An international symposium explored how research on oncogenic viruses is advancing cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, with a focus on translating scientific discoveries into public health impact in Africa.

A new study highlights the potential of wastewater surveillance as a cost-effective tool for tracking disease outbreaks in low-resource settings. By comparing wastewater data with clinical testing results during a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in South Africa, researchers found that wastewater monitoring can provide valuable early insights into community-level disease trends.

Representatives from the Mastercard Foundation visited CERI to meet African STARS fellows, learn about their experiences, and explore how the programme is helping develop the next generation of African researchers, innovators, and public health leaders.

Emerging infectious diseases do not appear in isolation. They emerge through complex interactions between humans, animals, ecosystems, climate, and environmental change. For Prof Carla Mavian, Programme Director for One Health at the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI), those connections are central to preventing future outbreaks.

The “Silos to Synergy” workshop introduced African STARS fellows to transdisciplinary research principles, stakeholder engagement, and creative methods for producing meaningful, context-specific research impact.

CERI’s new Social Science Unit will integrate social science into health research, strengthening community engagement, policy translation, and transdisciplinary collaboration across Africa.

For Dr Monique Barnard-Matthee, some of the most important work in vaccine development happens in the systems behind the science: the workflows, infrastructure, automation platforms, and quality control processes that determine whether a promising scientific breakthrough can actually become a reliable public health solution. She believes that work must happen in Africa, led by African scientists, using African expertise.

As emerging and re-emerging viruses continue to shape global public health, the ability to rapidly detect and characterise pathogens has become increasingly important, particularly in regions where surveillance resources remain unevenly distributed. Earlier this month, scientists, laboratory professionals, and public health researchers from across Africa gathered at the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch University for an intensive hands-on workshop focused on one of the field’s most advanced viral sequencing approaches: VirCapSeq-VERT.

A connection made at SWEAT Africa 2026 led to a role at Nanosene within weeks, offering a clear example of how the event creates the conditions for real opportunities to emerge.

Selected from more than 900 international applicants as one of only 10 young innovators invited to the United Nations Science, Technology and Innovation Forum in New York, African STARS fellow Kennedy Mulungu is emerging as part of a new generation of African scientists and entrepreneurs building globally competitive innovation from the continent.

Prof Tulio de Oliveira, Director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch University and founder and director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, has been awarded the Order of Mapungubwe in Gold by President Cyril Ramaphosa, in recognition of more than two decades of work building South Africa's capacity to detect, track, and respond to infectious disease threats.

As climate and environmental change continue to reshape ecosystems across the world, scientists are warning that mosquito-borne diseases may spread into new regions, become more frequent, and intensify in areas already under pressure. A major new international research grant awarded to Dr Monika Moir at the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) will place Africa at the centre of efforts to better understand one of these moving threats: West Nile virus.

CERI’s engagement in Brazil highlights a growing commitment to advancing genomic surveillance in high-burden settings. Through training, collaboration, and new national networks, this work is translating genomics into real public health impact.

Shaping the future of scientific discovery in South Africa.

A new cohort of African fellows is turning epidemiological data into practical decisions – from vaccination strategy to outbreak risk –working directly with policymakers in their own countries. At a time of uncertain funding and rising pressure on health systems, the SACEMA Policy Modelling Fellowship shows how locally driven, data-led insight can protect and strengthen public health across the continent.

Two new publications by Prof Jo-Ann Passmore reveal a critical gap between scientific knowledge and women’s lived realities – where silence, stigma and power dynamics limit the impact of even the best research. By calling for ethical, community-driven design, the work points to a future where science is not only rigorous, but truly usable in women’s everyday lives.

Marième Samb Traoré on innovation, access, and real-world impact.

Engaged research is reshaping how global health challenges are understood and addressed by bringing communities into every stage of the process. At CERI, this approach is helping to build more grounded, context-driven solutions for climate and infectious disease risks in vulnerable settings.

Collaboration and continuous learning are at the heart of advancing genomics in Africa – and the return of Dr Armando Djiyou to KRISP reflects just that.

A fellowship designed to close Africa’s health innovation gap is already reshaping how young scientists think – and act – beyond the lab.

A SARS-CoV-2 lineage once thought extinct has re-emerged after more than two years – revealing how the virus can evolve undetected and return with significant genetic change.

The VirCapSeq-VERT workshop has brought together participants from historically disadvantaged South African institutions, regional academic centres, and members of the Africa CDC network.

CERI is looking for a Senior Project Accountant to support the financial management of our growing research portfolio. This three-year fixed-term role is based at Stellenbosch University and is open to candidates with 5+ years' experience in research funding and international grants. Applications close 13 May 2026.

For decades, Oropouche virus has caused outbreaks in the Amazon region. Spread by a tiny biting midge rather than a mosquito, it was largely restricted to communities within the Amazon Basin. In 2024, it expanded beyond that boundary for the first time at this scale.

Join us for a seminar on translating scientific research into industry, innovation, and real-world impact with Prof. Brian Fox (UW–Madison).

As autumn, a season that invites us to pause and take stock, settles over South Africa, this issue of GEM focuses on something important: what happens when young scientists are given the right support, connections, and space to step into their work.

How VEME’s Impact Extends Far Beyond the Workshop

Approaches to the Management of Virologic Failure on Dolutegravir-Based Antiretroviral Therapy in the 50 Countries With the Highest Adult HIV Prevalence

How Akhil Maharaj took his research skills from the lab into corporate and investment banking.