PRECISION MEDICINE AND THE FUTURE OF GENOMICS SUMMIT
قمة الطب الدقيق ومستقبل علوم الجينوم

---

PMFG SUMMIT 2026
December 7–9, 2026 | Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), Doha, Qatar

Prof. Khalid Fakhro / Chair Khalid Fakhro is the Chief of Research and Director of the Precision Medicine Program at Sidra Medicine, the largest tertiary care women and children hospital in Qatar. Prof. Khalid Fakhro / ChairFakhro leads the Laboratory of Genomic Medicine, which focuses on bringing emerging genomic technologies from the lab close to the patient’s bedside. Over the past decade, his group has sequenced thousands of genomes from patients and volunteers across the Middle East, leading gene discovery efforts for a wide range of rare disorders, as well as landmark studies on population structure, genome structural variation, and the role of Islamic ethics in genome research. To date, his lab has been awarded competitive grants exceeding $7m to study genome structure and the genetic etiology of rare diseases and Autism, and their discoveries have featured in high-impact journals worldwide. In addition to research and hospital duties, Prof. Khalid Fakhro / Chair Fakhro serves multiple leadership roles in Qatar’s growing biomedical ecosystem, including as a Board Member of the Qatar Precision Medicine Institute, and Adjunct Faculty at both Weill-Cornell Medical College and Hamad Bin Khalifa University, where he teaches and supervises Masters and Ph.D. students in genomics and precision medicine.

Manolis is currently President of the Qatar Precision Health Institute. He is also co-founder and the CEO of Antithesis Therapeutics Previously, he was VP and Head of Computational Biology at GSK, Professor of Genetics in the Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Founding Director of the Health2030 Genome Center and Director of the Institute of Genetics and Genomics in Geneva. He was vice-chair of the Swiss Personalized Health Network Genomics Task Force, and also member of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. He previously served as Chairman of the National Council for Research, Technology and Innovation and advisor to the Prime Minister in Greece. He also served as president of the World Hellenic Biomedical Association (2014-2015). He obtained his B.Sc. (1995) and M.Sc. (1997) from the University of Crete (Greece) and his PhD in 2001 from the Pennsylvania State University in the USA. His post-doctoral work was at the University of Geneva Medical School. He previously was a Senior Investigator at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge. He was elected EMBO member in 2014, recipient of the 2017 Bodossakis science award, has been named Highly Cited Researcher by ISI every year since 2014 and he was the recipient of the Curt Stern award from the American Society of Human Genetics in 2021. He has over 200 publications and his work has bene cited more than 120,000 times. His research has been funded by the Swiss NSF, the NIH, the ERC and the Wellcome Trust among others. His research focuses on the genetic causes and mechanisms of human disease. He has had leading roles in the ENCODE, Mouse Genome Sequencing, the International HapMap, the 1000 genomes and GTEx projects. He has served in the Board of scientific journals such as Science, eLIFE, PLoS Genetics and as Chief Editor in Frontiers in Genetics.

Edison Liu, M.D. is professor and special fellow of The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), an independent research institute focused on complex genetics and functional genomics situated in Maine, Connecticut, and California. Previously, he was president and CEO of The Jackson Laboratory, and Director of its NCI designated Cancer Center. Before that, he was the founding executive director of the Genome Institute of Singapore, the president of the Human Genome Organization (HUGO), the scientific director of the National Cancer Institute's Division of Clinical Sciences in Bethesda, Md., and professor of medicine, genetics, biochemistry, and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Dr. Liu is an international expert in cancer biology, systems genomics, human genetics, molecular epidemiology and translational medicine with a focus on human breast cancer. He has authored over 340 scientific papers, reviews and books, and is a frequent commentator on the impact of technologies in the biosciences and medicine. He obtained his B.S. in chemistry and psychology, as well as his M.D., at Stanford University; his advanced training in medicine and oncology at Washington University, St. Louis, and Stanford, and post-doctoral training in molecular oncology at the University of California at San Francisco. Dr. Liu has received numerous awards, and is an elected member to the American Society of Clinical Investigation, a foreign member of the European Molecular Biology Organization, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dr. BEN-OMRAN is a senior consultant and Division Chief, Genetic and Genomic Medicine at Sidra Medicine and Hamad Medical Corporation. He is a Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, Qatar & New York-USA. He is also a Distinguished Visiting Scientist at Boston Children’s Hospital-USA.

