HISTORIC AGREEMENT WITH STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY, UW–MADISON’S GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE AND DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY

Jorge Osorio, Tulio de Oliveira, Brian Fox at UW–Madison’s Steenbock Lectures, July 2024 (Photo courtesy Paul Escalante/UW–Madison Department of Biochemistry)

By Katie Newcomb, Communications Director, GHI and Catherine Steffel, Communications Manager, Department of Biochemistry…Following Tulio de Oliveira‘s visit to UW–Madison in July, where he led Steenbock Lectures hosted by the Department of Biochemistry (Biochemistry) and the Global Health Institute (GHI), an agreement has been signed between UW–Madison and Stellenbosch University, located near Cape Town, South Africa.

Stellenbosch University is a hub of research innovation on the African continent. The Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch, directed by TIME100 Health honoree Tulio de Oliveira, is known around the world for its instrumental role in developing a global health network to share real-time surveillance of emerging and infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

“I was truly impressed with the quality of the facilities and scientists that I met at UW-Madison,” said de Oliveira. “I saw excellence in many disciplines and as soon as I returned to Stellenbosch University, I went to meet with the Rector/Provost who is now coming to visit UW-Madison in Sept 2024 to increase collaboration between the two institutions.”

GHI and Biochemistry have been developing a relationship with Stellenbosch University for quite some time, including visits to the South African campus with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). The visit and ongoing conversations sparked ideas for collaboration which led to this formalized partnership, marking the beginning of academic exchanges between the two public universities, as well as continued, proactive network building to advance global health innovation and communication.

(Photo, GHI) At Stellenbosch University, Spring 2023. Front row from left: GHI Director Jorge Osorio; WARF CEO Erik Iverson; SU Rector & Vice-Chancellor Prof Wim de Villiers; SU NITheCS Interim Director Prof Francesco Petruccione. Back row from left: SAMRC Director of International Business Development Richard Gordon; SU Director of School of Data Science Prof Kanshu Rajaratnam; SU Director of Fundraising David Marupen; CERI Director Tulio de Oliveira.

“This agreement is the product of many discussions with respected researchers and leaders from two world-class universities who see the power of collaboration to advance global health networks,” said Jorge Osorio, director of the Global Health Institute. “From WARF’s initial invite to visit South Africa, to discovering shared goals with the Department of Biochemistry, this partnership underscores the value of a multidisciplinary approach that leverages UW–Madison’s capabilities and expands the Wisconsin Idea across all 21 colleges on campus, as well as the world, to address one health issues and provide students with academic exchanges.” 

The UW-Stellenbosch agreement focuses on three areas of multidisciplinary collaboration:

  • Educational opportunities for joint curriculum and student and faculty exchanges.
  • Establishment of the One Health Program, which offers opportunities for working closely with local communities and sharing scientific capabilities and resources in global health, data sciences, data ecosystems, digital and precision agriculture, dairy science, agroecology, virology, anti-microbial and anti-fungal resistance, artificial intelligence, metabolic disease, and vaccines and development.
  • Translational science and outreach, where both universities will identify appropriate alliances with industry, public and private entities, and organize seminars on capacity-building.

The agreement also marks the beginning of a GHI One Health Program in South Africa. GHI currently has One Health Centers and projects in Colombia, India, Mexico, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda.

This academic exchange facilitated through the UW-Stellenbosch agreement will bring Richard Gordon, director of international business development, South African Medical Research Council, and an independent contractor to Stellenbosch University to UW–Madison this fall. Gordon will bring his experience to the Department of Biochemistry to identify topical areas and persons to develop research and teaching partnerships, which bring together the strengths and shared interests of the two universities.

(Photo, GHI) At UW–Madison GHI, Fall 2023. From left: GHI Associate Research Professor John Chan; GHI Director Jorge Osorio; GHI Communications Director Katie Newcomb; SAMRC Director of International Business Development Richard Gordon; and GHI Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships & Development Calyn Ostrowski.

The opportunity for faculty and students to work with dynamic and innovative researchers at Stellenbosch University and CERI, means collaborating with de Oliveira’s team who discovered the Omicron and Beta variants of Covid-19. The CERI team was also instrumental in developing a global health network within South Africa to share real-time surveillance of emerging and infectious diseases. CERI is one of the 22 sites within the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition, as are the GHI One Health Center-Colombia and GHI One Health Center-West Africa, thus strengthening the surveillance network for emerging and infectious diseases

“This is an exciting opportunity to develop impactful interactions across realms of academic research and teaching excellence. It is our hope these efforts will have positive impact on the great challenges facing humanity by bringing the efforts, expertise, and inspiration of two great universities to bear on these challenges,” said Brian Fox, chair of the Department of Biochemistry.

This historic and transdisciplinary partnership between UW–Madison and Stellenbosch University illustrates the two universities’ commitment to solving global health challenges; bringing researchers and stakeholders from different backgrounds and experiences to the table to share ideas tackling global health challenges; and is a prime example the Wisconsin Idea—where the boundaries of campus are the boundaries of the state and beyond.