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Fourth Meeting of the DS-I Africa Consortium
16 - 22 November 2024
The Ravenala Attitude Hotel, Mauritius

Friday 15 November
Pre-Meeting Activities/Office Hours/Data Bootcamp Meet & Greet
Saturday 16 November
Venue: Masterclass
08:30 - 17:00 Data Bootcamp
Exploring Cancer Data
Facilitators: Rolanda Julius & Sumir Panji
Project Team meeting spaces available Project Team meeting spaces available
Sunday 17 November
Venue: Masterclass
09:00-13:00 Data Bootcamp
Exploring Cancer Data
Team presentations
Facilitators: Rolanda Julius & Sumir Panji
Project Team meeting spaces available Project Team meeting spaces available
14:00-17:00 LLM Workshop
Facilitators: Zahra Mungloo-Dilmohamud
Project Team meeting spaces available Project Team meeting spaces available
Monday 18 November
Venue: B-Leisure Venue: Masterclass
08:30 - 10:30 Ethics & Generative AI Workshop
Facilitators: Stuart Rennie & Keymanthri Moodley
Rapporteurs: Christopher Kintu & Chisom Soremekun
Partnerships & Outreach Working Group
Facilitator: Francis Agamah
Rapporteur: Wisdom Akurugu
10:30- 11:00 Refreshment Break & ECR Poster Presentations
Venue: B-Leisure Balcony & Masterclass
1. Adewale Ayodele
2. Amanuel Belay
3. Christopher Kintu
4. Daisy Chelangata
5. Peter Marsh
11:00 - 13:00 Ethics & Generative AI Workshop
Facilitators: Stuart Rennie & Keymanthri Moodley
Rapporteurs: Christopher Kintu & Chisom Soremekun
Training Working Group
Facilitators: Bill Hersh & Jasmit Shah
Rapporteur: Nigel Kamotho
13:00 - 13:45 Lunch at Mozaik Restaurant
Welcome & Opening
Facilitators: Laura Povlich & Michelle Skelton
Venue: B-Leisure
13:45 - 15:30 Welcome: Chair & Co-Chair of DS-I Africa Steering committee: Chenfeng Xiong & Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende
Guest of Honour: Dr Kathleen Neuzil, Director of the Fogarty International Centre
Amanda Jacobsen on behalf of Ambassador Henry V. Jardine, US Ambassador to Mauritius & Seychelles
Professor Sanjeev K Sobhee, Vice Chancellor of the University of Mauritius
Professor Heenaye-Mamode Khan, Dean of Faculty of Information Communication and Digital Technologies
Professor Yasmina Jaufeerally Fakim, University of Mauritius
Dr Heidi Sofia, Deputy Director of NCBI
Nicola Mulder & Michelle Skelton, Cross Consortium highlights from the eLwazi Open Data Science Platform & Coordinating Centre
15:30 - 16:00 Refreshment Break & ECR Poster Presentations
Venue: B-Leisure Balcony & Masterclass
1. Fatoumata Gnine Fofana
2. Frunwi Mugri Ndeh
3. Gabriel Kallah-Dagadu
4. Hannah Emefa Aziongo
5. Mariam Nakabuye
16:00 - 20:00 Network Exchange/Poster Viewing/AI/ML Technology/ Tools & Resources demo
Cocktail Dinner
Facilitator: Francis Agamah
Venue: Masterclass
Tuesday 19 November
08:30 - 10:00 Plenary Session ECR's Theme: Nurturing the Next Generation of Data Science Leaders for African Health Sector
Facilitators: Oluwole Olajide & Mariam Nakabuye
Rapporteur: Sophia Osawe
Venue: B-Leisure
Benjamin Aribisala
Houriiyah Tegally
Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende
Ndivhuwo Makondo
Ronald Galiwango
10:00 - 10:30 Refreshment Break & ECR Poster Presentations
Venue: B-Leisure Balcony & Masterclass
1. Mohanad Mohammed
2. Ngoe Kelson Tchinda
3. Olumuyiwa Adegun
4. Oluwole Olajide
5. Teddy Kwaga
10:30 - 12:00 Early Career Researchers Flash Talk Presentations
Facilitator: Rolanda Julius
Venue: B-Leisure
1. Al-Mahroof Yusuf
2. Chisom Soremekun
3. Christianah Kehinde
4. Oluwafemi Akintayo
5. Sabastian Wirsiy Yunkavi
6. Shahiid Kiyaga
7. Theophilous Mathema
8. Touku Arole Darwin
9. Valine Okeyo
10. Wisdom A Akurugu
12:00 - 13:00 Open Session - Joint Discussion DS-I Africa Data Sharing Guidelines
