Southern African-Pittsburgh Public Health Genomic Epidemiology Training Program (SAPPHGenE)

University Of Pittsburgh At Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Abstract: Public health genomics is a burgeoning field whose importance was underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic. Genomics is used to monitor the emergence and evolution of novel pathogens, monitor antimicrobial resistance, determine optimal vaccine formulation, monitor the impact of immunization programs, and detect outbreaks. Despite the increasing importance of this discipline, scientific capacity in public health genomics in Africa remains limited. To address this problem, we established the Southern Africa-Pittsburgh Public Health Genomic Epidemiology Research Training Program (SAPPHGenE) in 2019 and have since trained five doctoral and four masters students, all who have graduated or will graduate by mid-2025. SAPPHGenE is based at the University of Pittsburgh, a leading biomedical research institution in the United States. The mission of SAPPHGenE is to provide young, talented investigators with the multidisciplinary tools needed to conduct cutting-edge research in public health genomics. The Program Director is Dr. Lee Harrison, Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine and the head of the Microbial Genomic Epidemiology Laboratory at Pitt. The program includes a multidisciplinary group of experienced mentors at Pitt and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. All degree research will be conducted using local data and specimens in Atlanta or Pittsburgh. The original focus was research on epidemiology and genomic epidemiology of bacterial causes of pneumonia, other respiratory diseases, and invasive bacterial and fungal diseases, including antimicrobialresistant pathogens. Given the success of the first funding cycle, we propose substantial enhancements to our program, including 1) the addition of excellent new mentors, 2) the addition of respiratory viruses as a field of study, 3) workshop training in genomics, and 4) expansion to other African countries through provision of genomics workshops and master's degree training for two candidates from Malawi. We provide training in genomic epidemiology and bioinformatics, with emphasis on the use of these disciplines in public health. The ultimate goal of the program is to provide local capacity to monitor, prevent, and control our targeted bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases, some of which are vaccine preventable or antimicrobial resistant and all which are major causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States, Africa, and globally. SAPPHGenE will continue to increase research capacity and foster the development of a generation of public health genomic research mentors in Southern Africa.