Summary
The African Society of Human Genetics was established in 2003 with the central goal of building capacity of the African scientific community and policymakers to contribute to the field of genetics research and to attract global attention to African genomic research and researchers. Almost two decades later, the AfSHG members have contributed to the expansion of the Genomic Research field in Africa. This workshop will introduce participants to African Genetic Diversity through webinars from a select number of AfSHG members (please note, the webinars will be open to the public). These talks will be solidified by background lectures, some case studies and hands-on tutorial sessions to introduce and highlight some key areas of research and provide some practical examples/exercises for participants to work on.
Overall Learning Outcomes
This module will provide graduates with the core theoretical foundations and technical skills necessary to carry out African genomics research. The uniqueness about this course is led by members of the African Society of Human Genetics (AfSHG).
Workshop Design
| Area | Area, Activities | Duration |
|---|---|---|
Pre-course
|
Approximately 3 days | |
| Daily intro
An introductory talk. This will outline how the webinar, practicals and background are linked. |
5-10 mins | |
| Webinar
These are lunchtime webinars which will be open to the public (These will be live) This will be delivered by senior researchers from the African Society of Human Genetics who have a track record in their area. The webinars will be open to everyone and widely distributed by both stakeholders. The webinars will be prerecorded and the presenters will only be present to answer questions |
1 hour | |
| Background lectures
These will give background to the material for the day. This lecture explain how the webinar, the case studies and the practical sessions are linked (these will be pre-recorded). |
30 - Background | |
| Case studies | Researchers working on African populations will present their work (these will be pre-recorded) | 30 mins |
| Practical sessions | https://github.com/tinashedoc/African-Genomics-Week | Afternoon |
| Day | Module description | Webinar (Online) | Background (This will be given by 3 researchers who will travel to Ireland) | Case studies (30 mins) | Practical Session |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | This session aims to introduce participants to the African genomes and highlights the need to discover new disease gene associations in these populations through case studies. | Ambroise Wonkam: 14 November |
Title: History and architecture of the African Genomes, principle of population structure/admixture and Gene Discovery Lecturer: Valentina Ngo Bitoungui & Emile Chimusa, Tinashe Chikowore Learning Outcomes:
Indicative Content: |
Topic: Disease-gene associations Samuel Adadey: Hearing Loss African Specific Variants: From Detection to Policy Valentina Ngo Bitoungui: Kidney Dysfunction of Sickle Cell Disease Guida Landoure: |
Topic: Novel gene identification using NGS |
| 2 | Cross-population applicability of genomics results and the design of a genotyping array for African populations | Ananyo Choudhury Development of the H3Africa Chip 15 November |
Title: Computational Population Genomics and Applicability of Genomic Tools on African Populations. Lecturer: Emile Chimusa Learning outcomes:
|
Topic: Ghada Collet Dandara Topic: Evolutionary history of sickle-cell mutation: implications for global genetic medicine-Kevin Kum Esoh Ghada Kamah: Medical Genetic Services |
Topic:Genome-wide association studies for African populations. South African TB populations. Tutors: Tinashe Chikowore & Emile Chimusa |
| 3 | Opportunities – why African genomic diversity is important | Segun Fatumo Complex disease-gene associations 16 November | Title: Introduction to Polygenic risk scores methods and tools/ transferability Lecturer: Tinashe Chikowore and Emile Chimusa
|
Leon Mutesa/Clarisse Musanabaganwa Topic: Epigenetics and Trauma Michele Ramsay: AWIGEN Study Topic: ??? Dr Amadou Gaye |
Topic: Polygenic risk scores Tutors: Tinashe Chikowore & Emile Chimusa Learning outcomes: How to calculate polygenic risk scores |
| 4 | Infectious disease genomics on the African continent | Webinar: Professor Chris Happi 17 November |
Background: Evolutionary Analyses of Infectious Diseases in Africa Lecturer: Richard Daodu, Tinashe |
Topic: Human-Tuberculosis Co-evolution in African Populations: Topic: Malaria Genomics in Africa Topic: HIV epidemiology and molecular evolution |
Topic: Vaccine design for Infectious diseases Tutors:, Ireland? Learning outcomes: Topic: Dataset - Richard |
| 5 | Project proposals and ethics |
Webinar: Dr Nchangwi Syntia Munung Topic: Ethical, legal and social implications in Genomics Research in Africa |
Lecturer: Cathal Seoighe Learning outcomes:
|
Case studies: Young Investigators’ Forum
|
Group proposal writing & submission after 2 weeks. |