Team – Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation

	Dr Cheryl Baxter Head of Scientific Support at CERI.My main research focus is HIV prevention, specifically strategies to reduce HIV acquisition among young women and issues related to sexual and reproductive health. More recently, I have been contributing to Covid-19 research, particularly the monitoring of the epidemic trends. In addition to my research experience, I have a passion for capacity development.
	Prof. Tulio de Oliveira My research interests concentrate on viral evolution under selection pressure created in the transmission, acquisition, and drug escape processes. A particular point of interest is on the study of viruses's origins and the effect of the network of transmissions in the spread of epidemics in Africa and other continents. I also enjoy developing bioinformatics software applications and running a next-generation sequencing (NGS) and innovation research centre.
	Dr Vagner Fonseca My research interests concentrate on viral evolution under selection pressure created in the transmission, NGS of 2nd and 3rd generation sequencing. A particular point of interest is the study of viruses' origins and the effect of the network of transmissions in the spread of epidemics in Brazil and other continents. I also enjoy developing bioinformatics software to make users' lives more conformable with a more user-friendly interface application.
	Suzette Grobler Senior Grants and Contract Manager at CERI.
	Dr Monika Moir Post-Doctoral Fellow at CERI - I was awarded a PhD in 2020 which focused on the ecology and conservation of bats in forests in South Africa with specialisation in the fields of bioacoustics, population genetics, phylogeography and landscape ecology.
	Dr Yeshnee Naidoo Laboratory Manager at CERI. My main interest is HIV Drug resistance in South Africa and translational research to implement activities designed to make precision medicine technologies available to the public.
	Dr. Sunday Oladejo I recently joined CERI as a joint postdoctoral fellow with a research background in mobile networks, optimization, machine learning, and data science. My research interest lies in the intersection of machine learning, data science, and health sciences.
	Dr Emmanuel James San San James is Pursuing a PhD in Medicine, Majoring in Virology and a Bioinformatics Research Associate at the Kwazulu Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform (KRISP). Research interests are in the areas of Bioinformatics Software and Pipelines Development, Next Generation Sequence Data Management and Analysis, and High Performance Computing for Data Intensive Projects
	Houriiyah Tegally I am a PhD Student in Medicine (Virology), originally from Mauritius. My research interests revolve around the use of technology and innovative solutions to help relieve some of the burden of diseases in Africa.
	Dr. Stephanie van Wyk I am a molecular and evolutionary biologist. My research interest lies in the study of evolutionary genomics of microorganisms. I am especially interested in the molecular dynamics driving genetic variation and evolution in pathogenic microorganisms.
	Dr. Eduan Wilkinson My main area of interest is the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in the Southern African region.
	Joicymara Xavier I recently joined CERI for a PhD exchange period under the supervision of Prof. Tulio de Oliveira. I am a professor at the Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha and Mucuri (UFVJM) and co-founder of an NGO that teaches programming to young and socially vulnerable girls (Código X). Currently, I'm enrolled in a PhD in Bioinformatics with a focus on predicting the effects of mutations in the structure and function of proteins