Stellenbosch University (SU) researcher and COVID-19 scientist professor Tulio de Oliveira has been included in the inaugural 2024 TIME100 Health list, which celebrates 100 people who have had ‘the most impact on global health’ this year.
De Oliveira and his team discovered the SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant in 2020, and the Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 in 2021 which ‘swiftly emerged as the dominant global variant of the virus’, as reported by News24.
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This is the second time he appeared in a list compiled by TIME, as De Oliveira has previously appeared in TIME’s influential rankings in the 2022 TIME100 list of the world’s most influential people, considering that De Oliveira is world-renowned in the field of genomics.
Aside from being the director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at SU, he’s also director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and the deputy director of the Genomic Surveillance Unit at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK.
‘I am deeply honoured to be recognised once again by TIME Magazine and to be included in the distinguished TIME100 Health list of 2024,’ said De Oliveira.
‘This acknowledgment underscores the importance of collaborative research efforts in addressing global health challenges,’ he added.
De Oliveira has garnered numerous accolades throughout his career for his contributions to public health and infectious disease research.
In addition to being listed in Nature as ‘one of the top 10 people who helped to shape science in 2021‘, he was also included in the MIT Technology Review list as one of the leaders of the 10 breakthrough technologies in 2022.
‘Professor Tulio de Oliveira’s tireless dedication to advancing scientific knowledge and his exceptional leadership in the field of genomics and bioinformatics exemplify the spirit of innovation and collaboration that defines our institution,’ said Professor Sibusiso Moyo, deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, innovation and postgraduate studies at SU.
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Picture: Tulio de Oliveira / X