The Professional Development Programme (PDP) at CAPRISA aims to develop and retain South African scientists and professionals of the highest calibre. The genomics and bioinformatics project in HIV-1 drug resistance is inter-disciplinary in nature and involves collaboration between the CAPRISA's MRC HIV-TB Pathogenesis and Treatment Research Unit and the Flagship Program of the MRC, which are two of the most prestigious research programs in South Africa.

Nature (Vol. 535, pp. 335, 2016) report our recent results on the use of genetic sequences to uncover HIV-1 transmission patterns in young woman in South Africa (de Oliveira et al. Lancet HIV 2016). The paper was presented as a Keynote at AIDS 2016 conference.

Researchers with the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, or CAPRISA, a consortium of South African and North American scientists, analyzed genetic codes (de Oliveira et al. Lancet HIV 2016) from study subjects in South Africa to try to pinpoint biological factors that may contribute, along with behavioral factors, to the large number of infections.

Science magazine (Vol. 353, Issue 6294, pp. 18-21, 2016). This issue was published before the AIDS conference in Durban 2016 and highlights some of our research, including our treatment as prevention trial (TasP) as well our phylogenetic analysis (de Oliveira et al. Lancet HIV 2016).

Megan Druce and Sthembiso Msweli are two very bright South Africans who have successfully completed their MSc as part of the UKZN Flagship program at the MRC. They both wrote inspiring blogs, the first is about a Cum Laude degree which allowed the award of a scholarship for a PhD in Germany, the second is about the history of a laboratory technologist from rural KZN, who after graduating was promoted to laboratory manager...

The concept behind this newsletter is that anyone with 15 minutes to spare can learn about the work of SATuRN. In this first 2016 issue of our newsletter we have included interesting news, blogs, reports, tweets, publications and training information produced by our network. We hope you enjoy it and find it informative. We welcome any feedback about content or format.

The 21st International Workshop on Virus Evolution and Molecular Epidemiology (VEME2016) will be hosted by the Korea University College of Medicine, 14-19 August, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Abstract deadline: 15 March 2016

KRISP Talks by Dr David Rasmussen, Postdoc Research Fellow, ETH Zurich, 11 March 2016, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa

KRISP Talks by Oliver Ratmann, Research Fellow, Department Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College of London & UKZN MRC Research Fellow, 06 February 2016, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa

The SATuRN 10th Southern African HIV & TB Drug Resistance and Treatment Monitoring Workshop will be run together with the Annual Workshop on Advanced Clinical Care - AIDS (AWACC) - Durban, South Africa, 19 to 20 November 2015

Africa Centre through its European Commission Virogenesis Project & MRC Flagship Programmer wish to recruit a 1) Software Developer & 2) Bioinformatics Scientific Manager.

We cordially invites you to a seminar presented by Prof Thumbi Ndungu from K-RITH and HPP/UKZN, 21 August 2015, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa

Introduction: This is an excellent opportunity for outstanding and motivated individuals to access one of the most comprehensive population-based HIV surveillance and genomics datasets in the world at the Wellcome Trust Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies based in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The Wellcome Trust Africa Centre Genomics & Bioinformatics Programme & UKZN MRC Flagship project cordially invites you to a seminar presented by Prof. Oliver Laeyendecker Assistant Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University,19 June 2015, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa

The Wellcome Trust Africa Centre Genomics & Bioinformatics Programme & UKZN MRC Flagship project cordially invites you to a seminar presented by Dr Nigel Garrett from CAPRISA, 19 June 2015, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa

By John Cohen, Science, 12 June 2015. New studies could aid public health efforts. Last week at the New York Academy of Sciences in New York City, researchers, public health specialists, and HIV/AIDS advocates discussed how to exploit the potential of the technique, called phylogenetic analysis - and the thorny ethical and legal issues it raises...

Phylogenetic research 'the analysis of molecular sequencing data to study evolutionary relationships among groups and organisms' needs to be scaled up to end the AIDS epidemic, according to the participants at a symposium held on 4 June at the New York Academy of Sciences called HIV 2015: Using Phylogenetics to Enhance the HIV Response.

A discussion meeting presented by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Discussion Group at the New York Academy of Sciences on the use of phylogenetics to enhance HIV response.

The Wellcome Trust Africa Centre Genomics & Bioinformatics Programme & UKZN MRC Flagship project cordially invites you to a seminar presented by Prof. Tulio de Oliveira, 30 April 2015, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa

Dr Justen Manasa graduated with a PhD after completing ground-breaking research in the Hlabisa District of KwaZulu-Natal that resulted in a low cost genotyping method envisaged to help doctors monitor and evaluate drug resistance among HIV-infected patients in resource-limited settings.

The Southern Africa Treatment and Resistance Network (SATuRN) and the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) organized a HIV & TB Advanced Clinical Care Workshop. This workshop is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) & PEPFAR program in South Africa.

By: Tulio de Oliveira, Franschoek, South Africa, 31 March 2015 - Continuing advances in next generation genomic analysis are rapidly changing the way we approach our research. The setup of our high-throughput genomics facility at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, in collaboration with Africa Centre and Health and Population Studies allowed our research group to produce HIV-1 complete genomes at an unprecedented scale.

The Wellcome Trust Africa Centre Genomics & Bioinformatics Programme & UKZN MRC Flagship project cordially invites you to a seminar presented by Prof. Samantha Sampson, 20 February 2015, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa

The Wellcome Trust Africa Centre Genomics & Bioinformatics Programme & UKZN MRC Flagship project cordially invites you to a seminar presented by Prof. Paul Kellam, 13 February 2015, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa

The Wellcome Trust Africa Centre Genomics Programme & UKZN MRC Flagship project cordially invites you to a seminar presented by Prof. Darren Martin, 9 January 2015, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban

The Wellcome Trust Africa Centre Genomics Programme & UKZN MRC Flagship project cordially invites you to a seminar presented by Samantha Sampson, 21 November 2014, Susser & Stein Seminar Room, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban

SATuRN annual workshop run in partnership with AWACC (UKZN, NDoH & Harvard). In total 346 participants attended the two days workshop. The workshop discussions were also very good. Here, we summarize the Tweeter coverage of the event, which contains information on the topics discussed and questions raised.

The Wellcome Trust Africa Centre Genomics Programme & UKZN MRC Flagship project cordially invites you to a seminar presented by Prof. Robert J Wilkinson, 10 October 2014, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban

Each year during AWAAC, the Doris Duke International Research Fellowship at Harvard Medical School sponsors a special seminar for medical students who will be attending the conference. During the seminar, invited faculty members discuss journals article that they select with a group of medical students from the US who are engaging in research in sub-Saharan Africa and a group of South African medical students from UKZN. This year 20-25 students will attend the seminar.

The Wellcome Trust Africa Centre Genomics Programme & UKZN MRC Flagship project cordially invites you to a seminar presented by Prof. Gert Van Zyl, 19 September 2014, K-RITH building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban