Charles Rotimi
Project Collaborator
Location
National Institute of Health
Bio
Charles Rotimi, a genetic epidemiologist, is an NIH Distinguished investigator and the Scientific Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute Intramural Research Program. He is also the Director of the Trans-NIH Center for Genomics and Global Health. Rotimi earned his bachelor’s in Biochemistry from the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. He moved to the USA in 1982 to pursue postgraduate education and earn an MPH and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama. Rotimi’s lab has made novel discoveries by exploring the increased genetic diversity in African ancestry individuals for disease gene mapping and uncovering complex ways that ancestry can influence genetic findings. Rotimi is especially proud of his efforts at globalizing genomics. His vision for engaging the U.S. and global communities in genomic science and medicine has had a transformative impact on the democratization and development of genomic medicine. He has facilitated the establishment of state-of-the-art infrastructure and databases that are enabling genomic discoveries with implications for biological mechanisms of diseases and new therapeutic targets. Rotimi was the founding president of the now thriving African Society of Human Genetics, and spearheaded formation of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Initiative with over 176 million US dollars funding from NIH and Wellcome Trust. For this effort, Rotimi was awarded the 2012 NIH Director’s Global Health Leadership Award, profiled in the Lancet, Nature, Science, and recognized as an “African Innovator” by Quartz Africa. Rotimi has been elected to four global academies – the US National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the African Academy of Sciences and award the New York Academy Medal for Distinguished Contributions in Biomedical Science. He was the 2022 president of the American Society of Human Genetics.
