Robert (Bob) Colebunders was in the past mainly involved in research on HIV, tuberculosis and hemorrhagic fevers. In 2014 he obtained an advanced ERC grant to identify the cause of the nodding syndrome and river epilepsy (epilepsy in onchocerciasis endemic regions). Based on trans-disciplinary research in South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and the Central African Republic (NSETHIO project) he discovered that nodding syndromis a form of epilepsy caused by onchocerciasis and that this epilepsy can be prevented by administering twice a year ivermectin to children exposed to onchocerciasis infected blackflies. Moreover he is initiator and coordinator of the International Citizen Project COVID-19, an initiative to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of people living in Low and Middle income countries.