We welcome you to the Sixteenth Meeting of the H3Africa Consortium. As you know we were due to meet in Tanzania this September with the African Society of Human Genetics. Unfortunately we have all been forced into detours which has created opportunities for creative engagement. We hope that our virtual meeting experience will offer as many opportunities to share research findings and build upon them. We will dedicate time to explore research areas beyond the current scope of H3Africa to foster broader sustainable networks. Our early career scientists are always a key feature of H3Africa meetings, there will be several opportunities to engage young scientists during presentation and poster sessions. Our Principal Investigators and Scientists have also responded to the Covid-19 pandemic at various levels and are keen to share their experiences and findings with you. We appreciate your participation during this virtual meeting and look forward to meeting you in-person in time.
Monday, Sep 7, 2020
| Speaker Name | Presentation Title | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Mogomotsi Matshaba | H3Africa Overview | Download |
| Solomon Ofori-Acquah | SickleGenAfrica: Defining Risk Factors of Organ Dysfunctions in Sickle Sell Disease | Download |
| Mahmoud Sani | SickleGenAfrica Project 3: Echo- Cardiovascular Phenotypes in Sickle Cell Disease | Download |
| Emma Weiner | Establishing a Baseline for Developmental Disorder Diagnosis by evaluating current diagnostic processes and mapping common benign copy number variation in Africa | Download |
| Nadia Carstens | Deciphering Developmental Disorders in Africa | Download |
| Adeyinka Ashaye | Eyes of Africa: The genetics of blindness: Progress report | Download |
| Jantina de Vries | Stigma in African genomics - when it is a risk and when it may not be | Download |
Tuesday, Sep 8, 2020
| Speaker Name | Presentation Title | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Alash'le Abimiku | Institute of Human Virology Nigeria H3Africa Biorepository (I AB) Update | Download |
| Elizabeth Mayne | COVID-19 CLS | Download |
| Caleb Kibit | Residential Training Going Virtual: Challenges and opportunities | Download |
| Dan Masiga | Three Years On: Updates, Successes and Challenges | Download |
| Kaitlyn Flynn | Evaluating whole exome sequencing on the Thermo Fisher Ion Torrent S5™ as a potential tool for diagnosing developmental disorders | Presentation OR Recording |
| Ibrahim Guindo | Clinical and genetic aspects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Mali | Presentation OR Recording |
| Henrick Aduda | Characterizing transmission dynamics of recent viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in Uganda | Presentation OR Recording |
| Tafadzwa Machipisa | Preliminary tissue enrichment findings from DEPICT analysis in RHDGen | Download |
| Alaine Marsden | Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Genetic Diversity with Large Structural Variation in an African Population | Download |
| Joseph Atemia | Mining next generation sequencing data for genetic diversity assessment of eastern Africa finger millet blast fungus | Presentation OR Recording |
| Lakshmi Sujeen | The use of supervised machine learning algorithms to study and predict physico chemical characteristics and biological behavior of nanofibrous scaffolds for skin tissue engineering | Presentation OR Recording |
| Abdoulaye Yalcouye | Genetic aspects of hereditary hearing impairment in Mali | Presentation OR Recording |
| Diabate Oudou | In silico analysis of Pfdhfr gene mutations and their effects on the protein function | Presentation OR Recording |
| Magambo Phillip | TrypanoGEN+; From GWAS to candidate genes | Download |
| Enock Matovu | Updates from TrypanoGEN + | Download |
| Olufemi Aromolaran | Essential gene prediction in Drosophila melanogaster using machine learning approaches based on sequence and functional features | Download |
Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020
| Speaker Name | Presentation Title | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Segun Fatumo | Intergenerational Epigenomics of PTSD and Trauma in Rwanda: Update and Scientific accomplishments | Download |
| Erisa Sabakaki | Ethical and social issues in informed consent processes in African genomic research | Download |
| Francis Anyaka Amayoa | PARTICIPANTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF INFORMED CONSENT FOR GENOMIC RESEARCH: A CASE OF THE CAfGEN STUDY | Download |
Thursday, Sep 10, 2020
| Speaker Name | Presentation Title | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Florence Kivunike | BRecA : Three Years of Nurturing Bioinformatics and Genomics in Uganda | Download |
