Completed projects

Disseminating scientific-based knowledge, to foster cultural and behavior changes for combatting environmental and human health impacts associated to antimicrobial resistance during and after covid-19 epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa: case of Congo DR

• Funding : Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF): Agora Rolling Call
• 2020-2022 (completed)
• UniGe Responsible : John Poté
• Institution Partners: Geneva University Hospital (HUG, Switzerland) and the University of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Building capacity for water, sanitation and hygiene in sub-Saharan Africa

• 2014 – 2020 (completed)
• Funding:
  - Swiss National Science Foundation
  - Swiss cooperation: Swiss Embassy in Democratic Republic of the Congo
  - University of Geneva, Department F.-A. Forel for environmental and aquatic sciences via tripartite collaboration
  - Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Government

• UniGe Responsible: John Poté
• PhD students : Pitchouna Kilunga (UNIKIN/UNIGE), John Kayemba (UPN/UNIGE)
• Partners : University of Kinshasa and UPN (Congo)

Physicochemical and toxicological aspects guided mapping of urban landfill and mining activities for evaluating of environmental and human health risks in Sub-Sahara Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo

• 2013 – 2020 (completed)
• Funding:
  - UNESCO-Sida project on “Mapping and Assessing the Environmental and Health Impacts of Abandoned Mines in Sub-Saharan African Countries
  - Swiss cooperation: Swiss Embassy in Democratic Republic of the Congo
  - University of Geneva, Department F.-A. Forel for environmental and aquatic sciences via tripartite collaboration
  - Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Government

• UniGe Responsible: John Poté
• PhD students : Emmanuel Atibu (UNIKIN), Bienvenu Mavakala (UNIKIN)
• Partners : University of Kinshasa (Congo)

High-resolution historical sediment record and dissemination of micropollutants and antibiotic resistance in aquatic environment across to the different geographical location and climatic conditions.

• Funding : King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (Scholarship no. 11432).
• 2018 – 2022 (completed)
• UniGe Responsible : John Poté
• PhD student: Dhafer Mohammed Al Salah
• Partners: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Joint Centers of Excellence Program, Saudi Arabia & Universities of Kinshasa (UNIKIN and UPN, Congo DR)

Evaluation of Environmental Impacts in Water Ecosystems with Genetic Based Bacteriological and Physicochemical Aspects Guided Sustainable Water Resource Management in Developing Countries: Case of South India and sub-Saharan Africa

• Funding : Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
• 2014 – 2018 (completed)
• Our laboratory is involved in the assesses the anthropogenic influences associated microbiological and toxic metal contamination of the aquatic environment receiving systems, irrigation water and crops, as well as drinking water supplies.
• UniGe Responsibles : Vera Slaveykova, Walter Wildi & John Poté
• PhD students: Amandine Laffite (University of Geneva) & Naresh Devarajan (accomplished)
• Partners: University of Kinshasa and UPN (Congo) and Jamal Mohamed College-Bharathidasan University (India)

Antibiotic resistance of multidrug resistant according to different climatic conditions

This project identifies the possible antibiotic resistance mechanisms prevailing in environmental bacteria, under tropical versus temperate climatic conditions, incorporating international surveillance to provide baseline information on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance bacteria and their resistance genes from hospital and communal effluents and their spread into the aquatic ecosystem.

• 2012 – 2016 (completed)
• Funding:
  - Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships for Foreign Students
  - Swiss National Science Foundation
  - Bourse Augustin Lombard 2013
  - Bourse Ernst and Lucie Schmidheiny Foundation

• UniGe Responsibles: Bas Ibelings & John Poté
• PhD student : Naresh Devarajan
• Partners : University of Kinshasa (Congo) and Jamal Mohamed College-Bharathidasan University (India)

Functional metagenomics and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) – an integrative approach to explore the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and gene transfer elements (GTEs) from river sediments under tropical conditions.

• 2016 – 2017 (completed)
• Funding:
  - Swiss National Science Foundation
  - Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships for Foreign Students

• UniGe Responsible: John Poté
• Post Doc : Dr. Periyasamy Sivalingam
• Partners : Jamal Mohamed College-Bharathidasan University (India)