NEWS SPOTLIGHT

KRISP NEWS

UK Parliamentary members visit South Africa and CERI

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) - UK Branch delegation has come for a high level visit to the Parliament of South Africa on May 1923, 2025, in Cape Town. The visit aimed to deepen relations between the U.K .Parliament and the South African Parliament, with the delegation meeting members of both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.

KRISP Building Capacity in Genomics

In a significant stride toward enhancing next-generation sequencing (NGS) expertise across the continent, the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) hosted a comprehensive 7-day Illumina Library Preparation and Sequencing workshop this May. Held from the 6th to the 14th of May at KRISP’s cutting-edge facility, the workshop brought together 15 enthusiastic participants from diverse research backgrounds, all eager to deepen their understanding of NGS—from wet lab techniques to data analysis.

KRISP Welcomes IkamvaYouth Learners to the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine

On Friday, 23 May, KRISP had the honour of hosting 21 enthusiastic Grade 12 learners from KwaMathanda High School, part of the IkamvaYouth Science Track in Umlazi. This inspiring outreach day formed part of KRISP’s broader mission to create meaningful opportunities for young South Africans to engage with science and consider future careers in genomics and research.

SACEMA - Building Research Foundations Flagship Course

SACEMA’s flaship short course, Introduction to Epidemiological Analysis, recently concluded a successful week of training, equipping participants with essential skills in epidemiological thinking and data analysis. Designed for students, researchers, and public health professionals, the course combined rigorous academic content with hands-on application, delivering a dynamic and impactful learning experience.

KRISP at UKZN Celebrates Academic Excellence: Honouring Our Autumn Graduates

Graduation season is upon us—and at KRISP, we’re proudly celebrating the academic achievements of five exceptional team members who have reached major milestones in their scientific journeys.

Mastering the Art of Visual Storytelling

On 14 May 2025, CERI hosted an interactive photography workshop in the famous glassenclosed “fishbowl” boardroom at the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking.

Science Communication to Public Engagement: Optimising Benefits, Mitigating Barriers

In an age where misinformation spreads faster than facts, it has never been more crucial for scientists to engage the public. An open lecture by Prof. Marina Joubert.

PUBLICATIONS SPOTLIGHT

KRISP SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

Tracing the spatial origins and spread of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineages in South Africa.
Dor G, Wilkinson E, Martin DP, Moir M, Tshiabuila D, Kekana D, Ntozini B, Joseph R, Iranzadeh A, Nyaga MM, Goedhals D, Maponga T, Maritz J, Laguda-Akingba O, Ramphal Y, MacIntyre C, Chabuka L, Pillay S, Giandhari J, Baxter C, Hsiao NY, Preiser W, Bhiman JN, Davies MA, Venter M, Treurnicht FK, Wolter N, Williamson C, von Gottberg A, Lessells R, Tegally H, de Oliveira T, Nature Communications (2025), 28;16(1):4937. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-60081-0:.

Genomic Surveillance of Climate-Amplified Cholera Outbreak, Malawi, 2022–2023.
Chabuka L, Choga W, Mavian C, Moir M, Morgenstern C, Tegaly H, Sharma A, Wilkinson E, Naidoo Y, Inward R, Bhatt S, WilliamWint G, Khan K, Bogoch I, Kraemer M, Lourenço J, Baxter C, Tagliamonte M, Salemi M, Lessells R, Mitambo C, Chitatanga R, Bitilinyu-Bango J, Chiwaula M, Chavula Y, Bukhu M, Manda H, Chitenje M, Malolo I, Mwanyongo A, Mvula B, Nyenje M, de Oliveira T, Kagoli M, Emerging Infectious Diseases (2025), 31(6):. doi: 10.3201/eid3106.240930.:.

Importance of outbreak response research in bridging knowledge gaps on emerging infectious diseases.
Breiman R, Osoro E, Reithinger R, Wang D, Diamond M, Van Voorhis W, Wasserheit J, Rabinowitz P, Mboup S, Hemingway-Foday J, de Oliveira T, Boon A, Schieffelin J, Sempowski G, Moody M, Vasilakis N, Hanley K, Nasimiyu C, Situma S, Ngere I, Kyobe Bosa H, Nyakarahuka L, Bakamutumaho B, Woodson S, Njenga M, BMJ Global Health (2025), 10(6):e018297. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2024-018297.:.

Artificial intelligence for modelling infectious disease epidemics.
Kraemer M, Tsui J, Chang S, Lytras S, Khurana M, Vanderslott S, Bajaj S, Scheidwasser N, Curran-Sebastian J, Semenova E, Zhang M, Unwin H, Watson O, Mills C, Dasgupta A, Ferretti L, Scarpino S, Koua E, Morgan O, Tegally H, Paquet U, Moutsianas L, Fraser C, Ferguson N, Topol E, Duchêne D, Stadler T, Kingori P, Parker M, Dominici F, Shadbolt N, Suchard M, Ratmann O, Flaxman S, Holmes E, Gomez-Rodriguez M, Schölkopf B, Donnelly C, Pybus O, Cauchemez S, Bhatt S, Nature (2025), 638(8051):623-635. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08564-w.:.

Spatiotemporal disease suitability prediction for Oropouche virus and the role of vectors across the Americas.
Poongavanan J, Dunaiski M, D’or G, Kraemer M, Giovanetti M, Lim A, Brady O, Baxter C, Fonseca V, Alcantara L, de Oliveira T, Tegally H, medRxiv (2025), doi: 10.1101/2025.02.28.25323068.:.

Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 intrahost genetic evolution in vaccinated and non-vaccinated patients from the Kenyan population.
Lugano D, Mwangi K, Mware B, Kibet G, Osiany S, Kiritu E, Dobi P, Muli C, Njeru R, de Oliveira T, Njenga M, Routh A, Oyola S, medRxiv (2025), doi: 10.1101/2025.03.03.25323296.:.

Unveiling novel features and phylogenomic assessment of indigenous Priestia megaterium AB-S79 using comparative genomics.
Adeniji A, Chukwuneme C, Conceição E, Ayangbenro A, Wilkinson E, Maasdorp E, de Oliveira T, Babalola O, Microbiology Spectrum (2025), doi: 10.1128/spectrum.01466-24.:.

KRISP VIDEOS

COVID-19 | News sub-variant being monitored closely
By: Tulio De Oliveira and CERI and KRISP teams

KRISP BIOINFORMATICS TOOLS