Division of Medical Ethics Invited Speaker Seminar | Charles Rotimi, PhD

"Inequities in genomic science and global ethical data sharing: Experiences from the H3Africa Initiative"

Dr. Charles Rotimi, a genetic epidemiologist, is the Chief of the Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease Genomics Branch and the Director of the Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health at the National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH. Throughout his career, Rotimi has directed innovative research to understanding the genomic, social and cultural determinants of metabolic diseases with particular attention to African ancestry populations. He has been a leader in exploring the implications of admixture and the increased genetic diversity in African ancestry individuals for statistical analyses: promoting trans-ethnic fine-mapping, developing methods for incorporating admixture into association testing, and uncovering complex ways that ancestry can influence genetic findings. Rotimi is especially proud of his efforts at globalizing genomics. His engagement of African communities for the international HapMap and 1000 Genomes projects has had a transformative impact. Rotimi was the founding president of the now thriving African Society of Human Genetics, and spearheaded formation of the H3Africa Initiative. This NIH/Wellcome Trust enterprise has brought over $80M to Africa to support African-led research, training, and infrastructure that is facilitating a sea change for genomics. He was recently elected as the first African ancestry individual on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Human Genetics. He is also a member of the Executive and Scientific Committee for the International Federation of Human Genetics Societies and the Human Genome Organization (HUGO) Council. He is an internationally recognized scholar whose work and achievements have been profiled in leading scientific journals including Science, Nature, Lancet, and Nature Medicine.