Collaborative African Genomics Network

CAfGEN is a project of the NIH and Wellcome Trust-supported Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Initiative.

CAfGEN is a project of the NIH and Wellcome Trust-supported Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Initiative (https://www.facebook.com/h3africa). Advanced genetic and genomic technologies promise to transform our understanding and approach to human health and disease. Such genomic analyses are now common in Western populations of European descent. Studies of host genetic factors underlyin

g long-term non-progressors of HIV infection have led to new therapies through the identification of loci that are important to in vivo control of virus pathogenicity. Similar studies of host genetic factors influencing active TB infection have also identified important loci that could significantly impact the future development of more effective therapeutic and prophylactic strategies. Most of these studies were undertaken in non-African, adult populations, although there are more than 2 million new cases of HIV and HIV-TB in Sub-Saharan Africa every year, including more than half a million children. HIV-infected children - who differ from their adult counterparts in their route of acquisition, clinical course, and pathophysiology – have been conspicuously absent, although they potentially have more to ultimately contribute and gain from therapeutic advances. The Collaborative African Genomics Network (CAfGEN) aims to redress this scientific imbalance by integrating genetic and genomics technologies to probe host factors that are important to the progression of HIV and HIV-TB infection in sub-Saharan African children. The network will incorporate five sites – the Botswana and the Uganda Children’s Clinical Centers of Excellence will provide clinical expertise for patient recruitment; Makerere University and the University of Botswana will provide local molecular genetic expertise; and Baylor College of Medicine will provide access to genomics expertise and resources that will ultimately be transitioned to African researchers and institutions in a sustainable manner. The CAfGEN research agenda includes the recruitment of prospective and retrospective cohorts of HIV and HIV-TB infected children; the development of core genomic facilities for sample processing and storage; candidate gene re-sequencing, HLA allelotyping and whole-exome sequencing of patients at the extremes of HIV disease progression; and integrated genomic analyses of active TB progression and associated clinical outcomes using expression quantitative trait loci. These projects will be undertaken through an extensive training and career development plan that will also see significant upgrades in local genomics infrastructure. In so doing, CAfGEN will create a unique, highly synergistic African alliance that can contribute novel and important mechanistic insights to pediatric HIV and HIV-TB disease progression while establishing sustainable genomics technology, expertise, and capacity on the African continent.

14/03/2025

🌍✨ Exciting news! DS-I Africa is proud to have Dr. Francis Agamah speaking at the Human Genome Meeting 2025 in Durban, South Africa!
🔬 Topic: Assessing Genomic Diversity in African Populations and Developing Resources and Protocols for Genomics Research – H3Africa Genome Analysis Working Group
📅 Date: Friday, 14 March 2025
⏰ Time: 09:50
📍 Location: Great Ilanga
Join us as Dr. Agamah explores groundbreaking insights into genomic diversity across African populations. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from leading experts shaping the future of genomics research!

06/02/2025

📣13th Plenary registration is now open!

We are excited to open registration for the GA4GH 13th Plenary meeting, co-hosted by SciLifeLab. Join us in Uppsala, Sweden from 6 to 10 October 2025 to discuss genomic and clinical data sharing issues across diverse industries, disciplines, and communities. There will also be opportunities for participants to learn about GA4GH technical standards and policy frameworks, which aim to break down barriers to data sharing and advance research.

Starting this year, we are instituting tiered pricing based on affiliation and time of registration. Please keep in mind the following dates:

Early bird registration: 29 January to 23 April
Regular registration: 24 April to 31 August
Late registration: 1 to 22 September

Submit a travel support request: 6 February to 16 May
Submit a poster abstract: 6 February to 30 July

We hope to see you at the meeting this year!

Learn more and register: https://hubs.li/Q035CDkz0

11/12/2024

Early-bird registration is extended until Saturday, December 14th, 2024!
Register now for Human Genome Meeting 2025, which will be held in Durban, South Africa on March 11-14, 2025. Don't miss this final opportunity to secure your spot at our special discounted rate!

