Two Southern African scientists selected for TIME’s 100 list

Two leading southern African scientists, Professor Tulio de Oliveira and PhD student Dr. Sikhulile Moyo, have been named among TIME Magazine’s list of 100 individuals who have made the most important contributions to our world.

De Oliveira is being honoured for his work in the field of genomics and epidemiology.

In November 2021, De Oliveira led the team of researchers and scientists who discovered the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, which quickly became the dominant global variant of the virus.

But South Africans may remember the occasion with some chagrin.

Initially dubbed the ‘South African variant’, its discovery resulted in stigma, travel bans, and considerable public animosity to De Oliveira and his team.

But, it soon became clear that although the variant was discovered in South Africa, it did not originate locally, and the safety measures seemed more punitive than preventative.

De Oliveira said it was an “important lesson that shaped future international responses to the pandemic”.

De Oliveira is the head of Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), for which he has already raised more than R300 million in funding.

He is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, among them the Gold Medal from the South African Medical Research Council, Top 10 most influential scientists in 2021 from Nature, Top 10 Technological Breakthroughs of 2022 from MIT’s (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Technological Review, and the Batho Pele Excellence Awards for public service in South Africa in March 2022.

De Oliveira is passionate about leading the research and fight against epidemics from Africa.

He frequently highlights the importance and value of local and international collaboration in battling the pandemic.

Dr. Sikhulile Moyo – pioneer in HIV research

De Oliveira’s former PhD Student, Dr. Sikhulile Moyo, also made TIME’s list.

Moyo is Deputy Laboratory Director at the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership (BHP) and a research associate with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. During his PhD, Dr. Moyo spent much of his time at both KRISP at UKZN, and Stellenbosch University.

Moyo is a pioneer in HIV research, and serves as co-vice chair of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group laboratory technologist committee.

One of his biggest contributions has been in the field of mother-to-child HIV transmission studies, which have had a significant and historic impact in preventing transmission and improving birth outcomes.

“The fact southern Africa produced two of TIME’s Most Influential People in the World is proof that the university and our group is deeply committed to truth, to developing very high levels of scientific research in South Africa, and in Africa, and most importantly to develop and capacitate the next leaders in the continent, I am especially proud that Dr. Moyo was a PhD student of mine,” De Oliveira says.

Thanks to De Oliveira and his team, Stellenbosch University and the University of KwaZulu-Natal has received a substantial award from the Africa CDC and the Rockefeller Foundation to host 100 African fellows, of which it has already received 51 delegates from 24 African countries.

In May 2022 De Oliveira presented at the Nobel Symposium of Medicine in Sweden and will be the keynote speaker at the first Nobel Symposium in Africa.

This makes Stellenbosch University the first place outside Sweden to host a Nobel Symposium.

“In a country like South Africa,” says Professor De Oliveira, “where a lot of the time people are very good at highlighting their distances and differences, it’s important to highlight what we can achieve when we collaborate for the greater good.”

TIME’s candidates are identified and voted for by the magazine’s international network of editors, thought leaders and past recipients of the prestigious award.

The list is in its 19th year, and recognises the impact, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.

Other South Africans that have made TIME Magazine’s prestigious list in previous years include President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trevor Noah, Prof Glenda Gray and Elon Musk.

Compiled by Narissa Subramoney

NOW READ: Trevor Noah appears on Time magazine cover for second time in 5 months