Keynote Speakers

We are honoured to welcome Professor Dame Janet Thornton as a keynote speaker at SCS 2025. A distinguished computational biologist, Professor Thornton has made groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of protein structure and function, evolution, and ageing, by using novel computational approaches. From 2001 to 2015, she served as Director of the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), where she played a pivotal role in the development of ELIXIR, the pan-European infrastructure for biological data. Her career spans leading roles in academia, including positions at University College London and Birkbeck College, where she held the Bernal Chair in the Crystallography Department. Professor Thornton's exceptional contributions to science have been widely recognized. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, a member of EMBO, and a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences.

We are honoured to welcome Professor Segun Fatumo as a keynote speaker at SCS 2025. A renowned leader in genomic research, Professor Fatumo holds the Chair of Genomic Diversity at Queen Mary University of London and leads the NCD Genomics program at the MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit. His pioneering work focuses on the genomics and other omics of African populations, leveraging cutting-edge approaches such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS), polygenic risk score analysis (PRS), and Mendelian randomisation (MR). He co-led the first major GWAS of cardiometabolic traits in Africa and led the first GWAS of kidney function in continental African populations. As co-director of the KidneyGenAfrica Research Partnership Programme, he plays a central role in advancing genomic research and training excellence in kidney disease across the continent. A passionate advocate for equity in science, Professor Fatumo was recently honoured with the prestigious MRC Impact Prize for his leadership in promoting African inclusion in genomics and for advancing genetic risk prediction in African populations.