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21 April 2023 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Charl Devenish
Dr Emms
Dr Ayodeji Emmanuel Ogunbayo (right), who graduated this week with a Doctor of Philosophy degree with specialisation in Medical Virology, with his proud supervisor Prof Martin Nyaga, Associate Professor in the UFS Next Generation Sequencing (UFS-NGS).

With respiratory diseases contributing to the highest morbidity and mortality rate in children, and the vast majority of disease aetiology remaining undiagnosed in clinical settings, Dr Ayodeji Emmanuel Ogunbayo hopes his research for his PhD in Medical Virology will help to reduce mortality in children with respiratory infection.

Dr Ogunbayo, commonly known as Dr Emms by his peers, graduated on Thursday (20 April 2023) with a Doctor of Philosophy degree with specialisation in Medical Virology at the University of the Free State (UFS) Faculty of Health Sciences graduation ceremony. The title of his thesis was Metagenomics of the respiratory RNA virome of children in the Free State. His supervisor was Prof Martin Nyaga, Associate Professor in the UFS Next Generation Sequencing (UFS-NGS) and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre (WHO CC).

“While clinical metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS), which is an upcoming method, has the potential to revolutionise infection diagnosis and management in children, there is a dearth of information on its clinical applicability in Africa. This is the knowledge that guided the inception of this research,” says Dr Ogunbayo.

Project came at the right time

He commenced with his PhD in Medical Virology in 2019, which was centred on the applicability of mNGS in severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) in children and deciphering the children’s respiratory virome in health and disease, a project which was the first of its kind in Africa.

According to him, the project was conceived before the COVID-19 pandemic, however, despite the challenges encountered due to lockdown measures, the project came at the right time as it was able to address several profound effects of the pandemic such as COVID-19 on the dynamics of transmission of respiratory viruses and ultimately its effect on children’s health. During his PhD study, he published four manuscripts in highly reputable journals including the most recent one which was accepted in Journal of Medical Virology (JMV)  an impressive impact factor of 20.693.

The findings from this study included a validated and robust workflow to recover respiratory RNA viruses from clinical samples, according to the graduation programme. The established workflow was adapted to decipher children’s respiratory virome composition in health and disease, with a degree of heterogeneity, while simultaneously establishing the clinical diagnostic applicability of mNGS and, more importantly, the increased utility of dual-triple mNGS analysis tools in robust detection of viral pathogens in SARI.

His hope for the research

Dr Ogunbayo says: “This research generated vast pioneering information and data in Africa that could guide and influence policy in the adoption of clinical metagenomics, especially in cases where conventional methods of diagnosis yielded no results. Hopefully, this could lessen mortality due to respiratory infection in children.

Before studying in the field of medical Microbiology and Virology, he wanted to be a psychiatric nurse, but instead chose his current field of study because of his interest in the microbial world and pathology.

“It’s a feeling one cannot really put into words. A part of me feels like it is a ‘dream come true’ and another part of me feels like ‘this is a milestone achieved, but it’s just a stepping stone to further milestones to be achieved’.

“What is next is for me to dive into the world of policy-influencing research, give back to the academic community through student supervision, and work on my journey to becoming an emerging researcher. This is the reason I have taken a postdoctoral position at the UFS-NGS Unit under the mentorship of Prof Martin Nyaga.”

Prof Nyaga says: “Looking back at Emmanuel’s doctoral journey, it brought out the best in him in every aspect of the study. Longitudinal studies are hectic in the sampling phase, and all the ethical clearances that a study must achieve prior to beginning the sampling and the laboratory work can be very frustrating. Soon after his study was approved, the pandemic lockdown level 5 rules were applied, which meant he had to pause on the study. However, his focus, positive mindset and his ability to work in close consultation with his supervisor enabled him to finish this study in the best way possible. I am very proud of him.”

News Archive

Physics Department sheds light on mystery of dark matter through films and radio programme
2017-06-23

Description: Dark Matter Tags: Dark Matter

The screening of The Dark Matter Mystery and Dark
at the Naval Hill Planetarium was followed by a discussion
recorded for the radio programme Sterre en Planete
on RSG. From left are Mariette Erwee, Senior Officer at
the School of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and
Technology Education of the UFS, Prof Matie Hoffman,
Associate Professor at the Physics Department of the UFS,
Hennie Maas, from RSG, and Sakkie van der Westhuizen,
PhD student in astrophysics.
Photo: Mart-Mari Duvenhage

The Physics Department at the University of the Free State (UFS) not only recently educated the local community about the mystery of dark matter, but shared its knowledge with a much wider audience.

The first screening of two planetarium full-dome films, The Dark Matter Mystery and Dark, at the Naval Hill Planetarium were concluded with a recording for the radio programme Sterre en Planete. During the discussion, led by Hennie Maas from RSG radio station, the audience asked questions that were answered by Prof Matie Hoffman, Associate Professor at the department, Sakkie van der Westhuizen, a PhD student in astrophysics, and Mariette Erwee from the School of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology Education. The radio show was broadcast on 18 June at 19:30 on RSG.

Shows screened at special event
According to Prof Hoffman the planetarium hosts a movie premiere whenever pre-rendered shows are screened for the first time. The films shown on 10 June 2017 introduced viewers to the quest for dark matter. “Dark Matter makes up a huge part of the Universe, but it is a great mystery. We know very little about it. We cannot see it, and it is an area of enormous interest to scientists,” Prof Hoffman said.

Films sourced from European Southern Observatory
The event was attended by various stakeholders such as loyal planetarium patrons, UFS colleagues, and those interested in astronomy. The films were sourced from the European Southern Observatory, an organisation that makes planetarium content available online.

The Dark Matter Mystery took the audience on contemporary astrophysics’ biggest quest. They saw why astronomers know dark matter exists. Dark, directed by Peter Morse, is an adventure that goes to the very edges of contemporary cosmology and data visualisation, telling a complex scientific story with a touch of humanity.

The films will be screened at the Naval Hill Planetarium from time to time and those interested can visit Computicket for more info.

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