About Us | DIPLOMICS

WHAT IS
DIPLOMICS?

DIPLOMICS is a resource for the national and international Omics community. We are a network of academic, commercial and industrial labs in South Africa. We are an inclusive organisation that is guided and informed by working groups of experts and managed by a professional team.

Our ambition is to create a world-class Omics infrastructure that is internationally competitive. Our focus is on laboratory infrastructure support, advanced training for technicians, introducing new technologies, and increasing the quality and reducing the price of Omics services in South Africa.

What does DIPLOMICS do?

Laboratory-Infrastructure-Support-smalle

Omics scientists use sophisticated and costly instruments. DIPLOMICS provides support to our partner laboratories by deploying the latest equipment, working with industry to provide comprehensive maintenance and service contracts, and installing laboratory information management systems (LIMS).

Since 2017, we have invested R56.4m in Lab Infrastructure Support.

Laboratory Infrastructure
Support

Omics technologies require skilled scientists and technicians. DIPLOMICS supports advanced training in operating and maintaining Omics instruments and in data analysis by providing access to specialised courses and workshops.

We fund training for lab technicians on instruments, bioinformatics, new technologies and software. We also support training for students, researchers, and scientists beyond the network, especially in PDI institutions.

Since 2017, we have invested R6.1m in training.

Advanced Training for Technicians

DIPLOMICS is a central portal for access to information on Omics resources and opportunities and supports Omics policymakers, practitioners and end-users. DIPLOMICS gathers information and data that enables stakeholders to identify key areas for intervention. For example:

• Provide a bird’s eye view of the Omics industry

• Avoid instrument redundancy

• Improve accessibility to students and researchers

• Study and assess socioeconomic impacts

• Organise and streamline the South African Omics market

• Minimise the ‘monopoly effect’ of Omics suppliers in South Africa

• Understand global trends in Omics research

Information & Intelligence

Meet The DIPLOMICS Team

Meet The

DIPLOMICS Working Groups

At the core of the DIPLOMICS network are the three working groups representing the sub-domains of genomics, proteomics & metabolomics, and bioinformatics.

The structure of the working groups includes senior, experienced scientists from academia, science councils and private enterprises, all of whom volunteer their time. They work closely with DIPLOMICS management, which includes paid coordinators who are also domain experts.

As experts in their fields, the working group members provide vital information on infrastructure gaps and their potential solutions. Working closely with DIPLOMICS management as well as the vendor community, we collectively develop interventions such as; buying and deploying instruments, training programs for technicians, service and maintenance contracts and showcasing new technologies.

The working groups provide information on activities (e.g. current market demands), trends and future opportunities in Omics. The working groups also provide information on the challenges they face in competing in a global Omics marketplace, such as pricing, perception of quality and turnaround time.

Genomics

Tulio de Olivera

KRISP & Chair

Farai Muchadeyi

ARC

Carel van Heerden

CAF

Craig Kinnear

SAMRC

Renée Prins

CENGEN

Judith Hornby

CPGR

Proteomics & Metabolomics

Jonathan Blackburn

UCT & Chair

Stoyan Stoychev

CSIR

Liam Bell

CPGR & Coordinator

Previn Naicker

CSIR & Coordinator

Chris Vorster

NWU

Bioinformatics

Nicky Mulder