Centre for Genomics Research and Innovation, NABDA, Abuja, Nigeria

Prof. Oyekanmi Nash, PhD, is the Director, Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics Department at the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA). He is also the Director of the Centre for Genomics Research and Innovation (CGRI). He is a graduate of the University of Ibadan Biochemistry program (BSc, MSc) and Korea University (PhD, Molecular Genetics). Before returning to Nigeria in 2006, he was a Research Associate Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York (2002-2005), where he worked on the evolution of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase for Molecular Biology applications. As a Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Canadian Protein Engineering Network Center of Excellence, PENCE (1999-2002), he had worked on genetic engineering of the first "Mannosynthase." at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Prof Nash is the Founder and Program Director of the West African Biotechnology Workshops Series (WABWS), which has recently metamorphosed into the Center for Genomics Research and Innovation (CGRI). In the bid to achieve Nigeria’s aspiration for genomics-enabled biotechnology applications, CGRI is facilitating genomics-related research aimed at developing new disease surveillance tools, diagnostics and discovery of innovative drugs and interventions, and support genomics research related to crop breeding, dry land farming and animal production and health. Oyekanmi is a Planning Committee member and Africa Regional Director for the International Consortium on Anti-Virals (ICAV), PI of H3Africa Bioinformatics Network (H3ABioNet), NABDA Node, and a Steering Committee member of the Non-Communicable Diseases-Genetic Heritage Studies Consortium.