| Collins Morang'a | Regulation of cGAS STING Mediated DNA Sensing Pathway by Oligoadenylate Synthetase like Protein during Plasmodium falciparum Infections | Download |
| Olu Ajibola | Diversity of putative Plasmodium falciparum vaccine candidates across different malaria endemic settings in Africa | Download |
| Dominic Amuzu | High throughput PCR RFLP assay for identification of glycophorin B deletion variants | Download |
| Cheickna Cisse | Identification and 3D model prediction of the multistage antimalarial target Plasmepsin X from Plasmodium falciparum (PfPImx) | Download |
click/tab on the name or picture for bio
Alash’le G Abimiku
Alash’le Abimiku has been pivotal to the establishment of a long-term collaborations between Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) and other Institutions in Nigeria and investigators at the Institute of Human Virology University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore where she is an Associate Professor
Solomon Ofori-Acquah
Ofori-Acquah was appointed Dean of the School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences in the University of Ghana in January 2017, and as Associate Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics, and Director of the Center for Translational and International Hematology in the University of Pittsburgh in 2013.
Ashaye Adeyenka
Adeyinka Ashaye is the Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. She is the Principal Investigator for Eyes of Africa: The genetics of Blindness study funded by NIH and Welcome Trust.
Dominic Amuzu
I am a student pursuing a PhD in Biochemistry (Human Genetics) at the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Ghana. As a PhD research fellow, I am investigating the effect of glycophorin B gene deletions on Plasmodium falciparum invasion of erythrocytes and growth.
Amayoa Francis Anyaka
Amayoa Francis Anyaka is the Environment Officer of Uganda Prison Service. He is also a final year student of Master of Health Sciences in Bioethics at the School of Biomedical Sciences, Makerere University.
Kidist Bobosha
I am a Senior Researcher at the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) and serve as head of the Mycobacterial Diseases Research Directorate. I have been working for the AHRI since 2003.
Nadia Carstens
Dr Carstens is a medical scientist specializing in the field of human genetics. She joined the Division of Human Genetics (National Health Laboratory Service and University of the Witwatersrand) as a principal medical scientist in 2016.
Cheickna Cisse
Cheickna CISSE, PhD is an assistant professor of Biochemistry and Bioinformatics at the the University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB) since 2016. In addition to his training commitments, CISSE is leading research activities on structural Bioinformatics into the African Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics of Bamako (ACE-B).
Francis Collins
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. was appointed the 16th Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate. He was sworn in on August 17, 2009.
Jeremy Farrar
Director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam for 18 years. His research interests were infectious diseases, tropical health and emerging infections. He has published over 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers, mentored many dozens of students and fellows, and served as Chair on several advisory boards for governments and global organisations, including the World Health Organization.
Segun Fatumo
Assistant Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Bioinformatics at the MRC/UVRI Uganda and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
Kaitlyn Flynn
Current MSc (Med) student at the University of the Witwatersrand. Working on evaluating whole exome sequencing as a possible diagnostic tool for developmental disorders in South Africa. Completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Pretoria followed by my BHSc Honours (Human Genetics) degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. Passionate scientist looking to expand my knowledge
Christian Happi
Sep 8 @ 12:55pm GMT
Professor of Molecular Biology and Genomics; Director, African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases
Moses Joloba
Moses Joloba is the current Dean School of Biomedical Sciences, Makerere University College of Health Sciences. He was Head of Department of Medical Microbiology (2005 – 2014). Professor Moses Joloba has developed skills in conducting clinical microbiology and molecular biology, laboratory-based research and training as well as building laboratory capacity in Uganda and other countries.