Data Governance & Data Management WG Members Required to attend
Facilitators: Michelle Skelton & Dorcas Gicuku Mwigereri
Rapporteur: Shonna Smith
Venue: B-Leisure
13:00 - 13:45 Lunch at Mozaik Restaurant
Venue: B-Leisure Venue: Masterclass
13:45 - 15:45 Data Governance Working Group
Facilitator: Dorcas Gicuku Mwigereri
Rapporteur: Shonna Smith
Data Management Working Group
Facilitators: James Orwa & Natalia Blanco
Rapporteur: Tino Muzambi
15:45 - 16:00 Refreshments Available
Venue: B-Leisure Balcony
16:00 - 18:15 Plenary Session Theme 1: From Data to Impact - Showcase of research findings and advancements in clinical medicine, public health, and health systems
Facilitators: Kim McAllister & Jean Gao
Rapporteur: Jasmit Shah
Venue: B-Leisure
Keynote Speaker: Judy Gichoya
Title: Shortcuts causing bias in medical AI
Project: Advancing discovery for developmental disorders - expanded analysis of the DDD-Africa resource (DDD-Africa)
Presenter: Nadja Louw
Title: CNV detection from exome sequencing data: Outcomes from the DDD-Africa cohort
Project: Leveraging Data Science Applications to Improve Children's Environmental Health in Sub-Saharan Africa (DICE)
Presenter: Kofi Amegah
Title: Modelling spatial variability in the impact of ambient PM2.5 exposure on children's health in Sub-Saharan Africa
Project: Advancing Public Health Research in Eastern Africa through Data Science Training (APHREA-DST)
Presenter: Rahel Bekele Teklegiorgis
Title: Impactful Research in Public Health Data Science - Lessons from the APHREA-DST Project
Project: Utilizing data science to evaluate the applicability of blood cell traits polygenic risk scores for disease prediction in Africa (BCX-Africa)
Presenter: Tinashe Chikowore
Title: Machine learning integrated polygenic risk scores for predicting blood cell traits in Africa
Project: Harnessing Data Science to Promote Equity in Injury and Surgery for Africa (D-SINE)
Presenter: Georges Nguefack-Tsague
Title: Estimating socioeconomic status for health equity surveillance in Cameroon: Expert opinion survey versus mathematical modeling
Panel Discussion/Q & A
18:15 - 18:45 Refreshment Break & Project Poster Presentations
Venue: B-Leisure Balcony & Masterclass
Project: Multimorbidity in Africa: Digital innovation, visualisation and application (MADIVA)
Presenter: Kayode Adetunji
Title: Discovering Risk Factors of Future Diabetes Onset among African Adults using Automatic Stratification
Project: Data Science and Medical Image Analysis Training for Improved Health Care Delivery in Nigeria (DATICAN)
Presenter: Benjamin Aribisala
Title: Development of a Breast Cancer Prediction Model Using Shape Analysis and Machine Learning Algorithms
Project/Presentation Title: Computational Omics and Biomedical Informatics Program (COBIP)
Presenter: Hocine Bendou
Project: UtiliZing health Information for Meaningful impact in East Africa through Data Science (UZIMA-DS)
Presenter: James Orwa
Title: Leveraging Causal AI to infer causal relationships in health and demographic surveillance systems (HDSS) in LMICs
Project: Eneza Data Science: Enhancing Data Science Capability and Tools for Health in East Africa (ENEZA)
Presenter: Kennedy Senagi
Title: A Spatial Machine Learning Model for Early Preparedness of Visceral Leishmaniasis Disease in Turkana County in Kenya
Project: Role of Data Streams In Informing Infection Dynamics in Africa (INFORM Africa)
Presenter: Xin Wu
Title: Macro-to-Micro Mobility Analysis During Nigeria's Flooding Season and Implications for Medical Response and Transmission of SARS COV-2
19:00 Dinner
Venue: Obeach Restaurant
Wednesday 20 November
