The Summer Foundation and Advanced Training in Genomics, organised by the Africa Centre of Excellence for
Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Redeemer’s University, Ede, has witnessed a steady increase in the
number of participants, since it began in 2014. From 11 participants, drawn from two countries at inception, this
year’s 4th Foundation and 3rd Advanced Summer Genomics training had 21 participants from five countries, bringing
the total number of trainees to 68, from inception till date.
The eight-week training, which was held from 21st June to 13th August, 2017 at Harvard University/Broad Institute,
USA, had participants from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Liberia and Ghana. They had the opportunity to
experience the various equipment in the Genomics Laboratory of a world-class University, and also met with top-class
Scientists in the field of Genomics.
Topics covered included, Basic Biological processes, Microbiology Theory, Genetics Theory, Genomics diagnostic
tools, such as PCR, Sequencing, Bioinformatics, Library construction, Next Generation Sequencing and Data
Analysis. Participants were also trained on Biosafety, Teaching Pedagogy and Science Communication.
At the end of the training, the participants carried out projects by developing a curriculum for a five-day Genomics
training workshop for their institutions and training videos on Genomics topics. The workshop curricula developed
were Application of Genomics in Infectious Diseases, Molecular Characterisation of Genetic Variation, Introduction
of Genomics Tools in Infectious Disease Investigations and Application of Genomics in the Diagnosis of Lassa Fever.
Some of the videos developed covered topics in the Application of Molecular Technology in Malaria Research, the
Cloning Technology, Molecular Diagnosis of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, Sanger Sequencing Technique, Polymerase
Chain Reaction Technique, Understanding Lassa Fever, Donning and Doffing of PPEs and safe disposal of biological
waste. All of the training videos are available on the ACEGID website (www.acegid.org) and they serve as informal
method of learning about Genomics. Students, faculty, healthcare workers and laboratory personnel can go through
this step-by- step video and learn on their own.