He contributes to the body of published knowledge in clinical and metabolic genetics, with over 200 published articles in peer reviewed journals, book chapters and abstracts. He is reviewer for many clinical genetics journals.

He is an active clinical researcher, collaborating on projects with local, regional & international communities. He is a lead primary investigator in many high profile research projects & clinical trials.

Sharon Terry is a remarkable advocate for patient rights and genetic research. She is the CEO of Genetic Alliance, a global network that supports individuals and families with genetic conditions. Her work is deeply personal, as two of her own children were diagnosed with pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), a rare genetic disorder. This experience led her to co-found PXE International, a group dedicated to finding a cure and helping others with the condition. Without a science background, Sharon dove into the world of genetics. Her hard work and dedication led to the discovery of the gene that causes PXE. This success story made her a leader in the “citizen science” movement, where ordinary people can become active partners in scientific research. In addition to her research advocacy, Sharon is a powerful voice in public policy. She was a key leader in the fight for the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), a law passed in 2008 that protects people from being discriminated against based on their genetic information. She has received numerous awards for her groundbreaking work, including being named a MacArthur Fellow, a prestigious honor often called the “genius grant.” Her efforts continue to empower patients and change the way biomedical research is conducted.

Dr. Kropotova MD, MBA is our Executive Vice President & Chief Medical Officer, joining SAB in June, 2022 to lead the strategy, direction, and execution of the company’s clinical development for the entire portfolio. Dr. Kropotova is a biopharmaceutical executive with expertise in all phases of global clinical development, translational medicine and medical affairs. Prior to joining SAb Biotherapeutics, as a Therapeutic Area Head of Global Specialty R&D at Teva Pharmaceuticals, Alexandra led innovative drug development focused on delivering a broad portfolio of immunology, respiratory, and immuno-oncology assets spanning from pre-IND to BLA/NDA filing of biologics and complex drug-device combination products. Prior to Teva, Dr. Kropotova served in various roles at Sanofi, including Vice President, Strategy & Strategic Planning Head, North American Medical Affairs; Associate Vice President and subsequently Vice President, Immuno-Inflammation, Global R&D Clinical Development; and Senior Medical Director, Respiratory, Allergy & Anti-Infectives. She also served in various roles at Pfizer Inc., most recently as Director & Head of Global Clinical Respiratory and Analgesics. She continues to serve on the Board of Directors at iBio, a global leader in plant-based biologics manufacturing and development of novel biopharmaceuticals. Dr. Kropotova received her MBA from Ohio University Graduate School of Business, Athens, Ohio; and her M.D. in Internal Medicine from the Vladivostok State Medical University, Vladivostok, Russia.

Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Stack brings more than 20 years of experience leading global sales and go-to-market organizations across enterprise technology. Most recently, he served as Chief Revenue Officer at Procore Technologies and previously spent six years at Red Hat as Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Services. He has also held senior leadership roles at DXC Technology, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Accenture, and Fujitsu, where he led sales teams, expanded enterprise customer relationships, and drove international growth. Earlier in his career, Mr. Stack served in the United States Air Force, the White House Situation Room, and the United Nations. Mr. Stack holds a B.S. in Behavioral Sciences from the University of Maryland.

Tobias Marschall is a professor at Heinrich Heine University, where he is director of the Institute for Medical Biometry and Bioinformatics and founding director of the Center for Digital Medicine. Prior to that, from 2014 to 2019, he was a professor at the Center for Bioinformatics at Saarland University and a senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, heading the Algorithms for Computational Genomics group. He is broadly interested in algorithms and statistical methods for computational genomics, including variant calling, haplotype phasing, structural variants, genome assembly, and pangenomics. He contributes to large-scale international projects, including the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC) and the Human Genome Structural Variation Consortium (HGSVC), where he acts as a co-chair."

