CERI & KRISP Newsletter May/June 2023: CERI's collaborative trip to Switzerland, WHO, Pandemic Hub, Health 2030, Univ Bern, etc.


As we enter the winter season in South Africa, our focus shifts to the northern hemisphere. In May, we had the privilege of attending the World Health Assembly, WHO, and the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, where we had the opportunity to participate in the launch of the International Public Health Surveillance Network (IPSN). Additionally, Professor Tulio engaged in significant discussions with the Medical Center for International Diseases (MCID) in Bern and the Geneva 2030 Genomics program.

At CERI and KRISP, we acknowledge the crucial role that climate change plays in the severity and transmission of pathogens. Therefore, we are delighted to announce the official establishment of the CLIMADE Consortium. This initiative places us and our partners at the forefront of global research on the influence of climate change on infectious diseases, encompassing not only Africa but also the rest of the world.

This issue's highlights are:

- News: Launch of the International Pathogen Surveillance Network, Geneva, 20 May

- News: Visit to the Health 2030 Genomics Centre in Geneva

- News: Visit to Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, Bern University

- Opinion: A pathogen surveillance network will strengthen global health

- Press Release: Rockefeller Foundation, WHO and CLIMADE

- Videos: CERI & KRISP Fellows Short Videos

- Seminars: The rise (and fall?) of South Africa's HIV epidemic

- Seminars: Share Humanity training program: Will climate Change Fuel the Next Pandemics?

- News: New biomedical research facility to advance African health science

- Training: Training Program at KRISP with DIPLOMICS & ThermoFisher

- Training: KRISP with DIPLOMICS & ThermoFisher introduction to qPCR, 19-22 June 2023

- Service: Next Generation Sequencing Service      

- Publication: Molecular Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 during Five COVID-19 Waves and the Significance of Low-Frequency Lineages

- Publication: High prevalence of self-reported sexually transmitted diseases among older adults in Tanzania: results from the list experiment

We hope you enjoy it and find it informative. We welcome any feedback about content or format.

The concept behind this newsletter is that anyone with 15 minutes to spare can learn about the work of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch University and the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), which is hosted at University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, South Africa

CERI and KRISP want to challenge the status quo and create a scientific environment in South Africa that drives innovations in global health and reverses the brain drain. The way we challenge the status quo is by attracting, training and retaining both top (South) African scientists that understand the problem from the ground level and the best international minds that are committed to our vision…

News date: 2023-06-05

Links:

https://krisp.org.za/manuscripts/CERI_KRISPnewsletter_Vol6(5)_MayJun.pdf