The HOLICARE Academy
is designed to reinforce human capital in Africa.
Its implementation via the e-learning platform has 3 main objectives:
● The transfer of know-how from Europe to Africa and also between African states
● The creation of career development programmes while boosting the entrepreneurship potential of young people
● The involvement of stakeholders to build awareness about the public health benefits of innovative diagnostic solutions while providing resources to the general public
Our Webinars
Explore our past webinars
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Annual Conferences and Workshops
Ethiopia 2023
HOLICARE workshops at the Armauer Hansen Research Institute.
Hands-on experiences at the first HOLICARE Academy Workshop
The Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) in Addis Abeba hosted the HoliCare academy for the first project workshop. Over the course of three days, the invited participants experienced blended learning and knowledge sharing through lectures and medical laboratory demonstrations.
The interactive exchanges between the participants from Ethiopia (AHRI) and participants from Institut Pasteur de Dakar from Senegal, Mbarara University of Science and Technology and Makerere University from Uganda are particularly noteworthy. The south-to-south knowledge exchange aspect is what makes the HoliCare project unique.
The workshop featured introductory lectures on molecular diagnostic tools such as quantitative PCR, Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and microfluidics. Highlights included hands-on assembly of paper-based lateral flow assay (LFA) and their advantages for point-of-care testing in resource-limited settings. Participants also got hands-on experience working in the labs to carry out next generation sequencing for pathogen identification and characterization. During the COVID-19 pandemic AHRI was one of the few labs in Africa that did genome sequencing.
Uganda 2024
Holicare at ARDC 2024: Partnering for Global Health Innovation
HOLICARE’s 2024 Annual Conference has been organized in conjunction with the 19th Annual Research Dissemination Conference (ARDC), hosted by our Ugandan partner, Mbarara University of Science & Technology. This event provides a vital platform for African and global health leaders to share research, discuss challenges, and work together on solutions to address healthcare disparities—an alignment with HOLICARE’s mission to expand access to diagnostic testing and transform healthcare practices across Sub-Saharan Africa.
On Thursday, November 14th, HOLICARE’s experts led three impactful workshop sessions:
- Dr. Mohammed Bakheit, Dr. Friederike Hansfrom and Dr. Emelie Landmann from Mast Diagnostica GmbH explore molecular diagnostics with a focus on isothermal DNA amplification.
- Professor Aman Russom and Dr Ahmad Saleem Akhtar from KTH provide insights into microfluidics-based point-of-care diagnostics and why it matters to improve access to care for all.
- Devanshi Pandit and Josephine Mensah-Kane from Global Access Dx (GADx) present advancements in Multi-Lateral Flow Assay technology.
On Friday, November 15th, HOLICARE’s experts also featured a keynote and several presentations :
- Prof. Aman Russom, KTH Royal Institute of Technology – Microfluidics-Based Point of Care Diagnostics in Resource-Limited Settings
- Prof. Tonny Oyana, Makerere University – The Current State of TB and Pneumonia Diagnostics in Uganda
- Dr. Mohammed Bakheit, Mast Diagnostica GmbH – Molecular Diagnosis Using Isothermal DNA Amplification
- Devanshi Pandit and Josie Mensah-Kane, Global Access Dx (GADx) – A Deep Dive into the HoliCare Clinical Trial Protocol
- Phuthumani Mlotshwa, Karolinska Institut – Biobanking in Africa: Bridging Present Practices with Future Innovations
Click here to read more
about the 2024 workshop and annual conference.
Senegal 2025
Coming soon.
Research Exchange
HOLICARE project implements a research exchange programme between consortium partners. Researchers from Sub Saharan Africa are selected for study visits to research institutions in Europe. Since the project started in 2022, seven researchers were selected for research exchange through secondments by their home institutions. The institutions that made secondments are Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) in Senegal, Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) in Ethiopia, Makerere University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Uganda. Each of these four institutions seconded two researchers except for MUST which seconded one researcher. The researchers from IPD are hosted by MAST and Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). KTH also hosted one of the two researchers from Ethiopia who completed her exchange visit. The second researcher from Ethiopia and the researcher from MUST were seconded to Karolinka Institute (KI) in Sweden. The two researchers from Makerere University were seconded to Teesside University in the United Kingdom.
