BHP is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Sikhulile Moyo, MSc, MPH, PhD, as Scientific Director, effective 08 August 2025. In this role, Professor Moyo will provide strategic leadership to strengthen BHP’s research portfolio, foster innovation in public health science, promote capacity building, and guide the development of collaborations that enhance BHP’s global impact.

Professor Sikhulile Moyo is a Medical Virologist at the Botswana Harvard Health Partnership (BHP), Research Associate at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH), Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University, and has adjunct appointments with the University of Botswana and the University of Pretoria. With over 25 years of experience and over 230 peer-reviewed publications, his work has advanced global understanding of viral evolution, drug resistance, and molecular epidemiology.

In 2021, he led the team identifying and sequencing the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant, cementing his international reputation in pathogen genomics and pandemic preparedness. Professor Moyo has received numerous honors, including the German Afrika Foundation Award, the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award, recognition in Time100 as one of the world’s most influential people in 2022, the Botswana Presidential Order of Honour (P.H.) and Presidential Meritorious Service (PMS), Order of the Great Zimbabwe, and Botswana’s inaugural Research Excellence Awards.

He is passionate about scientific excellence, mentorship, and collaboration, which aim to train the next generation of scientists and public health leaders. His research spans pathogen genomics (across multiple pathogens), bioinformatics and phylogenetics, characterization of acute and primary HIV-1 subtype C infection, HIV cure science, molecular epidemiology, antiretroviral drug resistance, viral evolutionary dynamics, and cross-sectional methods for estimating HIV incidence. He is expanding genomic surveillance, developing innovative treatment strategies, and strengthening international collaborations to address global public health challenges.