Prof Michèle Ramsay (PhD) is the director of the Sydney Benner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Professor in Human Genetics and South African Research Chair in Genomics and Bioinformatics of African Populations. As a member of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa Consortium (H3Africa) she leads the AWI-Gen study on the genetic and environmental contributions to obesity and cardiometabolic disease risk in six centers across four African countries. Her research aims to shed light on the role of African population genomic variation in susceptibility to diseases, given the ethnolinguistic and environmental diversity across the continent. The SBIMB has a research focus to support translational genomics in Africa. Michèle is the President of the International Federation of Human Genetics Societies and past President of the African Society of Human Genetics. She is the winner of the 2019 South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA): Distinguished Women in the Natural (Life and Physical) Sciences and Engineering category.
