KRISP at UKZN is reversing brain drain in Africa and achieving scientific excellence!


KRISP at UKZN challenges the status quo to create a scientific environment in South Africa that delivers high level science, creates innovations and reverses the brain drain. This vision is starting to pay off, and we are happy to say that in just three years, we published > 15 papers in Nature, Science and Lancet journals, which are some of the most respected scientific journals in the word.

KRISP changing the status quo and create a scientific environment in South Africa that drives innovations in global health, achieves scientific excellence and reverses the brain drain

Science journals:

- Genomic and epidemiological monitoring of yellow fever virus transmission potential. Science (2018), 359:86-90

- Elevated HLA-A expression impairs HIV control through inhibition of NKG2A-expressing cells. Science (2018), 359:86-90

- Effect of population viral load on prospective HIV incidence in a hyperendemic rural African community. Science Translational Medicine (2018), 9:eaam8012


Nature journals:

- Microbial genome-wide association studies: lessons from human GWAS. Nature Reviews Genetics (2017), nrg.2016.132:doi:10.1038/nrg.2016.132

- Renewing Felsenstein's phylogenetic bootstrap in the era of big data. Nature (2018), doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0043-0

- Inferring HIV-1 transmission networks and sources of epidemic spread in Africa with deep-sequence phylogenetic analysis. Nature Communications (2019), doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09139-4

- Declines in HIV incidence among men and women in a South African population-based cohort. Nature Communications (2019), doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-13473-y


Lancet journals:

- Occult HIV-1 drug resistance to thymidine analogues following failure of first-line tenofovir combined with a cytosine analogue and nevirapine or efavirenz in sub Saharan Africa: a retrospective multi-centre cohort study. Lancet Infectious Diseases (2017), pii: S1473-3099(16)30469-8:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30447-9

- Spread of yellow fever virus outbreak in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2015-16: a modelling study. Lancet Infectious Diseases (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30513-8

- Transmission networks and risk of HIV infection in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a community-wide phylogenetic study. Lancet HIV (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(16)30186-2

- Universal test and treat and the HIV epidemic in rural South Africa: a phase 4, open-label, community cluster randomised trial. Lancet HIV (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(17)30205-9

- Green environment and incident depression in South Africa: a geospatial analysis and mental health implications in a resource-limited setting. Lancet Planetary Health (2017), 1:152?62

- Dolutegravir for first-line antiretroviral therapy in low-income and middle-income countries: uncertainties and opportunities for implementation and research. Lancet HIV (2018), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S2352-3018(18)30093-6

- HIV-1 drug resistance before initiation or re-initiation of first-line antiretroviral therapy in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Lancet Infectious Diseases (2018), :http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30702-8

- Recent levels and trends in HIV incidence rates among adolescent girls and young women in ten high-prevalence African countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Global Health (2019), 7: e1521–40:

- Quantifying HIV transmission flow between high-prevalence hotspots and surrounding communities: a population-based study in Rakai, Uganda Lancet HIV (2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/ S2352-3018(19)30378-9.



We are very proud of our scientists, many of which left top international organisations to join us in South Africa! In addition to brain gain, they also bring a wealth of collaborators. For more information on all of our publications, which are open accessible, please visit KRISP scientific publications page.


We also would like to thank our main funders: The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), The Department of Science and Technology (DST), The European Commission (EC), The Royal Society in the U.K., The Wellcome Trust, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), The US CDC and The National Institute of Health (NIH) to believe that it is possible to do high-level research in Africa and reverse the brain drain!

News date: 2019-11-18

Links:

http://krisp.org.za/publications.php