AFRICA INTERNATIONAL BIOMEDICAL AND BIOTECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

Course Outline

Instructors

COURSE 1

Flow Cytometry: Understanding & applications

This course outlines key theoretical elements of flow cytometry and provides insight into how this powerful technology has transformed disease diagnosis, medicine, and life sciences. The course will highlight how the technology has evolved over the years and explore future clinical and applications in basic science. Participants learn about the impacts of the technology on informatics, automation and clinical diagnostics, as well as quality control and instrumentation differences across all current commercial technologies.

Prof. J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University, USA.
Mr Gert Swanepoel, Beckman Coulter, South Africa.
Dr Paul Ogongo, University of California, San Francisco, USA.Dr Woodvine Otieno, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Dr Robert Klause, Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa.
Dr. Lucy Ochola, Institute for Primate Research, Kenya.

COURSE 2

Point-of-care diagnostics for resource-limited settings

In this course, participants learn the basics and application of point-of-care (POC) diagnostics, including the underlying technology of microfluidics, device instrumentation and measurement techniques, etc. In addition, participants engage in practical demonstrations and assembly of simple diagnostic devices to give them practical skill and insights with potential clinical application. Assembling your own POC diagnostic device will be a great excitement and motivation to explore innovative solutions for infectious diseases. A variety of topics, including nucleic acid detection, wearable devices for POC, impedance spectroscopy-based label-free detection for blood analysis will be presented by experts in the various fields. 

Prof. Aman Russom, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Dr. Ines Pinto, postdoctoral fellow, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Prof. Tamara Kinzer-Ursen, Purdue University, USA
Prof. Linnes Jacqueline, Purdue University, USA
Prof. Orlando Hoillet, University of Cincinnati, USALucy Tecle, Purdue University, USA
Dr. Martin W. Sifunah, Chiba University, Japan

COURSE 3

Molecular diagnostics

This course introduces concepts and application of molecular diagnostics to infectious diseases. The course covers advanced new technologies such as proximity ligation assays (PLA) and proximity extension assays (PEA). Proximity assays are versatile technologies for protein analyses which can be used to detect proteins with high sensitivity and specificity in body fluids such as blood plasma and cerebrospinal fluids, in cell/tissue lysates as well as in cell/tissue sections. They allow for the detection of proteins, post-translational modifications, and protein-protein interactions. For example, application of the technology for the detection of viral immunity against Covid-19 is presented along with recent approaches to molecular diagnostics for disease diagnosis. The workshop also includes a hands-on wet lab practical on proximity ligation assay and application to diagnosis, as well as associated data analysis. Active discussion and creative thinking are part of the training.

Prof. Masood Kamali-Moghaddam, Uppsala University, Sweden
Dr. Radiosa Gallini, Uppsala University, Sweden
MSc. David Mwaura, Primate Research Institute, Kenya

COURSE 4

New insights into HIV and other emerging viral infections

IV/Aids continues to be a major contributor of healthcare burden in Kenya. Emerging new challenges such as drug resistance have also become a matter of great concern. To address trainees to address these challenges, this course examines the state of HIV infections in Africa and discusses emerging challenges such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and ways to combat them. Industry presentation on this important topic are led by both trainers from both academia and industry. In addition, the course challenges trainers to discuss antiretroviral therapy (ART), with focus on examining progress and challenges in the African context. For instance, challenges associated with increased life expectancy due to ART, patients developing non-AIDS complications including cardiovascular diseases and cancer are highlighted and discussed. A major focus of the course is on dissemination of new research knowledge with the objective of contributing to closing the remaining gaps in HIV prevention and management, as well as to outline future perspectives about AMR and HIV.

Prof. Elizabeth Bukusi, Kenya Medical Research Institute, KEMRI, Kenya
Prof. Elisa Vicenzi, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Italy
Dr. Isabel Pagani, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Italy
Dr. James Ayieko - KEMRI, RCTP, Kenya
Prof. Elizabeth Bukusi - KEMRI, RCTP, Kenya
Dr. Colette Aoko - KEMRI, RCTP, Kenya
Dr. Janice Litunya - KEMRI, RCTP, Kenya
Dr. Marilyn Nyabuti - KEMRI, RCTP, Kenya
Nellie Mukiiri - National TB Reference Laboratory, MoH, Kenya
Dr. Eddy Odari, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

COURSE 5

Parasitic infections and zoonoses

Parasitic infections, caused by a diverse array of organisms ranging from protozoa to helminths, pose a significant threat to human and animal populations worldwide. These insidious invaders often exploit both human and animal hosts, creating complex webs of transmission that necessitate interdisciplinary collaboration for effective control and prevention. Zoonoses, infectious diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans, are particularly relevant in an era of increasing human-animal interactions. The close proximity between humans and animals, whether in agricultural settings, urban environments, or through the rise of exotic pets, has heightened the risk of zoonotic spillover events, demanding a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between wildlife, domesticated animals, and human health. This workshop will serve as a platform to explore the latest research, innovative strategies, and best practices in diagnosing, treating, and preventing parasitic infections and zoonoses through a collaborative, multidisciplinary and interactive training approach. It will entail talks from local and international experts in the fields of Trypanosomiasis and Malaria research, with practical sessions for hands-on experience.

Dr. Winnie Okeyo, Biotechnology Research Institute-KALRO, Kenya
Dr. Rosemary Bateta, Biotechnology Research Institute-KALRO, Kenya
Dr. Kennedy Ogolla, Biotechnology Research Institute-KALRO, Kenya
Dr. Paul Mireji, Biotechnology Research Institute-KALRO, Kenya
Dr. Jesse Gitaka, Mount Kenya University, Kenya
Dr. Bernard Kanoi, Mount Kenya University, Kenya
Mr. Harrison Waweru,, Mount Kenya University, Kenya

COURSE 6

Genomics and bioinformatics

Continuing advances in DNA sequencing allow huge amounts of data to be produced from individual genomics, transcriptomics, and other omics experiments. Their uses in the biological sciences and in health care continue to expand. However, to analyze and fully exploit these large data sets, some expertise in bioinformatics and data science is needed.
This workshop will introduce you to different omics data types and to a suite of generic data science tools and techniques for analyzing large data sets. You will also be introduced to repositories and analysis platforms developed specifically for omics data, such as genome browsers. As examples of omics use cases and data analysis workflows, we will have sessions on cancer genomics and microbiology diagnosis and surveillance. The workshop will be focussed on applications, though we also aim to provide some understanding of the underlying statistical methods. 

The workshop contains only dry-lab computational work. The main analysis platform will be RStudio and the statistical programming language R. For the generic data science analysis part, we will use the R frameworks called tidyverse and tidymodels. To get the most out of the course, you should have some prior experience with R. If this is not the case, we recommend that you take an online (free) R tutorial, such as the primer called “The Basics” provided by posit (LINK)and/or read an introductory R text, such as “R for Beginners” by Emmanuel Paradis (LINK).

Prof. Daniela Maria Cirillo, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy
Dr. Andrea Cabibbe, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy
Dr. Steven Nyanjom, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
Prof. Jakob Skou Pedersen, Aarhuc University, Denmark
Dr. Simon Grund Sørensen, Aarhuc University, Denmark
Dr. Josiah Kuja, University of Copenhagen, Denmark