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The CERI seminar on 30 July 2025 will showcase Dr Gert JK Marais’s work developing tailored software and wet-lab protocols to make clinical metagenomics affordable and practical in South African diagnostic labs. Attendee, both in person and online, will learn how these innovations are lowering barriers to comprehensive infectious-disease testing in resource-limited settings.

The Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) warmly invites researchers, clinicians, and public-health professionals to its upcoming #CERIseminar:

• Date & Time: Wednesday, 30 July 2025 | 12:00-13:00 SAST
• Venue: BMRI Room 3073, Tygerberg Campus, Stellenbosch University (or online—see link below)
• Host: Dr. Marije Hofstra, Researcher, CERI
• Topic: Developing the Tools for a Clinical Metagenomics Platform in South Africa

Talk Summary:

Clinical metagenomics promises to revolutionise infectious-disease diagnostics by identifying a wide range of pathogens in a single test. However, high costs and technical challenges have limited its routine use in resource-constrained settings. In this seminar, Dr Gert JK Marais will describe ’s laboratories—lowering barriers and advancing clinical metagenomics toward everyday diagnostic practice.

About the Speaker:

Dr Gert JK Marais is a clinical microbiologist and Crick Africa Network Career Acceleration Fellow at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He holds specialist fellowships in Medical Microbiology and Medical Virology from the College of Pathologists of South Africa, an MSc in Virology from Imperial College London, and an MMed in Virological and Microbiological Pathology from UCT. Currently completing a PhD in Bioinformatics at UCT, Dr Marais also serves as a contributing investigator at the Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa). His research focuses on developing novel molecular tools and bioinformatics pipelines to translate metagenomic diagnostics into clinical settings.

Earn CPD Points:

Participants will receive Continuing Professional Development credits.

Join online:

Click here to register and access the seminar link.

News date: 2025-07-20

Links:

https://tinyurl.com/cazvvn34