Travel grants for students/post-docs and early-career researchers from LMIC countries are available. Please register and submit abstracts to be awarded with travel grants.

Register Now: https://hugo-hgm2025.org/registration/
Submit Abstract: https://hugo-hgm2025.org/abstract-submissions/
Apply for Travel Grant: https://hugo-hgm2025.org/travel-grants/
View Program: https://hugo-hgm2025.org/programme-at-a-glance/
For more information: https://hugo-hgm2025.org/

21/11/2024

Nominations are now open to join the GA4GH Inc. Board of Directors. This initiative welcomes diverse voices and expertise to strengthen GA4GH’s mission of advancing responsible genomic data sharing.

Nominate a colleague or apply for the position by 10 December 2024:
https://hubs.li/Q02Z2YmM0

18/11/2024

The first concurrent session of the consortium meeting has kicked off with Dr Rennie and Prof Moodley welcoming the participants to the Workshop on Ethics & Generative AI Program

The Ethics & Generative AI Workshop is taking place at the Ravenala Hotel, Mauritius, during the 4th DS-I Africa Consortium Meeting. This workshop is addressing the ethical implications of generative AI technologies in health and data science research 🔬

13/11/2024

We are excited to see you all at the 4th DS-I Africa Consortium Meeting to be held in Mauritius from the 16th to the 22nd of November 2024!

This meeting brings together our community united by our shared commitment of advancing health data science knowledge, pushing boundaries, and exploring new ideas.

The diverse membership of the DS-I Africa consortium provides a great opportunity for networking and you can look forward to hearing diverse perspectives on the state of health data science in Africa. ECRs can look forward to many opportunities to find mentors, developing their research interests, and navigating the academic landscape.

We hope you make the most of your week spent with us in Mauritius and that knowledge exchange will lead to new collaborations to further strengthen the research network of data science on the continent.

Wishing everyone a safe journey as you travel to Mauritius from different parts of the world!

06/11/2024

Congratulations to BHP Bioinformatician, Dr. Wonderful Tatenda Choga on the successful defense of his PhD thesis. Dr Choga was a PhD candidate in Medical Sciences with the School of Allied Health Professions at the University of Botswana, and he defended this thesis today.

His PhD thesis titled: “SARS-CoV-2 Evolution in Botswana,” focused on the intersections of virology, bioinformatics, and infectious disease genomics. Dr Choga was supervised by Professor Sikhulile Moyo and Drs Simani Gaseitsiwe and Irene Gobe as co-supervisors.
🥳🥳👏

04/11/2024

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Measuring the Value of Genomics in Healthcare. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. This virtual workshop will focus on exchanging strategies, tools and experience in measuring the value of genomic testing in healthcare. Demonstrating value is key in informing health technology assessments (HTAs), clinical practice and policy decisions and yet standardized outcome measures and fram...

Photos from Collaborative African Genomics Network's post

21/06/2024

Just ended was the official launch of the DSpace Research Project. The Utilising Data Science to Predict and Improve Health Outcomes in Paediatric HIV (DSpace) aims to use data science approaches to predict and improve health outcomes in HIV infected children in Botswana and Uganda in line with the Data Science for Health Discovery Initiative’s (DS-I Africa) mission to harness technologies to develop solutions to the continent’s most pressing public health problems.

Officially opening the event was CAfGEN PI Prof Mogomotsi S. Matshaba who pointed out that the main highlight and success from genomics research is capacity building and training of local scientists. The DSpace study is lead by Dr Gaone Retshabile based at the University of Botswana who is a PhD graduate from the CAfGEN study which started in 2014 and ended in 2022.

Human Heredity and Health in Africa - H3Africa
DS-I Africa

24/04/2024

Day 1 of Beyond the Sequence: Ethical, Legal and Social Contexts in Genomics.

18/04/2024

In less than a week we will be meeting in Cape Town South Africa for the Wellcome Trust "Beyond the Sequence: Ethical, Legal and Social Contexts in Genomics” Workshop.