Descrizione del progetto
Migliorare la capacità della genomica di gestire le epidemie in Africa
Le infezioni da patogeni rappresentano una sfida significativa in Africa, a sottolineare la necessità di migliorare la diagnosi, il monitoraggio e la gestione clinica delle epidemie attuali e future nella regione. Il progetto GenPath Africa, finanziato dall’UE, è dedicato alla lotta contro le infezioni da agenti patogeni in Africa. Il progetto mira a migliorare la capacità della genomica e a combattere l’HIV-1 e la tubercolosi resistenti ai farmaci attraverso la medicina di precisione. Cerca inoltre di utilizzare l’epidemiologia genomica per orientare le strategie di salute pubblica. GenPath Africa utilizzerà metodologie avanzate per l’individuazione di agenti patogeni emergenti, fornirà formazione in Sudafrica, trasferirà tecnologia all’Istituto nazionale di sanità pubblica del Mozambico e stabilirà collegamenti tra l’Iniziativa di genomica dei patogeni del CDC dell’Africa (Africa PGI) e le strutture genomiche pubbliche in Sudafrica e Kenya.
Obiettivo
The overall goal of GenPath Africa is to control pathogen infections in Africa. Our consortium of African and European investigators proposes to build on our collective experience in responding to SARS-CoV-2 to better diagnose, monitor and clinically manage current and future epidemics in Africa. We propose to expand genomics capacity to combat drug resistant HIV-1 and TB through precision medicine and by using genomic epidemiology to guide the public health response. GenPath Africa will also apply recent developments in wastewater and one health surveillance to detect emerging pathogens. Capacity development activities will include degree training in South Africa and the transfer of technology to the National Public Health Institute of Mozambique.
The consortium’s objectives will be achieved by connecting the specialized genomics facilities of the Africa CDC Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI) in South Africa and Kenya with African national public health institutes to translate scientific advances into public health actions. Long-term collaborations with Germany and Belgium will be leveraged to help achieve these objectives and make precision medicine and precision public health a reality in southern and East Africa. The consortium will also contribute to the long-term capacity building objectives of Africa PGI by contributing to harmonising training resources and collaboration with existing networks to ensure that all data are of high quality and available in public databases.
GenPath Africa will advance the EDTCP3 work program by: i) providing researchers and public health professionals with skills in genomic epidemiology to better understand infectious disease epidemiology and drug resistance, ii) strengthening capability in southern and East Africa to rapidly respond to current and emerging epidemics, and iii) providing researchers with training to advance their scientific careers in Africa and establish themselves as scientific and public health leaders.
Campo scientifico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgenetics
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthepidemiology
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseases
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistance
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespersonalized medicine
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.2.1 - Health Main Programme
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinatore
7600 Stellenbosch
Sud Africa