Andrea Ganna is an Associate Professor at FIMM and HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, and a Senior Group Leader at Human Technopole. He is also Associate Faculty at the ELLIS Institute Finland and an ELLIS member.
His research lies at the intersection of human genetics, epidemiology, and artificial intelligence. He develops statistical and machine-learning methods to integrate genetics, electronic health records, national health registries, and other molecular data to predict disease trajectories, understand heterogeneity in disease risk and treatment response, and improve disease prevention. A major focus of his work is the development and evaluation of AI models using population-scale health data and their translation into clinically useful and generalizable tools.
He is the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant and the Leena Peltonen Prize for Excellence in Human Genetics, and has co-led major international initiatives including the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative and the INTERVENE consortium. He also initiated ML4HEALTH, a nationwide Finnish health-data research program.

Dr. Shuhua Xu is a Professor of Human Population Genetics at Fudan University and Director of the Center for Evolutionary Biology. He leads large-scale population genomics and pangenome initiatives, including the Chinese and Asian Population Pangenome Consortia (CPC & APC), integrating long-read sequencing, structural variation, and chromatin architecture data. His work focuses on building high-resolution genomic resources to support precision medicine, population health, and translational research across diverse Asian populations. Dr. Xu has published in leading journals including Nature, Science, and Cell, and collaborates extensively with academic, clinical, and industry partners worldwide.

Ahmad Abou Tayoun is the Director of the Dubai Health Genomic Medicine Center, and Professor of Genetics at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences. He completed his doctoral studies in genetics at Dartmouth College, followed by a fellowship in molecular diagnostics at Dartmouth Medical School. In 2013, he joined Harvard Medical School where he completed his clinical molecular genetics fellowship and, in 2015, became board-certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG). Prof. Abou Tayoun is a fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMGG).

Prior to joining Al Jalila Children’s Hospital at Dubai Health, he was a director in the Division of Genomic Diagnostics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and also an assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. At Al Jalila Children’s, Prof. Abou Tayoun established the Genomics Center of Excellence, the first comprehensive, CAP-accredited pediatric genomic diagnostics facility in the UAE. The center has now expanded to integrate genomic medicine across Dubai Health ecosystem.

Prof. Abou Tayoun’s main research interests are centered around characterizing the genomic landscape of rare diseases in the Middle East, including the discovery of novel gene-disease associations. In addition, his research focuses on implementing new technologies or approaches to enable faster and more effective integration of genomic medicine in the Middle East.

Prof. Abou Tayoun serves on several expert groups in his field. He is a co-chair of the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) Hearing Loss Expert Group, a member of the ClinGen Sequence Variant Interpretation (SVI) group, a member of the American College of Genetics and Genomics Interpreting Sequence Variants (ISV) workgroup, and an associate member of the Human Pangenome Consortium. He was also recently appointed as chair of the WHO genomics advisory group. In those capacities, Prof. Abou Tayoun is working with international experts to establish guidelines and recommendations for sequence variant interpretation in genomic diagnostic settings. He has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications in his field.

Prof. Alfadhel is currently Deputy Executive Director of King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC), Chairman of Genetics and Precision Medicine department and Director of Medical Genomic lab and Professor of Pediatrics and Genetics at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS). He contributed to discovery of more than 70 novel genes and link it for the first time to a human disease, in addition, he discovered two syndromes, first one with with dysmorphic features, intellectual disability, and speech delay, which named Alfadhel syndrome due to a defect in RAP1GDS1 gene and other novel neurodevelopmental disease with poor or absent speech, dysmorphic facies, and behavioral abnormalities named Umair-Alfadhel Neurodevelopmental disorder due to a defect in NAV3 gene. Both registered in the OMIM database, the official website for all genetic disorders. Additionally, he is founder and editor in chief of Journal of Biochemical and Clinical Genetics, Editorial board member of several other international journals. Authors of three books and one chapter in a book. Has more than 250 publications in high impact factor journals and more than 200 abstracts. He is supervisor and teachers for plenty of fellows, residents and medical students. His foresight and passion for innovation, earned him an award for inventing a new application in the Apple store and Goggle play for the treatment of inborn errors of metabolism (IEM Drugs). Finally, Prof. Alfadhel has been recognized with two of the highest prestigious awards in genetics: the Canadian College of Medical Geneticist (CCMG) Founders’ Award for Career Achievement (2024) and the Arab Award in Genetics (2025).