Florence Nameere Kivunike
Florence Nameere Kivunike, is a Key Personnel and Programme Coordinator of the NIH, H3Africa bioinformatics nurturing program (BRECA) in Uganda (PIs: Dr. David Kateete, Dr. Daudi Jjingo). She is a lecturer at the School of Computing and Informatics Technologies, College of Computer and Information Sciences (COCIS), Makerere University.
Zane Lombard
Deciphering Developmental Disorders in Africa (DDD-Africa) – Evaluating Clinical Exome Sequencing in an African Setting
Tafadzwa Machipisa
Tafadzwa Machipisa is a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She is currently a visiting student at the Population Health Research Unit (PHRI) at McMaster University, Canada. Tafadzwa joined the Mayosi research group in 2015 and initially, worked on her master’s project looking at cardiomyopathies in Afrikaner families, whilst also doing the wet lab part of RHDGen. Tafadzwa’s PhD project work entails deciphering the genetics of rheumatic heart disease;
Julie Makani
Prof. Julie Makani is from the Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), where Tanzania established one of the world’s largest single-center study cohorts for sickle cell disease.
Dan Masiga
Dan Masiga’s research focus is on tropical infectious diseases, which began with African trypanosomes, the subject of his doctoral studies, but extended to malaria and NTDs.
Enock Matovu
Enock Matovu obtained his PhD in Molecular Parasitology from the University of Bern, Switzerland in 2001, while he worked as a Research Officer at the Livestock Health Research Institute, Tororo, Uganda. Since then has continued his work on drug resistance and later diagnostics for African Trypanosomiasis.
Mogomotsi Matshaba
Mogomotsi Matshaba, Principal Investigator for Collaborative African Genomics Network (CAfGEN) Group is Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Retrovirology, Baylor College of Medicine, and Executive Director- Botswana-Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence. He is a medical graduate of University College of Dublin, Ireland.
Elizabeth Mayne
Elizabeth Mayne is a specialist haematologist and pathologist with a special interest in immunology and HIV-associated malignancy. She currently runs the leukaemia and lymphoma immunophenotyping and immunohaematology services at the National Health Laboratory Service
Ayton Meintjes
Ayton Meintjes is a Bioinformatics software engineer at CBIO. He completed a BSc in Computer Science at the University of Pretoria, and after a period of development in the commercial field, returned to do a BSc (Hons) with specialisation in Bioinformatics. In 2008, he joined the CBIO Group at UCT and has collaborated on projects mostly focusing on human population
Collins Misita Morang'a
Collins Misita Morang’a is a PhD research fellow at WACCBIP, funded by the Wellcome Trust DELTAS Programme at the University of Ghana. He finished his studies in Biochemistry from Egerton University and obtained his Master of Science Degree in Molecular Biology from Maseno University in Kenya.
Lynn Morris
Lynn Morris is the Interim Executive Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and Principal Medical Scientist in the HIV Virology Section, Centre for HIV & STI’s at the NICD. She holds a joint appointment as Research Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and is an Honorary Senior Scientist at CAPRISA.
Nicola Mulder
Professor Nicky Mulder heads the Computational Biology Division at the University of Cape Town, and leads H3ABioNet, a large Pan African Bioinformatics Network of 27 institutions in 17 countries. H3ABioNet aims to develop bioinformatics capacity to enable genomic data analysis on the continent. She is also co-PI of a Sickle Cell Data Coordinating Centre.
Leon Mutesa
Leon Mutesa, MD, PhD Professor of Human Genetics Director of Center for Human Genetics College of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Rwanda Dr. Mutesa is professor of human genetics at the college of medicine and health sciences-University of Rwanda. He obtained his MD from the university of Rwanda in 2003 and his PhD in 2009 from the university of Liege-Belgium where he also completed his post-doc in 2011.
