Abasi Ene-Obong

Abasi Ene-Obong is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of 54gene. He holds a PhD in Cancer Biology from University of London, a Masters in human molecular genetics from Imperial College London and a Masters in Business Management from Claremont Colleges, California. He also worked as a cancer researcher and published a seminal paper on pancreatic cancer immunology, Gastroenterology Journal.

He has extensive experience operating in the US, UK and Nigerian healthcare industries. Prior to 54gene, Dr. Ene-Obong worked with leading healthcare organisations, including Fortune 100 pharmaceutical companies, academic and research institutions, and governments as a management consultant with PwC and IQVIA (formerly QuintilesIMS).

Dr. Ene-Obong founded 54gene, a genomics research, services and development company established to significantly improve the inclusion of African populations in clinical global genomics research. As the African genome is the most genetically diverse in the world, the insights gained by 54gene can power medical breakthroughs and discoveries for the healthcare of not only Africans, but the entire world.

Founded in 2019, 54gene has made the Time Magazine list of 12 innovations that would change healthcare in the 2020s and has been listed by Nigeria’s Punch newspaper as 1 of 5 innovations that would improve healthcare for Africans. 54gene also made the Fast Company list of the world’s ‘Most Innovative Companies’ in 2020. It was also awarded the best health technology solution by AppsAfrica and Dr Ene-Obong was listed as 1 of 30 most innovative entrepreneurs on the African continent in 2019 by Quartz Africa.