Genomics for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance and One Health

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and Wellcome Connecting Science (WCS) are hosting the first Genomics for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance and One Health Symposium.

The implementation of a trans-sectional surveillance system for pathogen resistance to antimicrobials demands a robust and integrated community with strong genomic knowledge and skills globally. This symposium aims to advance genomics for effective antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance and intersectoral collaboration between human, animal and environmental health sectors.

Inspired by the SAGESA – An African AMR Genomics Network programme, the symposium will bring together a community of African researchers and clinical and public health professionals who are actively working toward the prevention, control and monitoring of antimicrobial resistance. Participants will showcase their work on AMR and discuss how genomic technologies and related national strategies and policies are being integrated in healthcare, to enhance detection and surveillance, including the context of One Health.

Furthermore, this group of scientists will form and sustain the established community to promote the sharing of ideas, strong networking, and research collaboration across countries on groundbreaking research on AMR for public health surveillance on the continent. More importantly, the community will support the use of genomics and the sharing of genomic data for collective action in combatting AMR.

Target audience

The symposium is open but not limited to scientists based in Africa working in the field of pathogen genomics with a strong emphasis on AMR research in the One Health concept. We expect the network to grow by incorporating more scientists working in this field to foster capacity building. We encourage early to mid-career scientists who are enthusiastic about contributing to capacity building and developing communities within the field of genomics, AMR and One Health.

Participation in this event is by invitation only and registration details will be emailed to attendees.

The symposium will take place on 15-16 March 2024 at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), Johannesburg, South Africa.

With the aim of building a community of scientists to pursue genomic AMR research in Africa, this event will include workshops, lightning talks, posters, panel discussions and networking sessions alongside invited talks.

Discussions will focus on a variety of topics, including:

• Global impact and current status of AMR in Africa
• Capacity building approaches to combat AMR in Africa
• Methods and genomic approaches for AMR Surveillance
• Role of genomics in AMR One Health
• Integrating genomic information for AMR surveillance
• Data sharing & governance frameworks
• Community development

Scientific programme committee

Saffiatou Darboe
Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at LSHTM, Gambia

Sabelle Jallow
National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), South Africa

Stanford Kwenda
National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), South Africa

Noutin Michodigni
Laboratory of Emerging and Reemerging Pathogens, Burkina Faso

Richael Mills
University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Sylvester Moyo
African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), Ethiopia

Liliwe Shuping
National Institute for Communicable Diseases, South Africa

Organisers – Wellcome Connecting Science

Amanda Fletcher, Conference & Events Organiser
Isabela Malta, Global Training Assistant Manager
Alice Matimba, Head of Training and Capacity Building
Nagehan Ramazanoglu Bahadir, Programme Developer – scientific meetings

Participation in this event is by invitation only.

Abstract and registration deadline: 18 January 2024

Invited attendees are welcome to submit abstracts for short talks and poster presentations on the main themes specified.

Abstracts will only be considered from registered delegates. Please use our online abstract submission system and follow the instructions given to ensure your abstract is submitted correctly. All abstracts must be submitted by the deadline. You can make changes to your submitted abstract before of the deadline by logging into your account and following the instructions

If you have already completed your registration and subsequently wish to submit an abstract, or wish to submit a second abstract, please follow these instructions.

The scientific programme committee will assess your abstract after the deadline has passed and you will be notified whether you have been selected to present a short talk or poster presentation.