RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS

1. Data governance and the POPI Act

Collaborating Parties:
Dr Carmen Swanepoel – NHLS/Stellenbosch University Tygerberg
ASSAf

Nature and purpose:
To investigate the impact of local and international regulation on the sharing of biomedical research data in Africa. Drafting committee member for the POPIA code of conduct for research.

Output in the last 12 months:
Adams R, Adeleke F, Anderson D, Bawa A, Branson N, Christoffels A, et al. POPIA Code of Conduct for Research. S Afr J Sci. 2021;117(5/6), Art. #10933. (https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2021/10933)

2. Dental genetics

Collaborating Parties:
Drs Manogari Chetty and Anthea Jeftha – Faculty of Dentistry, UWC
Nature and purpose:
Incorporating molecular biology, genetics and bioinformatics into dentistry research.

Output in the last 12 months:
None

Future Direction:
Dental metagenomics. Impact of dental health in disease.

3. Biobank informatics and data quality management

Collaborating Parties:
Prof Alan Christoffels – SANBI, UWC
NHLS and University of the Witwatersrand
Africa CDC
PHA4GE Consortium

Nature and purpose:
Enhancement and customisation of Baobab LIMS for LMICs. Standardisation of e-infrastructure. Evaluating the impact of data standardisation in public health. Data linkage algorithms in data warehouses. 

Output in the last 12 months:
Africa CDC funding.
One MSc graduate.
Book chapter: Anderson, D., Bendou, H., Kipperer, B., Zatloukal, K., Müller, H., Christoffels, A. (2022). Software Tools for Biobanking in LMICs. In: Sargsyan, K., Huppertz, B., Gramatiuk, S. (eds) Biobanks in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Relevance, Setup and Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87637-1_20

Journal publications: Griffiths EJ, Timme RE, Mendes CI, Page AJ, Alikhan NF, Fornika D, Maguire F, Campos J, Park D, Olawoye IB, Oluniyi PE, Anderson D, Christoffels A, da Silva AG, Cameron R, Dooley D, Katz LS, Black A, Karsch-Mizrachi I, Barrett T, Johnston A, Connor TR, Nicholls SM, Witney AA, Tyson GH, Tausch SH, Raphenya AR, Alcock B, Aanensen DM, Hodcroft E, Hsiao WWL, Vasconcelos ATR, MacCannell DR. Future-proofing and maximizing the utility of metadata: The PHA4GE SARS-CoV-2 contextual data specification package. Gigascience. 2022 Feb 16;11:giac003. doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giac003. PMID: 35169842; PMCID: PMC8847733.

Oluwole, O.G.; Oosterwyk, C.; Anderson, D.; Adadey, S.M.; Mnika, K.; Manyisa, N.; Yalcouye, A.; Wonkam, E.T.; Aboagye, E.T.; Dia, Y.; Uwibambe, E.; Jonas, M.; Priestley, R.; Popel, K.; Manyashe, T.; de Cock, C.; Nembaware, V.; Wonkam, A. The Implementation of Laboratory Information Management System in Multi-Site Genetics Study in Africa: The Challenges and Up-Scaling Opportunities. J. Mol. Pathol. 2022, 3, 262-272. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmp3040022

Future Direction:
New collaborations within Africa as well as training initiatives on the continent. Maintenance and enhancement of Baobab LIMS. Entrepreneurship focused on hybrid social and sustainability models for QM software.

4. OneHealth

Collaborating Parties:
Seeking collaborative partners.

Nature and purpose:
Multidisciplinary approaches to understanding infectious diseases. Development of metadata standards, novel AI based tools for surveillance and species cross-over and translational research in OneHealth.

Output in the last 12 months:
MSc graduate Mr Rudolph Serage, Cum Laude.