Page 137 - SAMRC AnnualReport 2025-26

P E R FOR M A NC E I N FOR M A T I ON

Genomics Platform

UNIT DIRECTOR:

Prof. Craig Kinnear
ckinnear@mrc.ac.za

Overview of the Platform Capacity development is a fundamental pillar of the
Platform’s mandate. Through training programmes,
The Genomics Platform is an advanced research and
service laboratory established in 2019 to promote internships, and collaborative research, the Platform
enhances scientific skills, promotes data sovereignty,
genomic science and personalised medicine in and supports the growth of a highly skilled African
South Africa and throughout Africa. It was created genomics workforce. This work solidifies South
to fill critical gaps in local sequencing capacity and Africa’s leadership in genomic innovation and
to lessen dependence on international genomic contributes to better health outcomes across the
service providers.
continent.
As a purpose-built next-generation sequencing
(NGS) facility, the Platform produces large-scale Key Milestones and Achievements
multi-omics datasets and supports vital areas During the 2025/2026 financial year, the Genomics
of biomedical research, including genomics, Platform focused on advancing data-driven
transcriptomics, epigenomics, and metagenomics. genomics to strengthen public health, clinical
These capabilities enable in-depth exploration diagnostics, and biomedical research across Africa.
of genetic variation, gene regulation, and disease A key priority was enhancing infectious disease
mechanisms in African populations, which remain surveillance through the Wastewater Surveillance
significantly underrepresented in global genomic and Research Programme (WSARP), which monitors
datasets. SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater systems. In collaboration
with the Environment and Health Research Unit, the
The Platform operates through two integrated Platform integrated wastewater signals with clinical
components: a service arm and a research arm. case data to develop AI-driven predictive models
The service arm provides affordable, high- for infection forecasting, enabling early-warning
quality sequencing services to academic, clinical, capabilities even as routine clinical testing declined.
and commercial partners, while the research
arm drives scientific discovery, fosters strategic In parallel, the Platform expanded the application
collaborations, and builds local expertise in of artificial intelligence across genomic workflows.
genomics and bioinformatics. A central objective is Machine learning models were developed to
to broaden equitable access to advanced genomic improve interpretation of cancer-associated variants
technologies for African researchers. by integrating mutation profiles, gene expression
data, CRISPR dependency screens, and drug
Since its inception, the Platform has significantly response datasets. Focusing on key oncogenes and
expanded its technical capacity, processing tumour suppressors such as TP53 and KRAS, this
thousands of samples and contributing to research work advances precision oncology by identifying
in infectious diseases, rare genetic disorders, mutation-specific therapeutic vulnerabilities.
biodiversity, and population genomics. It also Efforts to incorporate African genomic datasets
supports large-scale genome sequencing initiatives also help reduce algorithmic bias and improve
to generate African reference genomic datasets. clinical relevance in diverse populations.

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