Africa’s Microbial Frontiers the gem - Feb 2026

Four of CERI’s PhD fellows have been awarded the prestigious Oppenheimer Memorial Trust (OMT) Fellowship – a recognition reserved for scholars whose work demonstrates both scientific excellence and leadership potential.

text: Katrine Anker-Nilssen photos: Supplied

Four emerging researchers at CERI are helping redefine how Africa engages with global science, and shaping the future of One Health. Dr Nonsikelelo Precious Hlongwa, Dr Sam Leareng, Dr Nello Gregori, and JP Makumbi have each been awarded the prestigious Oppenheimer Memorial Trust (OMT) Fellowship.

For all of them, the award is more than funding; it is affirmation, responsibility, and a powerful catalyst for advancing research at the intersection of genomics, environmental systems and public health in Africa.

Dr Nonsikelelo Precious Hlongwa

Nonsikelelo’s research bridges molecular biology, computational biology, environmental health, and microbiome science. Her focus is on understanding how environmental and socio-ecological factors shape microbial communities in both humans and ecosystems – and what this means for health and disease.

Receiving the OMT Fellowship, she says, is a deeply meaningful and humbling milestone. “It is not only a recognition of past work, but a strong vote of confidence in my potential as an emerging independent researcher.”

An alumnus of the prestigious Fulbright Joint Supervision Program at the University of Minnesota (2022–2023) and recipient of the NRF Next Generation Researchers Award, Nonsikelelo has already published more than nine peer-reviewed papers and presented her work internationally. Yet she sees the fellowship not as a culmination, but as acceleration.

“It creates intellectual and practical space to focus fully on high-quality, innovative research,” she explains, noting that the support reduces the financial strain often experienced in early postdoctoral years.

Her current research examines how environmental exposures shape microbial community assembly and antimicrobial resistance dynamics in underrepresented African ecosystems. One project explores how transitions from informal settlements to formal housing influence gut microbiome assembly and resistome development in children affected by persistent stunting. Another investigates how

metal-enriched particulate matter in industrial coastal environments selects for airborne microbial communities enriched in pathogens and resistance genes.

“Health and disease are no longer isolated biological events; they are ecological processes,” she says. “Without integration, we risk only describing microbes rather than understanding the forces shaping them.”

At CERI, particularly within the African Microbiome Project under the DSTI/NRF SARChI Chair, Nonsikelelo works in a genomics-driven environment that supports genome-resolved metagenomics and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Her broader goal is clear: to ensure African microbiome science contributes to theory-building and global standards – not simply data generation. “Africa must not only be a site of sampling,” she says. “It must be a site of innovation.”

Nonsikelelo’s advice to young scientists, especially young African women, is: “Take up space. Ask questions. Your background is not a limitation –it is a strength.”

“My advice to young scientists, especially young African women, is: Take up space. Ask questions. Your background is not a limitation –it is a strength.”

– Dr Nonsikelelo Precious Hlongwa