CUT employees, postgraduate students from bot CUT and UFS and CPGR delegates who formed part of the workshop.

Delegates from the Centre for Proteomic and Genomic Research (CPGR) visited the CUT on 19 and 20 February 2019 to introduce the new Foundation in Omics course to the Health and Environmental Sciences postgraduate students from both CUT and the University of the Free State.

The CPGR is offering a course from standard molecular technologies to advance ‘omics’ application in two days. The program is aimed at scientists who are new to ‘omics’ as well as researchers interested in an overview of a dynamically evolving field. The course content includes project design, ethics, quality management systems, NGS technology and basic Bioinformatics. Course topics covered include Introduction to Next Generation Sequencing, Real-Time PCR, Proteomics, and Bioinformatics. The new format will blend onsite with online learning with emphasis on applied skills. 

The organisation was created in 2006 with a view to establish a modern, world-class ‘omics’ facility that meets the needs of the scientific community in academia and industry in South Africa. The Centre originated from an initiative by the South African Department of Science & Technology (DST) and is funded by the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). It aims to support the development of an internationally competitive bio-economy as envisioned in the DST’s strategic plans.

According to Ms Linda de Waal, Sales and Marketing Leader, the CPGR put together a foundation in Omics course in 2017 due to the rapidly changing molecular technologies and biochemistry. “It is not only about the new students getting exposure to the new technology, but also about students who qualified 5-10 years ago, who now work in laboratories to have access to these new technologies available. Within the CPGR, we have proteomics and genomics platforms to train young scientists and assist them in shaping and designing their projects as the technologies are new to them. Through CPGR, scientists will have convenient access to high-end discovery and targeted molecular technologies, thereby facilitating hypothesis generating and -validating work under one operational umbrella.”

Dr Malebo Ntsoaki, Senior Lecturer: Biochemistry/Microbiology, said the purpose of the session was to give students an introductory workshop in the omics field. The session is also projected to assist in introducing the most recent omics technologies in their research. “With this knowledge, students will be able to investigate how microbial proteins are affected by cell processes or the external environment using proteomics. These techniques can be applied generally in the field of food safety, agriculture, phytomedicine, microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, water and environmental research including cancer research. This will be followed by a laboratory-based training at the Centre of Proteomic and Genomic Research later this year. We are grateful to TIA for funding us and to CPGR for facilitating the workshop.”