Global Genomics in the Fight Against COVID-19: Tulio de Oliveira’s Vision for a More Connected Disease Surveillance

Tulio de Oliveira, a virus expert from South Africa, has quickly become a leading figure in the fight against COVID-19. His labs have produced many of the current heads of genomics labs in African countries and he believes that they are now more advanced than the best systems in the world.

In 2024, the U.K.’s Wellcome Sanger Institute offered de Oliveira the position of chief scientific officer, but he declined in order to focus on establishing Africa as a leading player in genomics. Instead, he proposed that his two institutes merge their talents to better prepare for future public-health threats by expanding the network of genomic monitoring started in Africa.

The collaboration between de Oliveira’s institutes and Wellcome Sanger Institute aims to create a more robust global system of disease tracking, with a focus on monitoring the effects of climate change on infectious diseases and human health. De Oliveira emphasizes the importance of thinking about pathogens as a global problem rather than just a national one, as they do not respect borders. This initiative will play a crucial role in preparing the world for future public health challenges.