Alfred Amambua Ngwa
Studied Biochemistry and molecular parasitology at the Unversity of Buea, earning a PhD in 2004. Spent 5 years at MRC Unit Gambia at the London School of hygeiene and Tropical medicine, researching in Plasmodium falciparum invasion pathways and genetic diversity. Has been an MRCG at LSTMH career development
John Nkengasong
Dr John Nkengasong was appointed first Director of Africa CDC in November 2016 to provide strategic direction and position it as an African-owned institution supporting countries to improve surveillance, preparedness, response and prevention of disease threats.
Dimpho Ralefala
Dimpho Ralefala is a PhD fellow specialising in Bioethics under the Individual Findings in Genetics Research in Africa (IFGENERA) H3Africa ELSI Collaborative Centre at the University of Cape Town. She holds a Masters of Social Science degree in Health Research Ethics (2017) from the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa
Michèle Ramsay
Michèle Ramsay, Ph.D., is a professor in the Division of Human Genetics at the National Health Laboratory Service and University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg. Her research interests include the genetic basis and molecular epidemiology of single gene disorders in South African populations and the role of genetic and epigenetic variation in the molecular aetiology
Simone Richardson
Simone is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Antibody Immunity Research Unit of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, where she also completed her PhD.
Erisa Mwaka Sabakaki
Dr. Erisa Mwaka is an orthopaedic surgeon, academician and bioethicist. He holds a Bachelors of Medicine and Bachelors of Surgery (Makerere University, Uganda), Master of Medicine (Makerere University, Uganda), Master of Social Sciences in Health Research Ethics (University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa) and PhD (Fukui University, Japan).
Mahmoud Umar Sani
Cardiologist with the Department of Medicine, Bayero University Kano (BUK)/Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, Nigeria. He received his medical degree in 1993 from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria and completed residency in Internal Medicine and Cardiology in 2002.
Jantina de Vries
Cardiologist with the Department of Medicine, Bayero University Kano (BUK)/Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, Nigeria. He received his medical degree in 1993 from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria and completed residency in Internal Medicine and Cardiology in 2002.
Emma Wiener
Emma completed a BSc in Genetics and Biochemistry in 2011 and Biochemistry honours in 2012 at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. She then went on to do the Graduate Entry Medical Program MBBCH at University of Witwatersrand graduating 2016 after which she decided to pursue research and do a PhD in Human genetics
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Gavin Churchyard
Gavin Churchyard is a specialist physician, internationally renowned for his contributions in tuberculosis (TB). He is the founder and CEO of The Aurum Institute NPC, an independent, public benefit organisation that focuses on TB and HIV service delivery, management and research. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Witwatersrand,
Mark Daly
Mark Daly is an institute member of the Broad Institute and co-director of the Program in Medical and Population Genetics. His research primarily focuses on the development and application of statistical methods for the discovery and interpretation of
Melissa Gymrek
I am currently an assistant professor at the University of California San Diego in the Departments of Medicine and Computer Science & Engineering.I received my PhD in Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics from the Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology under the supervision of Yaniv Erlich and Mark Daly
Heidi Rehm
Heidi Rehm is a clinical genomicist and past Director of the Laboratory for Molecular Medicine at the Partners Personalized Medicine. She is now the Chief Genomics Officer at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) as well as Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School.
Guillaume Lettre
Guillaume Lettre is an Associate professor of Medicine at the Montreal Heart Institute and the Université de Montréal since January 2009
Angela Page
Angela Page is the Communications Manager for the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, based at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Elissa Prichep
Elissa Prichep is Lead, Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare, at the World Economic Forum, and based in San Francisco. Her work focuses developing and testing policies to advance precision medicine approaches in emerging economies, for which she recently released a whitepaper on Genomic Data Policy Frameworks and Ethical Tensions. She also manages the Forum’s Global Future Council on Biotechnology and is developing initiatives on health system responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thomas Kariuki
Thomas Kariuki is the Director of Programmes at The African Academy of Sciences where he leads the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa. He holds an honorary Professorship at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of York.