08:30 - 10:30 Plenary Session Theme 2: Innovative Tools and Solutions: Addressing Challenges in DS-I Africa – sharing & repurposing tools & resources
Facilitators: Noffisat Oki & Inka Sastalla
Rapporteur: Eileen Weinheimer-Haus
Venue: B-Leisure
Keynote Speaker: Bubacarr Bah
Title: Towards a White Box Machine Learning Model for Diabetic Retinopathy
Project/Presentation Title: Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML)-based technology to overcome specialized training and technology barriers for the diagnosis and prognostication of colorectal cancer
Presenter: Mansoor Saleh
Project: eLwazi Open Data Science Platform (eLwazi ODSP)
Presenter: Takudzwa Nyasha Musarurwa
Title: Developing Federated Computing for Health Data Science in Africa
Project: Geo-enabled detect and respond system for antimalarial resistance in Ghana (GDRS - Ghana)
Presenter: Christina Riley
Title: Reveal: A geospatial platform to harness data and inform targeting, delivery, and monitoring of public health interventions — applied use cases
Project: Research for Ethical Data Science in Southern Africa (REDSSA)
Presenter: Keymanthri Moodley
Title: Evaluating the impact of an educational video on the knowledge of South African patients undergoing renal dialysis regarding the use of their health data
Panel Discussion/Q & A
10:30 - 11:00 Refreshment Break & Project Poster Presentations
Venue: B-Leisure Balcony & Masterclass
Project: Multimorbidity in Africa: Digital innovation, visualisation and application (MADIVA)
Presenter: Phelelani Mpangase
Title: Sub-population Identification of Multimorbidity in sub-Saharan African Populations
Project: UtiliZing health Information for Meaningful impact in East Africa through Data Science (UZIMA-DS)
Presenter: Willie Wainaina Njoroge
Title: A feasibility study to assess between physical activity, sleep quality, and depression symptoms among healthcare workers in Kenya using wearable health monitoring system
Project: Research Training in Data Science for Health in Rwanda (DST-HIRWA)
Presenter: Emmy Mugisha
Title: The Development and Deployment of a Machine Learning Model: A Tool to Predict Chronic Kidney Disease Among Diabetic Patients in Rwanda
Project: eLwazi Open Data Science Platform (eLwazi ODSP)
Presenter: Tshinakaho Malesa
Title: Developing a competency framework for biomedical data science
Project: Data Science and Medical Image Analysis Training for Improved Health Care Delivery in Nigeria (DATICAN)
Presenter: Benjamin Aribisala
Title: Data Science and Medical Image Analysis Training in Nigeria - Our One-Year Experience
Project: Public Understanding of Big data in Genomics Medicine in Africa (PUBGEM-Africa)
Presenter: Carmen de Kock
Title: PUBGEM-Africa: Democratizing Genomics and Data Science for Health in Africa
11:00 - 12:00 Data Equity Discussion
Facilitator: Laura Povlich
Venue: Masterclass
UZIMA-DS Project Team Meeting
Venue: Out the Box
Research Administrators Working Group
Facilitator: Eileen Weinheimer-Haus
Rapporteur: Kerry Glover
Venue: B-Leisure
12:00 - 13:00 Meeting with NIH Program Officers
Venue: Masterclass
Project Team Meeting
Venue: Think Tank 2
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch at Mozaik Restaurant
14:00 - 16:00 Plenary Session Theme 3: Bridging Research and Practice: Translating Findings into Policy and Action for Improved Healthcare Outcomes in Africa
Facilitators: James (Jay Churchill) & Makeda Williams
Rapporteur: Cheick Oumar Tangara
Venue: B-Leisure
Keynote Speaker: Phillip Bourne
Title: Data Science Meets Biomedicine – Where and How Can Africa Lead
Project: Multimorbidity in Africa: Digital innovation, visualisation and application (MADIVA)
Presenter: Chodziwadziwa Whiteson Kabudula
