treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa	Prof. Dissou Affolabi	Benin, South Africa, Guinea, Senegal
AFBRECANE: African Female Breast Cancer Epidermiology Study	Prof. Clement Adebamowo	Nigeria
BEAMING: Breast Milk Microbiota Influence on Infant Immunity and Growth	Dr. Alash’le Abimiku	Nigeria, South Africa

Ethical, Legal, and Society Issues (ELSI) Collaborative Centers

Project Description	PI Name(s)	Location
Developing Best Practices of Community Engagement for Genomics and Biobanking in Africa (CEBioGen)	Ghansah Anita, Tindana Paulina	Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa
Individual Findings in Genetic Research in Africa (IFGeneRA)	Prof. Ambroise Wonkam, Prof. Jantina de Vries	South Africa, Botswana, Cameroon

Ethical, Legal, and Society Issues (ELSI) Research Projects

Project Description	PI Name(s)	Location
African Neurobiobank for Precision Stroke Medicine – (ELSI) Project	Dr. Rufus Olusola Akinyemi	Nigeria, Ghana
Genetics and Genomic Research in Uganda: Towards Context Specific Ethics Guidelines	Dr. Joseph Ochieng	Uganda
Ethical and Social issues in Informed Consent Processes in African Genomic Research	Dr. Erisa Sabakaki	Uganda
Stigma in African genomics research on Schizophrenia and Rheumatic Heart Disease	Prof. Jantina de Vries	South Africa
Exploring Perspectives on Genomics and Sickle Cell Public Health Interventions	Prof. Ambroise Wonkam	South Africa
Enhancing Ethiopian youths’ literacy about the gene x environment contributions to health using the context of Podoconiosis	Prof. Getnet Tadele	Ethiopian
Indigenous Linguistic and Cultural Concepts of Heritability and Comprehension of Genomics Research in Africa (INDIGENE) Study	Prof. Clement Adebamowo	Nigeria
Genomics Inheritance Legal and Social Issues	Dr Alice Matimba	Zimbabwe