Leandre Murhula Masirika is researcher at “Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles”, a national research Institute based in South-Kivu, DRC, who witnessed the start of the outbreak in Kamituga, South Kivu, DRC, where he started to investigate the epidemiology. He noticed that the disease was primarily driven by previously undocumented heterosexual transmission and decided to go further with genomics analysis. Leandre Murhula Masirika requested a training provided by the partners from Europe to perform whole genome sequencing in a workshop organized by the research consortium where the team was the first time detected the mpox virus clade Ib, a novel genetic variant of mpox virus. While the genomic difference from known mpox Clade I viruses suggests that the outbreak results from a new recent spillover, the team developed the first real-time PCR assay to detect the novel Clade Ib monkeypox virus. The team recently published article in Nature Medicine, the team presents an extensive genetic analyses of this novel clade Ib virus in Eastern DRC, which shows that this variant has since undergone mutations that are typical of ongoing human to human transmission. The team identified three separate clusters of sequences, one of which has spread beyond Kamituga to other cities in the DRC, neighboring countries, and even internationally to e.g. Sweden and Thailand. The new data also suggest that clade Ib entails a high risk of miscarriage.  Leandre and his colleagues published article in the Nature communications  reporting the first serological evidence of clade Ib Mpox transmission by sex workers and within household in this region, with a well-defined sampling strategy and dual-assay confirmation using ELISA and neutralization assays. The work of the team caught the global health attention. Leandre is a member of a highly experienced international research consortium. A team of researchers from Denmark, Burundi, The Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. Team is building local capacity for diagnostics and genomic sequencing in combination with ongoing epidemiological analysis to understand the emergence and spread of bacteria and viruses. The  research consortium  was first funded by the EDCTP3 funded program named GREAT-LIFE. And currently the team is funded by EDCTP3 under program named JUA KIVU (grant number 101195116) to continue with the ongoing researches on the novel global mpox Clade Ib outbreak. For the disease characterization and mpox impacts on pregnancy outcomes in South-Kivu, DRC, the team is funded by Medical Research council, UK and Gate foundation. Leandre, being a local researcher based on South-Kivu, DRC, a region with a mining industry, political conflicts has developed important strategies, experiences to adapt his work in the region.