An international award was recently bestowed on Professor Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch University, reocgnising his international contributions to virology, genomic surveillance and epidemic response.
De Oliveira, also the founder and director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), was honoured with the prestigious Gardner Lectureship Award by the European Society for Clinical Virology (ESCV), at its 28th annual conference in Portugal last week.
Receiving the award in Portugal was particularly special to him, as a Portuguese citizen who was appointed a Commander of Portugal’s Order of Merit by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in 2023.
Established in 1995 through a bequest from the late Professor Phillip Gardner, who formed the European Group for Rapid Viral Diagnosis, one of the predecessors of ESCV, the Gardner Lectureship recognises scientists with an international reputation in virology. The recipient is invited to deliver the Gardner Lecture at the ESCV Annual Meeting on a subject of importance to clinical virologists, with particular relevance to diagnostic applications and their practical impact.
De Oliveira said the recognition reflects more than two decades of work at the intersection of viral genomics, bioinformatics, infectious diseases, and public health. He has pioneered the use of genomic surveillance to understand the evolution and transmission of viruses and other pathogens and to translate rapidly generated scientific data into actionable public-health intelligence.
His teams at KRISP and CERI gained worldwide recognition during the Covid-19 pandemic for the rapid identification and characterisation of SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the Beta and Omicron variants. Beyond individual discoveries, De Oliveira has focused on building scientific capacity, infrastructure and networks that have helped position South Africa and Africa at the forefront of genomic surveillance and epidemic preparedness.
“This is a very special recognition for me because clinical virology is ultimately about using science to protect people’s lives,” said De Oliveira, who is also Pro Vice-Chancellor: Industry, Business and Foundation Partnerships at Stellenbosch University.
“During my career, I have tried to combine genomics, bioinformatics and new technologies with public health so that we can identify emerging threats quickly and provide information that governments, clinicians, and communities can act on. Beta and Omicron showed the world what African scientists can achieve when we have the expertise, infrastructure and freedom to act rapidly.”
The award also recognises the scientists who have worked alongside him across South Africa and the African continent, he added.
“…Science at this scale is never an individual achievement. It belongs to the extraordinary teams at KRISP and CERI and to our collaborators across Africa and around the world. We have worked hard to demonstrate that Africa should not simply be a recipient of scientific knowledge and technology. We can generate discoveries, build technologies, train the next generation and lead scientific responses that benefit the entire world.”
A special South African connection
The Gardner Lectureship also has a notable connection with South African virology. In 2003, the honour was awarded to Professor Robert Swanepoel of South Africa, internationally recognised for his work on viral haemorrhagic fevers and emerging viruses. More than two decades later, De Oliveira’s recognition continues South Africa’s representation among the internationally renowned virologists selected for the Lectureship.
For De Oliveira, this history is particularly significant, given South Africa’s long-standing expertise in emerging infectious diseases and the country’s increasingly prominent role in global genomic surveillance.
“It is a great honour to follow South African scientists like Professor Swanepoel, whose work on haemorrhagic fever viruses helped establish South Africa’s international reputation in emerging-virus research,” he said. “South Africa has extraordinary scientific talent. Our challenge now is to ensure that we continue investing in that talent and create opportunities for the next generation of African scientists to lead globally.”
Professor Sibusiso Moyo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Internationalisation at Stellebosch, said De Oliveira has shown that world-class science conducted in Africa can fundamentally influence how the world understands, detects and responds to emerging infectious diseases.
Professor Anil Chuturgoon, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at UKZN, said De Oliviera had built a platform that demonstrated the ability of African science to operate at extraordinary speed, technological sophistication and global relevance.
De Oliveira’s current work extends beyond responding to individual outbreaks. Through CERI, KRISP and initiatives including CLIMADE and GenPath Africa, he is working to integrate genomics, epidemiology, climate science, artificial intelligence and advanced data analysis to develop faster and more predictive approaches to epidemic intelligence.
At the same time, his focus remains on developing African scientific leadership, training young researchers and creating the infrastructure required for the continent to move from responding to epidemics to anticipating them.
“The next revolution in epidemic response will come from combining genomics with artificial intelligence, climate information and real-time epidemiology,” he said. “Africa has already demonstrated that it can lead in genomic surveillance. Our ambition now is much bigger: to help build a scientific and innovation ecosystem that can predict threats earlier, develop solutions locally and contribute technologies and knowledge to the rest of the world.”
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