TIME 100: The 100 Most Influential People of 2022 - Prof Tulio de Oliveira and Sikhulile Moyo
BY JOHN NKENGASONG. Scientists in Africa have been monitoring and sequencing pathogens since long before the pandemic. The world benefited from this network when scientists including Sikhulile Moyo, laboratory director for the Botswana-Harvard HIV Reference Laboratory, and Tulio de Oliveira, director of South Africas Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation, identified and reported the emergence of the Omicron variant last November.
It was a transformational moment and a shift in paradigmone that for me symbolized that excellence in science can originate in Africa.
The international response to news of this discoverywhich included travel bans imposed on African countries by other nationswas complex. It made me reflect on what global cooperation and solidarity must look like when we fight a common threat like COVID-19.
Every generation has people who inspire subsequent generations. Sikhulile and Tulio have the potential to be that for people who will work in public health and genomics. We have not seen the end of their contributions.
Nkengasong is the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
News date: 2022-06-06
Links:
KRISP has been created by the coordinated effort of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and the South African Medical Research Countil (SAMRC).
Location: K-RITH Tower Building
Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, UKZN
719 Umbilo Road, Durban, South Africa.
Director: Prof. Tulio de Oliveira