Second Meeting of the DS-I Africa Consortium
29 October -2 November 2022

Dr Michelle Skelton (Participant)

Michelle Skelton did her undergraduate training at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. After completing her M.Sc. in Esophageal Cancer and the role of Tumor Suppressor genes she was employed as a Research Officer at the University of Witwatersrand in the Department of Molecular Hepatology. Her Ph.D. explored the role of Hepatitis B Virus genome variation in liver cancer, this was followed by short research projects in HIV diversity at the University of Cape Town where she subsequently enrolled for a Post doctorate with Professor Dandara's Pharmacogenomics Group in the Division of Human Genetics UCT. During her Post doctorate Michelle was particularly interested in the role of virus restriction genes and how variation in these genes between African ethnicities may contribute to differences in the prevalence of HIV infection on the continent. Currently Michelle is the Principal Investigator of the H3Africa and Data Science in Africa Administrative Coordinating Centres. The Human Heredity and Health in H3Africa (H3Africa)Consortium is jointly funded by the NIH and AAS/Wellcome Trust and supports 50 Research Sites in Africa. Through supporting cutting edge genomics research in infectious and communicable disease and ethics, the project aims to build capacity and improve health in Africa.