Biography
Professor Leon Mutesa, MD, PhD, FAAS, is Professor of Human Genetics and Director of the Center for Human Genetics and Genomics at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, a center he established in 2006. He obtained his MD from the University of Rwanda in 2003 and earned his PhD in 2009 from the University of Liège, Belgium, where he also completed his postdoctoral training in 2011.
His career has been marked by significant involvement in academics, clinical genetic research, genomics, epigenomics and scientific capacity building. A pioneering figure in genetics and genomics in Rwanda, Professor Mutesa spearheaded the development and implementation of Rwanda's reference center for human genetics. He is the Principal Investigator of several research grants supported by the NIH, EU, EDCTP, NIHR and Wellcome Trust, among others.
Professor Mutesa is a research pioneer in the transgenerational epigenomics of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder in Rwanda. His research programme examines the transgenerational transmission of the epigenomic impact of genocide exposure and PTSD in women survivors and their offspring following the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
He has supervised and mentored more than 100 MSc, MMed, PhD and postdoctoral researchers from Rwanda and international universities and has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications. His contributions to human genetics were recognised with the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO) African Prize in 2024, and he was elected a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (FAAS) in 2025. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI).
His expertise in human genetics, genomics, epigenomics and scientific capacity development is particularly relevant to Liberia's priorities in genomic medicine, diagnostic capacity, public health research and the training of young biomedical scientists.