Rokhaya Ndiaye is a Full Professor of Human Genetics at the Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto‑Stomatology, Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD), Dakar, where she leads the Human Genetics Research Unit. She holds a PharmD from UCAD and a PhD in Human Genetics from University Paris VII, with advanced training in cellular and molecular genetics, GWAS, and genomics in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. With over 20 years of research experience, her work focuses on cancer genetics, particularly hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, as well as rare and neurogenetic diseases. She has established genetic testing and counseling services in Senegal and identified clinically relevant BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Her current research aims to expand genomic medicine and precision health in Senegal through the Senegal National Genome Project (SEN‑GENOME), creating population‑specific genomic references for equitable diagnostics and care.

Prof. Ndiaye is the recipient of the HUGO African Prize 2026 and both Springer Nature Editor of Distinction Awards 2026 including the Editorial Contribution Award and the Author Service Award, distinctions that acknowledge commitment to rigorous peer review, editorial stewardship, and timely, constructive support to authors. for her contributions to Human Genomics.

Dr. Solomon Fiifi Ofori-Acquah is an internationally recognized scientist, educator and leader in sickle cell disease (SCD). He is currently Professor and Calvin Smyre Endowed Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Morehouse School of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics at Emory School of Medicine. He is a Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Eminent Scholar and Director of the Georgia Solve Sickle Cell Initiative.
His research is focused on molecular pathogenesis, genomics and drug discovery in sickle cell disease. He developed the first animal model of the severe lung complication in sickle cell disease called the acute chest syndrome. His current scientific efforts include multiple genome-wide association studies and the first population DNA sequencing of a cohort of 1,000 children living with sickle cell disease.
Dr. Ofori-Acquah is the Founding Director of the West African Genetic Medicine Centre, a World Bank sponsored Centre of Excellence that is building genomics capacity in West Africa. Through his leadership in Africa and the United States, he has advanced global partnerships to transform sickle cell disease research and improve access to medicines for patients in Africa. Dr. Ofori-Acquah has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and is currently serving as Member of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Advisory Council.

Dr. Nam Sy Vo is an Assistant Professor of Data Science and Chief Operating Officer of the VinUni Big Data Research Institute, College of Engineering and Computer Sciences, VinUniversity, Hanoi, Vietnam. He previously served as Director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics at Vingroup Big Data Institute and as Co-Founder and Chief Scientific & Technology Officer of GeneStory JSC. He holds a PhD in Computer Science (Bioinformatics) from the University of Memphis and trained at MD Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Chicago before returning to Vietnam in 2019.

Dr. Vo is best known for leading the 1000 Vietnamese Genomes Project (VN1K), a large-scale population sequencing initiative, and for his broader work building polygenic and transcriptional risk score models for diseases including Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and several cancers. His group collaborates internationally through the 1000 Genomes Project, Genome Asia 100K, and the Asian Pangenome Consortium, and much of his research has been translated into clinical use across major hospitals in Vietnam via GeneStory JSC.

With over 50 publications and 6,500+ citations, Dr. Vo brings deep expertise in population-scale genomics and disease risk prediction — directly relevant to PMFG's focus on expanding genomic representation and translating population data into clinical tools.

Bio: Daníel received his Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in applied mathematics from the University of Iceland, and completed a PhD degree in Statistics at Duke University in 2002. He has focused on statistical methodology development in addition to working on the genetics of several diseases and traits, such as pigmentation and atrial fibrillation. Daniel joined deCODE in 1998 and currently leads the Statistics group at deCODE.

Lili Milani is the Head of the Estonian Biobank and professor of pharmacogenomics at the University of Tartu. She has a PhD degree in molecular medicine from Uppsala University, Sweden. Her research explores the intricate relationships between genes, diseases, and drug interactions, with a focus on how new discoveries could improve health care by data-informed and personalized medicine. She managed the development of the MyGenome portal, which was launched in June 2024 and gave over 200,000 biobank participants access to their genetic data in an engaging and meaningful way. Additionally, Lili is actively involved in national projects aimed at integrating genetic data into the healthcare system, ensuring that genetic data is utilized to its fullest potential. At the conference, she will share insights into the challenges and success stories of bridging the gap of moving genetic research results into healthcare settings.

