Our Journey
A decade of advancing computational science and building capacity across Africa.
Launch of ACE Uganda.
The Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) and the Colleges of Health Sciences (CHS) and Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS) in partnership with the US Government’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology (NIH/NIAID/OCICB) launched the African Centre of Excellence (ACE) in Bioinformatics and Data-Intensive Sciences at the IDI-McKinnell Knowledge Centre, Makerere University.
Set up of the HPC cluster
In 2019, the ACE HPC cluster was established with support from TACC and NIAID. Built on the Stampede 1 architecture, the cluster was configured with 40 Dell PowerEdge C8220X nodes, 640 CPUs, 1.2 TB of RAM, and 160 TB Synology storage alongside a 0.5 PB NetApp system, delivering high-performance computational infrastructure for complex health data analysis.
Virtual Reality and Visualization Lab
In 2019, the ACE VR Lab was set up as a cutting-edge facility for virtual reality and immersive training. It played a vital role in training health workers in pandemic management without direct patient interaction, while serving as a hub for interactive 3D health data visualization.
Establishment of the ACE Tele-learning centre
The ACE Tele-Learning Center was established to advance regional training in bioinformatics and computational health sciences. The center serves as a high-tech hub for interactive hybrid instruction, distance learning, and international collaborative workshops.
First cohort of Bioinformatics students
The first cohort of MSc Bioinformatics students enrolled at Makerere University, laying the groundwork to train the next generation of computational health scientists.
First Bioinformatics Graduation
The graduation of the inaugural Master of Science in Bioinformatics cohort at Makerere University represented a historic achievement, transitioning pioneer scholars into qualified health data and computational biology experts.
Partnership with Google DeepMind
ACE-Uganda partnered with Google DeepMind to empower early career African scientists through AI-driven research. The collaboration focused on building capacity in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), deploying tools like AlphaFold and AlphaMissense, providing compute access, and offering expert mentorship to solve critical health challenges.
Partnership with Google.org
The Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) and ACE-Uganda received $2 million from Google.org’s AI for Science Fund to harness artificial intelligence in combating malaria drug resistance. The project integrates malaria genomics, variant effect modeling, and AlphaFold protein structure prediction to rapidly identify parasite mutations, strengthening early detection and accelerating progress toward malaria elimination.
Launch of the Upgraded HPC cluster
ACE-Uganda launched its upgraded High-Performance Computing (HPC) cluster, delivering a five-fold boost in processing power to drive regional health innovation. Supported by the University of Texas at Austin (TACC), NIH/NIAID, and FNIH, the expanded 56-node system features over 15,232 CPUs and 5 TB of RAM, accelerating complex research.