After a super busy and successful week! A lovely hike to get close to nature

What an honor! To get The Order of Mapungubwe, South Africa's highest civilian national honor, awarded by the President. Awarded across four categories, it is an honour that has been conferred upon Nelson Mandela, among others. More info: ceri.africa/news/prof-tu...

Rainy day in Stellenbosch is great with a visit to Rupert Art Museum

Hantavirus Response Shows How Trump Cuts Have Compromised U.S. Preparedness www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/h...

So sad for children! More than ever, we need to strengthen global health, genomics and prevention. Measles Is Back. What Comes Next Will Be Worse. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/o... via @NYTOpinion

Do not miss, deadline for application: 31 April 2026! Not only we are bringing back to South Africa the top Bioinformatics Workshop on Virus Evolution but we are hosting in an amazingly beautiful location between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek #VEME2026 - veme.climade.health

Our publication in Nature Ecology and Evolution reveal a multiscale expansion process with both short- and long-distance dispersal or Oropouche virus, a new re-emergent pathogen. Our results also demonstrate a rapid advance on methods that can be used to track pathogens of global importance.

What defines a world-leading training event? In the coming days, I will share key elements that make the International Bioinformatics Workshop on Virus Evolution and Molecular Epidemiology (#VEME) one of the most impactful workshops I've ever participated in. Applications open! veme.climade.health

Lovely hiking early in the morning in Stellenbosch

Tomorrow, we are hosting an inspiring scientific seminar with a legend, Prof Brian Fox, which is the head, in my personal view, of the top biochemistry department in the world for decades, which is at @uwmadison.bsky.social We already have 300 people registered for online and in person! Please join!

So easy to get a flu shot in South Africa! It took 5 minutes in a pharmacy and costed ZAR 99 ! Ready for winter and flu season.

A must read piece that quote our scientific work on genomics surveillance by CNN, on 'how Kids may be more likely to get the new variant of Covid-19, scientists say. Here’s what to know about BA.3.2' - edition.cnn.com/2026/04/02/h...

As we return to work and school, it's crucial to be aware that the flu season is rapidly increasing in South Africa. We may be experiencing a more severe Flu/RSV/COVID-19 season, due to new strain of Flu, H3N2 Subclade K and the COVID-19 BA.3.2 - www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2026/04/01/f...

I am very honored to have been listed as one of the 10 Global Health Leaders by the European Commission EDCTP. I appreciate this recommendation and look forward to continuing to work to advance health globally. www.global-health-edctp3.europa.eu/results-and-...

Took this photo this week, which represents a new dawn, a new beginning, a new born. Special that it was around Easter. Wishing all an special time this week, which hopefully brings peace to the world

Very honored to have been cited by the Deputy Minister of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Nomalungelo Gina, as one of the success stories in South African Science during the first South African Innovation Week (#SAIW2026) in Johannesburg. www.dsti.gov.za/index.php/me...

This week, we published with the WHO at Nature Health on how Human MERS-CoV cases are falling but pose an ongoing pandemic threat. Be aware and respond to new MERS-CoV cases are of particular importance now with all the disturbances in the Gulf. www.nature.com/articles/s44... #WHO #MERS #pandemic

Found such a cool friend eating grapes during a Sunday cycling

Happy early morning walking in the mountains with dog and being aware or Guinea Fouls! Fun to live in Africa

It is lovely to start Friday with a lovely view of the mountains and vineyards around Stellenbosch... Happy Friday.

A quiet Sunday, seating under fig trees and enjoying folk music in a market in SA

Wow! SWEAT Africa started! All about networking with investors and founders! #SWEATAfrica #YoungAfricaWorks

South African Minister of Small Business Development Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams speech on women empowerment highlights the development of incubators, startuos, and SMEs in South Africa. Grea to see SA investment in innovation!

Very good event and speech by the minister of Women in South Africa on the need to develop women entrepreneurs and business, which is one of the man objectives of African STARS Fellowship and SWEAT Africa #YoungAfricaWorks #Women #Science

SWEAT Africa Tickets SOLD OUT! It's incredible to witness how quickly all tickets sold for the first experimental innovation festival in Africa. There is still significant interest from both investors and startups. What motivates you to try to attend a sold-out event? sweat.africa

We are excited to announce that we have over 100 startups registered to SWEAT Africa from 14 countries across the continent. If you are part of one of these startups and are interested in winning ZAR 100,000 in cash, consider joining our Pitching Competition visit: sweat.africa/hardtech-and...