Dana Yousef Al-Abdulla is the Director of Policies Affairs at the National Cyber Security Agency of the State of Qatar. Dana holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Qatar University and a master’s degree from HEC Paris in Strategic Business Unit Management. She holds professional certifications such as GICSP in Industrial Control Systems Security, GCFA in Advanced Forensics Analysis, and GSLC in Cyber Security Leadership.
Dana has made significant contributions to the establishment and operation of the Qatar Computer Emergency Response Team (Q-CERT). With over 20 years of experience, she has developed expertise in different cyber security fields including incident management, vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, policies, governance, national cyber strategies and data privacy.
Dana has cultivated her expertise in cyber security data privacy and she is one of the founders of the competent department of privacy law in State of Qatar.
She has led various cyber security and data privacy initiatives and projects on a national level including the development of the National Cyber Security Strategy and the National Information Security Compliance Framework. She has contributed to numerous endeavors aimed at enhancing Qatar’s cybersecurity posture and encouraging youth to pursue careers in the field.

Dr. Saleheen is the Principal Investigator of the Pakistan Genomic Resource (PGR), comprising of more than 150,000 participants in Pakistan on whom extensive genetic, biomarker and lifestyle information have been collected. PGR is being rapidly expanded to 1 Million participants. Whole-exome or whole-genome sequencing studies are already in progress in these participants. Of the first 65,000 participants who have undergone sequencing, roughly a fifth (> 12,000 participants) have been found to be homozygous null for predicted loss of function mutations (i.e., “Human Knockouts”) for > 6,000 unique genes. Many of these knockouts have never been reported previously. Once sequencing studies are completed, we anticipate to find > 300,000 human knockouts for > 15,000 unique genes. An experiment involving several million participants will be required in other outbred populations to get a similar yield of knockouts. These human knockouts are being systematically evaluated through deep phenotyping studies. Call-back involves recruiting family members who are also highly in-bred resulting into identification of more knockouts related to the primary proband (e.g., call back of one APOC3 knockout has led to the discovery of > 30 knockouts for APOC3). Knowledge gained from phenotyping studies in these knockouts and their family members is helping us understand: (i) the biology of genes; (ii) pharmaceutical inhibition of pathways; particularly dose-response relationships and safety profile; (iii) knowledge on essential genes; (iv) modifier genes that could inform about developing new therapies.

Farah Shamout is an Assistant Professor of Computer Engineering at NYU Abu Dhabi, where she leads the Clinical Artificial Intelligence Lab. She is also an Associated Faculty at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering (Computer Science & Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Departments) and an Affiliated Faculty at NYU Langone Health (Radiology). Before pursuing the tenure-track position, Dr. Shamout spent three years at NYU as an Assistant Professor Emerging Scholar, during which she received the Campus Life Faculty Leadership Award in 2021. At the Clinical AI Lab, Dr. Shamout is interested in developing machine learning methods and systems using heterogeneous real-world data for applications in computational precision health. This includes electronic health records data and medical imaging for medical diagnostics and prognostics. Methodologies of interest pertain to multi-modal fusion, representation learning, and augmenting machine and human decision-making, to achieve high performance and utility in clinical practice. Dr. Shamout completed her DPhil (PhD) in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and was a member of Balliol College. Her doctoral research focused on developing early warning models using electronic health records data to predict in-hospital clinical deterioration. While at Oxford, Shamout taught with the inaugural UAE-Oxford Artificial Intelligence Program and worked on global data commons and digital health policy. She also completed her BSc in Computer Engineering (cum laude) at NYU Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Heinner Guio is a physician and researcher with a strong international background in medical sciences, genetics, and genomics. He earned his Medical Doctor (MD) degree from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, where he developed a solid foundation in clinical medicine and public health. He later pursued a PhD in Medical Sciences at Tohoku University in Japan, specializing in infectious and respiratory diseases, with a focus on immune response. He subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, where he further advanced his research in infectious diseases and immunology within a leading scientific environment. More recently, he strengthened his expertise in precision medicine through the Medical Genetics and Genomics Certificate Program at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NIH, USA). His multidisciplinary training integrates clinical practice with advanced genomic research, positioning him as a leading figure in population genomics and precision medicine in Latin America.

