KRISP expanded its genomics service offers. Our DNA sequencing services incorporate internal quality control (IQC), external quality assurance (EQA) and procedures are validated and performed by HPCSA-accredited scientists. Here you can access a detailed brochure of the genomics services we provide in Africa.

KRISP at UKZN partner with Stanford University on a global innovation program: SPARK GLOBAL: Translational Scientists without borders. As part of this program we run a monthly meeting (first Wednesday of EVERY MONTH) to discuss innovation, select and mentor start-ups that can produce translational research.

New research from the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) in collaboration with KRISP shows a 43% decrease in the rate of new HIV infections between 2012 and 2017 in the Hlabisa area of northern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa.

Lifeblood, an exhibition of photographs by Mr Samora Chapman at the Community Art Gallery in Durban. Curated by UKZN Professor and Director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) Tulio de Oliveira, it aimed to highlight the diversity of humans, plants and animals in South Africa.

This month, we report on a Nature Communications paper with AHRI that report a 43% decline in the overall HIV incidence rate in northern KZN. We also hosted a leading conservation genomics scientist and organized many talks and events. We went to Drakensberg for our strategic meeting, released the KRISP Wellness program and even went to Hamburg, Germany, to compete in the finals of the Upgrade my NGS Competition.

This month, we focus on a key Nature Communications paper that report a 43% decline in the overall HIV incidence rate in northern KZN. We also hosted a leading conservation genomics scientist and organized many talks and events. We went to Drakensberg for our strategic meeting, released the KRISP Wellness program and even went to Hamburg, Germany, to compete in the finals of the Upgrade my NGS Competition.

Prof. Frandsen, who published a paper in Science on conservation genomics in Nov 2019, has worked with KRISP & Genomics Africa to identify DNA sequencing services that we offer the conservation community in Africa.

In today's world, health and wellness are critical components of a productive work environment and a happy workforce. To often, these topics are misunderstood or ignored in an organisation's drive for results and profit. Health and wellness can also not be viewed in isolation of each other, as each feeds into and supports the other. Health is a state of body, and wellness is a state of being

At the end of November, the KRISP team traded their lab coats and laptops for hiking boots and hats, as they travelled up to the Sani Pass Premier Resort for a three-day strategy session

UKZN African Health Flagship Talks by Dr. Richard Lessells (KRISP UKZN & CAPRISA), Can we stop worrying about HIV drug resistance with the roll-out of dolutegravir? Tuesday, 26 Nov 2019 (12:00pm - 1:00pm), K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, UKZN, Durban, South Africa. All welcome!

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.

UKZN African Health Flagship and KRISP Talks by Dr. Benjamin Chimukangara (Phd Graduation Talk, Post-Fellow at KRISP, UKZN) - Increasing levels of HIV pretreatment drug resistance in South Africa. Tuesday, 19 Nov 2019 (11:00am - 12:00), K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, UKZN, Durban, South Africa. All welcome!

KRISP is running a Sanger Sequencing promotion to celebrate the launch of two new Sanger Sequencers (ABI 3730xl and 3500). Unbelievable prices for 2020. Capillary electrophoresis only – R 25 (per sample well). Sequencing of PCR purified amplicons – R 45 (per primer). Sequencing of PCR unpurified amplicons – R 75 (per primer).

We have been invited to give a keynote speech in the International Virus Bioinformatics Meeting (IVBM) 2020, Bern, Switzerland. IVBM 2020 is jointly organized by the European Virus Bioinformatics Center, the University of Bern and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.

This month, we focus on the art & science output of KRISP. This month we published many manuscripts including a key papers with CAPRISA that show a significant decline in HIV incidence in young women in KZN. We also participated in a large study that track HIV incidence in 10 African countries. We have also published a manuscript on the Ethics of HIV-1 molecular research and phylogenetics and worked with Brazilian collaborators to track the dissemination of viruses outbreaks in Brazil.

