The IFBA and TaBSA are excited to announce that Professor Gerald Misinzo, a distinguished veterinarian and Professor of Virology at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania, will be delivering our Keynote Address at the upcoming Global Voices Conference.
In 2021, Professor Misinzo was awarded the Oliver R. Tambo Africa Research Chair for Viral Epidemics by the South Africa National Research Foundation and the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology. He is a Leader of the SACIDS Africa Center of Excellence for Infectious Diseases of Humans and Animals in East and Southern Africa. He has provided genomics expertise to national authorities and was appointed a member of the Special COVID-19 Committee by Her Excellency Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
Professor Misinzo’s impact extends globally, including his unprecedented work in identifying the role of disease in the extinction event of the rare Kihansi spray toads. The tiny yellow toads, living a secret life in the mist of the Kihansi Gorge in the remote Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania, were driven to extinction in the wild, due in part to the emergence of the amphibian chytrid fungus. Exacerbated by altered environmental conditions in the spray wetlands, the epidemic disease led to their demise. What followed was a remarkable road to conservation and unprecedented story of the Kihansi spray toads’ historic journey to laboratories in the United States and eventual re-introduction back to their native home in Tanzania.
We are honored to have Professor Misinzo share his insights and expertise demonstrating how infectious disease can be a major factor in species decline and extinction.
Registrations for the Global Voices conference are limited, so be sure to register here and secure your spot.