2 minute read
editorial
The last few months have been a blast! Spring has arrived in South Africa, bringing many friends and colleagues to visit. We participated in several events, including Africa in the World, one of my all-time favourites. This event brings together politicians, business leaders, artists, journalists and scientists to advance the agenda of African excellence. Too-often, Africa is viewed as backward, poor and inefficient but this generalization is both wrong and unjust. Despite many challenges, Africa has the potential to contribute meaningfully to solving global issues. One of the highlights was sharing the stage with a good South African friend, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, who recently won the Lasker Award, which is often called “America’s Nobel Prize” for its high prestige in honouring medical scientists.
In this edition of the GEM, we highlight our opinion piece in Science on the third age of genomics, a new era poised to bring substantial global benefits. However, for this to become a reality, we need to make sure that recent investment in genomics in the Global South are maintained and expanded. This new era also requires major investments in training and capacity building in data sciences, bioinformatics and AI. In September, we hosted an advanced Data Science Workshop, selecting 20 fellows from over 2,700 applicants across Africa. We continue to expand our capacity-building programmes, recruiting multiple new MSc, PhD and postdoctoral candidates, as well as organizing additional hands-on workshops, including an upcoming laboratory-based training on library preparation in partnership with Roche.
I hope you enjoy reading this edition of the GEM as much as we enjoyed creating it. May spring in the Southern Hemisphere bring new energy and excitement for the pursuit of excellence