The SAMRC, through its Strategic Health Innovation Partnership (SHIP) programme, is seeking to fund five highly collaborative projects in the areas of pharmacogenomics with reference to failure of treatments with drugs (or drug classes) for Non-Communicable diseases, specifically Hypertension, Cardiovascular, Diabetes and Cancer in (South) Africa. Total Budget ZAR 12-14 million, which genomics data generation should be done in a DIPLOMICS laboratory, such as KRISP, in South Africa.

KRISP is a competence centre in bioinformatics and computational biology. The group employs skilled personnel that provides infrastructure, support and technological R&D for life sciences and clinical research.

The X-metting 2019 starts with a special session of Women in Bioinformatics. KRISP is >60% women and it is very exciting to participate in this section. We will cover the tweets to highlight how women can drive in this exciting field.

KRISP is giving a keynote speech at the X-Meeting. The X-Meeting is a Brazilian event with international reach which has an average of 300 participants. The Conference is an opportunity for students, researchers and companies to interact and diffuse knowledge.

KRISP and DIPLOMCIS Talks by Prof. Tulio de Oliveira (KRISP, UKZN) - Pharmacogenomics in Precision Medicine RFA by SAMRC with DIPLOMICS: 15 million rands of funding available! Monday, 28 Oct 2019 (11:00am - 12:00), K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, UKZN, Durban, South Africa. All welcome and Talk can be remotely attended: https://zoom.us/j/360942224

KRISP has partnered with a great photographer (Samora Chapman) to highlight the human and biodiversity life in South Africa. The photographic exhibition was curated by Tulio de Oliveira and highlight many of the genomics aspects that make us so similar and interesting at genotypic and phenotypic level.

UKZN African Health Flagship Talks by Dr. Helen Malherbe (Post-Doctoral Fellow at KRISP, UKZN) - Estimating the Burden of Congenital Disorders in South Africa: Recommendations for a Relevant Public Health Response. Wednesday, 23 Oct 2019 (11:00am - 12:00), K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, UKZN, Durban, South Africa. All welcome!

KRISP has been invited to present a Phylogenetics workshop as part of the international HIV drug resistance meeting. The workshop will happen in the first day of the conference and will focus on the use of HIV-1 Pol data to identify transmission networks.

This month, we focus on the launch of we focus on KRISP launching a Biotech Incubator in Durban - BioDurban. KRISP team walkabout to Sydney to participate in the top translational program in the world: the SPARK Global program. In our newsletter, we also highlight some of our fun activities, including three travel blogs, a Photo Exhibition with a great photographer and the publication of a Open Access Book on genomics and bioinformatics for viral outbreaks.

We have published together with colleagues from FioCruz Foundation in Brazil a book on the use of genomics to control and prevent viral diseases. This book focus on some of the genomics methods and bioinformatics tools that we have developed for arboviruses (i.e. Zika, Chikungunya, Dengue and Yellow Fever).

KRISP fantastic team (Dr. Thulile Nlapo, Dr. Benjamin Chimukangara, Dr. Richard Lessells and Gugulethu Mhkize) travel to attend a very inspiring translational science program in Australia. Read these cool blogs and see their personal view on one of the best and most ethical translational science program in the world.

Once again, this three-day conference hosted at the Durban ICC did not disappoint, attracting delegates and exhibitors from over 30 African countries and beyond. Most encouraging was the collective emphasis on innovation and the need to focus Africa's efforts in harnessing the untapped resources and scientific discoveries that the continent still has to offer.

This month, we focus on the launch of KRISP Sale Brochure 2019-2020 and the launch of KRISP Business Development Unit. These two initiatives aim to provide access to high-quality, output-driven, customer-centric and cost-effective genomics services in Africa.

A ground breakin study conducted by scientist from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation & Sequencing Platform (KRISP) and the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) has given new hope to policy makers on the frontline of the fighting the disease that proves that scaling up antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage can reduce the cases of TB.

This month at the SASBi newsletter KRISP at UKZN is featured as a key organization that is reversing brain drain in Africa and achieving scientific excellence! The newsletter also highlights Genomics Africa, our initiative with DIPLOMICS, the SASBi student council updates and some of the wild-cats' scientists (Yumna Moosa, San Emmanuel James and Upasana Ramphal) at KRISP. This is the coolest part of the newsletter and we really encourage you to read it...