Title: Stakeholder engagement in the creation of visualisation tools to support multimorbidity management at district and health facility level
Project: Role of Data Streams In Informing Infection Dynamics in Africa (INFORM Africa)
Presenter: Kristen Stafford
Title: Phylogenomic geographical and temporal description of Nigeria's COVID-19 pandemic
Project: Innovative Data Science to impact the TB Epidemic (INSITE)
Presenter: Emma Kalk
Title: Innovative Data Science to impact the TB Epidemic [INSITE] - Progress with Data Platforms
Project: Eneza Data Science: Enhancing Data Science Capability and Tools for Health in East Africa (ENEZA)
Presenter: Daniel Masiga
Title: ENEZA Data Science: sharing knowledge, building capacity in East Africa
Panel Discussion/Q & A
16:00 - 16:30 Refreshment Break & Project Poster Presentations
Venue: B-Leisure Balcony & Masterclass
Project: UtiliZing health Information for Meaningful impact in East Africa through Data Science (UZIMA-DS)
Presenter: Dorcas Gicuku Mwigereri
Title: Prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and its Associated Risk Factors Among Kenyan Women
Project: Developing data science solutions to mitigate the health impacts of climate change in Africa: the HE2AT Center (HE2AT)
Presenter: Chris Jack
Title: Urban heat related health impacts are a critical concern globally
Project: CHaracterizing Effects of Air Quality In Maternal, Newborn and Child Health: The CHEAQI-MNCH Research Project (CHEAQI-MNCH)
Presenter: Tatenda Makanga
Title: Validation of pollution proxy indicators using personal exposure air quality data
Project: Combatting AntiMicrobial Resistance in Africa Using Data Science (CAMRA)
Presenter: Bernard Ebruke
Title: Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance in Africa using Data Science (CAMRA) Study: Case Summaries highlighting unusual clinical infections in young children in Africa
Project: Makerere University Data Science Research Training to Strengthen Evidence-Based Health Innovation, Intervention and Policy (MakDARTA)
Presenter: David Kateete
Title: Progress on Strengthening Graduate Training in Health Data Science in Uganda
Project: Utilizing Data Science to Predict and Improve Health Outcomes in Pediatric HIV (DSpace)
Presenter: Gaone Retshabile
Title: Improving Paediatric HIV Outcomes in the Era of Life-long Treatment Through AI
PI Meetings
Venue: B-Leisure Venue: Think Tank 2 Venue: Think Tank 1 and 3
16:30 - 18:30 Research Hubs & Research Projects
Facilitator: Brad Newsome
Rapporteur: Lyndon Zass
ELSI Projects
Facilitator: Jay Churchill
Rapporteur: Shonna Smith
Training Hubs/Education Projects
Facilitator: Laura Povlich
Rapporteur: Tshinakaho Malesa
Thursday 21 November
Venue: B-Leisure Venue: Masterclass
08:30 - 10:30 Communication Strategies for ECRs
Facilitator: Andrey Kuzmichev
Rapporteurs: Rolanda Julius & Sindi Lukhele
Steering Committee Meeting
Facilitators: Chenfeng Xiong & Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende
Rapporteur: Shonna Smith
Poster Viewing/Adhoc Activities
10:30 - 11:30 Wellcome Trust Workshop: Data and Diversity in Human Genomics: co-creating an approach tailored to African priorities
Facilitators: Ekin Bolukbasi & Grace Annan-Callcott
Venue: B-Leisure
11:30 - 12:00 Refreshment Break & Project Poster Presentations
Venue: B-Leisure Balcony & Masterclass
Project: Multimorbidity in Africa: Digital innovation, visualisation and application (MADIVA)
Presenter: Samuel Iddi
Title: Data Resource Profile: Multimorbidity in Africa: Digital Innovation, Visualisation and Application (MADIVA) Research Hub Data
Project: Research Training on Harnessing Data Science for Global Health Priorities in Africa (WASHA-Takwimu)
