Dr. Adrienne Leussa  

Currently the Director of Ecosystem Partnerships at 54gene, a health technology platform company, Dr. Leussa holds a PhD in biochemistry from Stellenbosch University. In addition to her roles in the business world, she has served as a university lecturer and managed an academic research laboratory.  

Dr. Leussa first encountered 54gene as a client—after leaving academia for the business world. Now, she leverages her academic expertise as she manages partnerships between 54gene and higher learning institutions across the African continent.

Episode Highlights  

• The importance of diverse data for precision medicine  

• Historically low patient-centricity as a bottleneck in clinical research

• Why 54gene focuses on genomics data to support drug discovery efforts

• How 54gene helps motivate individuals to donate their genetic data

• Advancements in digital health that can help benefit drug development

• How more inclusive data gathering would benefit the global community as a whole

• Major accomplishments 54gene has managed in just three years

• How 54gene leverages AI and machine learning in its data analysis

• Dr. Leussa’s own podcast, Africa Biotech Conversations, and its mission

Links  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrienne-leussa/

https://54gene.com

African Biotech Conversations podcast on Spotify