South Africa has become a hub for virus hunting, thanks to the leadership of Tulio de Oliveira, a virus expert who has quickly established two major scientific institutes in the country. These institutes, the Kwazulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform and the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation, train the next generation of genetic experts and conduct cutting-edge genetic sequencing and analysis of disease-causing viruses.
De Oliveira’s labs have produced many of the current heads of genomics labs in African countries, and he believes that they are now more advanced than the best systems in the world. In 2024, he was offered a position as chief scientific officer at the U.K.’s Wellcome Sanger Institute but declined it to focus on establishing Africa as a leading player in genomics by expanding the network of genomic monitoring started in Africa.
The collaboration between de Oliveira’s institutes and Wellcome Sanger Institute aims to create a more robust global system of disease tracking with a focus on monitoring the effects of climate change on infectious diseases and human health. De Oliveira emphasizes that pathogens do not respect borders, so thinking about them as a global problem rather than just a national one is crucial in preparing for future public health challenges. This initiative will play an essential role in ensuring that humanity is better prepared for any potential pandemic or other public health crisis that may arise.