Presenter: Mohanad Mohammed Adam Mohammed
Title: Building health data science capacity in Africa by Africans - An evaluation of WASHA Takwimu's health data science methods short courses in 2024 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
Project/Presentation Title: CHaracterizing Effects of Air Quality In Maternal, Newborn and Child Health: The CHEAQI-MNCH Research Project (CHEAQI-MNCH)
Presenter: Tamara Govindasamy
Project: Advancing Public Health Research in Eastern Africa through Data Science Training (APHREA-DST)
Presenter: Patrick Weke
Title: Innovative Approaches to Public Health Data Science Training through a Collaborative Initiative - Insights from APHREA-DST
Project: INnovative data Science to Impact the TB Epidemic (INSITE)
Presenter: Emma Kalk
Title: An assessment of guideline implementation for TB screening and prevention in pregnancy using linked population data in the Western Cape, South Africa
Project: Tuberculosis in households with infectious cases in Kampala city: Harnessing health data science for new insights on TB transmission and treatment response (DS-IAFRICA-TB)
Presenter: Florence Kivunike
Title: Harnessing health data science for new insights on TB transmission and treatment response in Kampala City: Data Preparation update
12:00 - 12:45 Lunch at Mozaik Restaurant
12:45 - 14:45 Plenary Session Theme 4: Collaboration for Change: Promoting Knowledge Sharing and Training to Increase Health Impact
Facilitators: Sudha Srinivasan & Tiffani Lash
Rapporteur: Kerry Glover
Venue: B-Leisure
Keynote Speaker: Agnes Kiragga
Title: Bridging Data Science and Health in Africa: Lessons from the APHRC
Project: CHaracterizing Effects of Air Quality In Maternal, Newborn and Child Health: The CHEAQI-MNCH Research Project (CHEAQI-MNCH)
Presenter: Tatenda Makanga
Title: Leveraging African data resources and novel data science approaches to address priority knowledge gaps on climate change and health: the HE2AT Center approach and initial findings
Project: eLwazi Open Data Science Platform (eLwazi ODSP)
Presenter: Tony Burdett
Title: Promoting Metadata & Data Interoperability in DS-I Africa through Engagement & Collaboration
Project: Research Training on Harnessing Data Science for Global Health Priorities in Africa (WASHA-Takwimu)
Presenter: Saloshni Naidoo
Title: Building Health Data Science Training Capacity in Africa by Africans: A Case Study from WASHA Takwimu
Project: Data Science for Child Health Now in Ghana (DS-CHANGE)
Presenter: Peter Amoako-Yirenkyi
Title: Diversified training is a useful approach for developing biomedical data science expertise
Panel Discussion/Q & A
14:45 - 15:00 Refreshments Available
Venue: B-Leisure Balcony
15:00 - 17:00 Closing Session
Facilitators: Michelle Skelton & Francis Agamah
Rapporteurs: Shonna Smith & Tino Muzambi
Venue: B-Leisure
Working Group Report Back Session
Partnerships & Outreach Working Group - Francis Agamah
Training & Education Working Group - Bill Hersh
Research Administrators Working Group - Eileen Weinheimer-Haus
Data Governance Working Group - Dorcas Gicuku Mwigereri
Data Management Working Group - Natalia Blanco
PI Group & ECR Report Back Session
Research Projects
ELSI Projects
Training PIs
ECRs
ECR Best Presenter Prize Announcement
Final remarks from Steering Committee Chairs
17:00 - 18:00 Meeting with NIH Program Officers Meeting with NIH Program Officers Project Team Meeting spaces available Project Team Meeting spaces available
Friday 22 November
Closed Ad-Hoc Project Meetings (Pre-Arranged)
Venue Think Tank 2 Venue: Think Tank 1 and 3
09:00 - 17:00 eLwazi ODSP Annual Meeting
Facilitator: Nicola Mulder
INFORM Africa Project Meeting
Facilitator: Alash'le Abimiku