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19 July 2018 Photo Supplied
AEVGI advances Next-Generation Sequencing in Africa
Prof George Armah, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Ghana; Prof Carl Kirkwood, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USA; Cornelius Hagenmeier, Director: Internationalisation, UFS; Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean: Health Sciences; Dr Martin Nyaga, Senior Lecturer in the NGS Unit; Prof Joyce Tsoka-Gwegweni, Vice-Dean: Health Sciences; Dr Glen Taylor, Senior Director: Research and Development; Prof Jeffrey Mphahlele, Vice-President, South African Medical Research Council.

The inaugural edition of the University of the Free State (UFS) Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) Data and Bioinformatics Workshop, hosted by the UFS-NGS Unit in the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences, marked a new beginning for the advancement of NGS in Africa under the auspices of the African Enteric Viruses Genome Initiative (AEVGI), which was recently funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The AEVGI will generate rotavirus genomes at the UFS-NGS Unit to investigate the long-term effects of the introduction of the monovalent RV1 vaccine in three African countries – Ghana, Malawi, and South Africa.

The workshop attracted over 90 participants from 15 national and international institutions, with organisations from seven different countries as well as company representatives attending the event. The workshop kicked off with a courtesy call to the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, followed by a stakeholder meeting with the executive management of the UFS.

The funding was secured through an award to the principal investigator, Dr Martin Nyaga, and sub-awards to co-investigators, Dr Khuzwayo Jere, Dr Francis Dennis, and Dr Valentine Ndze. According to attendee evaluations of the workshop, the remarkable performance of the workshop instructors was outstanding. Through practical sessions, participants were equipped with knowledge on how to apply several tools of genetic data analysis, using the rotavirus genome as a model to construct and interpret different genomic datasets.

A total of 65 students attended the hands-on workshop, the majority of which were from South African higher-education institutions. The organisers are grateful to the sponsors, particularly to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the University of the Free State, for making the workshop a success. Whitehead Scientific and the South African Medical Research Council also played a major role in the success of the workshop. The local organising committee consisted of Dr Martin Nyaga (host, convener and chair), Dr Saheed Sabiu (secretary), and Mr Stephanus Riekert (principal ICT support).

News Archive

UFS serious about safe campuses
2011-02-09

Mr Willie Frankim, Head of Protection Services at the UFS, in the new control room on the Main Campus.
- Photo: Dries Myburgh

The University of the Free State (UFS) officially launched its security control room recently. This new addition to the university's infrastructure, which was implemented in December 2010, has already made a contribution to the combating of crime at the UFS.

The decrease in crime statistics for January this year (5 cases), in comparison to the statistics of January 2010 (51 cases) is proof that the UFS’s new approach to combating crime on campus has an impact.
 
According to Prof. Niel Viljoen, Vice-Rector: Operations, the safety of students, lecturers and staff of the UFS is of the utmost importancet. For this reason, it is continuously reflected on about what can be done to improve the levels of safety for the respective campuses.
 
Apart from the upgraded security control room, from where, amongst others, residences, pedestrian routes, campus buildings, parking areas, entrances at gates and computer rooms at residences are observed, a number of measures have been set in place to improve the task of combating crime.
 
These measures include:
-       Security cameras in front of all the women’s residences. The UFS is in the process of also installing
        security cameras in front of the men’s residences.
-       Shrubs and trees that caused obstruction in front of cameras have been pruned.
-       Security officers patrol the pedestrian routes as well as the Red Square on foot from 06:00-22:00.
-       A security officer has been appointed at each residence to be on duty from 18:00 to 06:00
        at the residence.
-       Two vehicles patrol the Main Campus on a 24-hour basis.
-       The UFS is in die process to install alarms, which will be linked to the central security control room, 
        in all buildings.
-       In certain buildings panic buttons have been installed in strategic places.
-       Where possible, better entrance control to building, especially office blocks, has been implemented.
-       Better management and integration of the security workers who are contracted from outside.
        More security workers have also been appointed to do duty at each residence as well as on the
        pedestrian routes (during the hours indicated).
-       A survey has once again been done of all “dark spots” on the campus and better lighting is 
        currently being installed.
 
The reduced reaction times are a direct result of the operational process between security staff in the control room with met security staff that patrols the campus on foot and by vehicle


Media Release
09 February 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

 

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