The energy is remarkable. I will be attending the first edition of SWEAT Africa, 13-14 Feb, an event that has the potential to transform how we translate science into innovation and commercialization in Africa. sweat.africa

Wow, everyone should discover Stellenbosch & Franschhoek : SWEAT Africa’s Backdrop. These towns are science and innovation hubs. Home to Stellenbosch University and the Technopark innovation hub, the town is rich with researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs sweat.africa

Deadline: 31 January for the call for African STARS Fellowships. We are selecting the next 40 fellows. The previous 70 fellows, selected from over 5,000 applicants were among the most intelligent and motivated individuals I have encountered. Apply: www.starsfellows.africa/applyattypp/

Why we created SWEAT Africa “Africa has always had brilliant minds and scientists. In the COVID-19 pandemic, we lead in genomics and basic science, and what we’re now seeing is the infrastructure to transform those ideas into impactful technologies - sweat.africa

Please let me introduce Dr Thabo Mokhothufrom from Lesotho, an African STARS MBA Fellow. Dr. Mokhothu is Acting Director of Mental Health in Lesotho, overseeing mental health promotion, prevention, clinical services, and wellbeing programmes. www.starsfellows.africa/star-fellows...

Please meet the new cohort of African STARS Fellows! Let me introduce Dr Kamau Yvonne N. from Kenya. Dr. Kamau is a public health and pharmacy professional with over eight years of experience leading health innovations across Sub-Saharan Africa. More info: www.starsfellows.africa/2025/11/24/d... 🇰🇪

In 33 days, an epic event will be hosted in South Africa! The SWEAT Africa Tech Event 2026. SWEAT is a two-day, high-impact gathering designed to connect top investors with Africa’s leading deep-tech startups and early-stage founders. More info: sweat.africa

Applications open for the African STARS Fellowship. Four months of immersive Advanced and Translational Training (ATT) in South Africa or Senegal. Deadline 31 January 2026 - More info: www.starsfellows.africa/applyattypp/

Very proud to be a co-author on this comprehensive preprint on the novel, growing saltation lineage BA.3.2, together with @tuliodna.bsky.social‬, @darrenmartin.bsky.social, Dikeledi Kekana, and lead author @graemedor.bsky.social. 1/11 bsky.app/profile/tuli...

SARS-CoV-2 continue to surprise us with evolutionary jumps. In this pre-print, we describe the Identification and genomic characterisation of BA.3.2: a highly divergent BA.3-related SARS-CoV-2 lineage from southern Africa. A thread 🧵 www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...

As the new year approaches, we invite the brightest scientific stars in Africa to join us for a whole year (12 months) dedicated to advancing science that saves lives and produces medical and biological products to combat diseases. Deadline: 31 Jan 26 - www.starsfellows.africa/young-profes...

Something is very special about seating in nature and listening to African songs...

Saturday morning back in SA is for Franschhoek country market 🇿🇦

After an run in the mountains, we are excited to share our vision for Sweat Africa, which idea came with some drinks in Stellenbosch, of course. This innovative idea is gaining massive momentum and the potential to become the largest startup program in Africa! sweat.africa/about/

How do bioinformaticians look like? Please let us introduce Nokuzotha Nkiwane, who graduated today Cum Laude with a BSc Honors at Stellenbosch University at CERI. Nokuzotha developed Virolocate, a Nextflow-based pipeline for end-to-end viral assembly and discovery

Sunday morning is for snorkeling in Brazil...

Life in Arraial do Cabo, Brazil. How many sea turtles can you find?

Wow! High level and small discussion group on advances of AI for biology and health at the top of the modern art museum (MASP). Science, AI and DeepTech coming together in the most beautiful art museum in Brazil, priceless...

Raiz dos problemas que IA pode abrir soluções para problemas fundamentais da ciência ⁦‪@GoogleDeepMind

Fantastic to hear the big investment of Google on PhD fellowships in Brazil and partnership with Embraer to further develop AI for Science.

Starting the AI for Science for Brazilian science with Google - 'AI can hide scientists superpower' by Catherine Pollard from @googledeepmind.zpravobot.news.ap.brid.gy

Sunday is tor exercising in one of the largest parks in Brazil, Ibirapuera em Säo Paulo

What blast! 40 AI for Science Fellows from AIMS South Africa and Google DeepMind at CERI - Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation. This collaboration aims to advance AI technologies in Africa. We also welcomed the directors of AIMS, Ulrich Paquet and Karin-Therese Howell #AI #Africa #Science

Over 1,000 applications received for a highly competitive MBA fellowship. It is an honor to announce the selection of the 13 African STARS MBAs. These are the African leaders of tomorrow, winning as the top fellowship applicants! starsfellows.africa