Angola scientist takes BGI test to Africa

For Valdemar Rodrigues Augusto Tchipenhe, a field-applied scientist from China's genomics sequencing company BGI Genomics Huo-Yan Laboratory in Africa, studying in China and bringing Chinese biotech back to serve Africa gives him a feeling of extra responsibilities on his shoulders.

Tchipenhe, who comes from Angola and has been in China for six years, said BGI has helped three African countries of Gabon, Togo, and Benin install biological nucleic acid laboratories and provided workflow training to local lab technicians to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic.

He was selected to be part of a team for the Huo-Yan Project for the screening and testing of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, for both present and future needs.

"Huo-Yan" in Chinese stands for "Fire Eye" and derives from the classic Chinese novel about the Monkey King, who could spot devils in disguise in the "pupil of the eye".

"Installing devices, building up labs, training local technicians, and dealing with all the problems that may occur in the process, the things I do here may look laborious, but I do believe that I'm doing good for the benefit of the African people, fighting against the coronavirus," he said.

Tchipenhe said he and his Chinese colleagues have extended their stay in Africa again and again to make sure local technicians can operate the machines and deal with the processes in a precise way.

He added that after being put into operation, the BGI lab in Gabon will be the largest in the country. In total, these labs will test up to 20,000 COVID-19 samples a day, significantly improving local capabilities in detection and diagnosis.

Coming from an emerging country in Africa, Tchipenhe's goal is to return home and be a part of that same development. To achieve this, he chose to stay abroad until he is ready to make a difference.

"The exposure I've had so far by being abroad made me realize that in a society like ours, I still don't have a voice loud enough for most people to hear. The best way to broaden my horizon is by being abroad, learning as much as possible, and expanding my connections as extensively as I can."