Reham is a clinical academic working in the field of rare disease genomic medicine. Along with colleagues across Exeter and Palestine, she established the Translational and Community Genomics Programme, “Stories of Hope, Stories from Palestine”, which aims to advance equitable access to genomic research and improve diagnostic and clinical care for underserved Palestinian communities. Her research integrates neuroscience and genomic medicine to identify novel disease genes, uncover genetic mechanisms underlying rare conditions, and translate these discoveries into better healthcare outcomes. A key focus of her collaborative work with local clinicians and scientists is the development of a database of genomic variants identified to cause rare conditions in Palestine. This database is supporting development of a cost-effective genotyping platform for diagnostics, carrier testing and newborn screening. This approach is tailored for communities with limited access to genomic services and currently underrepresented in genomic research and healthcare. Beyond research, Reham is deeply committed to healthcare engagement and genomic education. She works to equip healthcare professionals and early career medical scientists with the skills to interpret and apply genomic data in clinical practice. She is also working to develop community-informed resources and strengthening capacity within marginalized populations. Her efforts foster international collaboration and integrate research, clinical care, and patient experiences to improve outcomes for rare disease patients and their families worldwide.

Joachim De Jonghe, PhD, is a Senior Scientist at Relation Therapeutics, developing genome-editing, single-cell and spatial technologies to map the functional effects of human genetic variation at scale. His work focuses on translating genetic association into experimentally resolved variant function, particularly in the non-coding genome. Previously at the Francis Crick Institute, he pioneered saturation genome editing of a non-coding gene and developed large-scale prime-editing and single-cell approaches for variant interrogation. He completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge, where he developed high-throughput single-cell RNA-sequencing methods.

Dr. Holub is Associate Professor of computer science at Masaryk University and Chief IT Officer (CIO) in BBMRI-ERIC, European Research Infrastructure Consortium for Biobanking and BioMolecular Resources, facilitating sharing of biobanking resources and health data for medical research. His background is both in computational sciences and computer science. Since setup of BBMRI-ERIC, he has lead design and implementation of the portfolio of its IT services. He is co-founder and co-lead of RationAI research group, focusing on rational and conservative application of explainable artificial intelligence to biomedical challenges. He was head of the Department of Communication Technologies at Institute of Computers Science, Masaryk University, as well as architect of advanced multimedia and collaborative systems of the Czech national e-infrastructure at CESNET. His research in computer networks and multimedia processing and in bioinformatics and applied artificial intelligence has lead to more than 80 research papers in established computer science, bioinformatics and medical informatics journals (including Nature Communications and Nature Review Genetics) and ranked conferences, and co-inventor of 2 patents. He has 585 citations in WoS (H-index 15) and 1,800 citations in Google Scholar (H-index 22). He has received Best Open-Source Software Award by ACM Multimedia SIG. He is a co-founder of Comprimato company, which commercializes research results in acceleration of compression algorithms.

Alasdair Thong leads the International Innovation Division at Alloy Therapeutics, where he focuses on establishing national biotechnology capabilities and enabling countries to develop and manufacture their own medicines. He is a life sciences entrepreneur and investor with experience spanning venture capital, biotechnology company formation and pharmaceutical development. Previously, he held investment roles at Index Ventures, Medicxi, Leaps (Bayer AG), Ada Ventures and Mubadala Capital, and supported biotechnology investments and strategic transactions at the Ellison Institute of Technology. He is also a co-founder of Plenty Biologics, BioSovereign Partners, MultiOmic Health and Selvedge Venture. Alasdair holds an MPhil in Bioscience Enterprise from the University of Cambridge and a BA (Hons) in Law and Chinese Language from SOAS, university of London.