The CRISPR/Cas9 system has revolutionized genetic studies in many organisms and opened up new avenues for gene therapy and pest control. The main power of this genome editing tool lies in its simplicity, cost efficiency and easy implementation. Despite its high impact for example for mosquito pest control, this system remains enigmatic to most African scientists.

To spread the knowlegde about and application of genome editing in Africa, we have so far organized several courses in Kenya and Ghana.  

In 2017, we organized a two-weeks course on genome editing and transgenesis in fish and flies that took place at ICIPE (http://www.icipe.org/) in Mbita, Kenya (funded by the Volkswagen Foundation).

We introduced 20 students to genome engineering  and transgenesis approaches and their application in fruit flies, mosquitos and fish species. Participants learned the design of genome editing experiments, preparation of reagents and how to evaluate and monitor the success of their experiments. We also discussed ethical considerations of gene editing and recently developed approaches for pest control. After the course, participants were equipped with the required knowledge and molecular biology tools to set up their own genome editing experiments related to their research question.

You can find the entire course report of the 2017 course here: Genome_editing_course_2017_report. and pictures from the first course in our Flickr stream

In 2019, we focused on genome editing in insects during a 1 week course at ICIPE (http://www.icipe.org/) in Nairobi, Kenya (funded by the Volkswagen Foundation). This course was combined with an intensive three-day theoretical course on the principles underlying genome editing technologies and their applications for gene drive organised in collaboration with the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (https://fnih.org/).

In 2021, we ran a 1 week workshop on genome editing principles at the University of Ghana in Accra, Ghana (funded by the International Brain Research Organization, IBRO https://ibro.org/). Here we used zebrafish as a model system to explain the basic principles of molecular biology and the use of genome editing for basic and applied research.

In 2022 we ran a 2 week workshop on genome editing principles in collaboration with two universities in Zimbawe (funded by the Volkswagen Foundation).

Below, there is a list of participants, organizers, faculty and facilitators for each course, and here some first glance impressions: