Professor Emile Chimusa PhD

Dr. Emile R. Chimusa is a professor of bioinformatics and computational population genomics at Northumbria University. He recently joined Northumbria from the University of Cape Town, where he led postgraduate programs in computational health informatics and human/forensic genetics. His research develops statistical and computational methods to analyze large-scale genomic data—genome-wide association, fine-mapping, admixture mapping, and multi-omics integration—with a focus on diverse and admixed populations. Dr. Chimusa has contributed to international consortia and secured competitive funding (UK, South Africa, EU, North America), with cumulative awards reported at over £17.7 million as PI or co-investigator. He also designs open tools for functional genomics, post-GWAS analysis, ancestry inference, and disease-risk prediction, and actively builds training in bioinformatics and omics data science. His recent work spans equity-oriented data sharing, pharmacogenetics in sickle cell disease, fetal haemoglobin modifiers, and hypertension genomics in African ancestries.

Education Details 

• PhD: Statistical Genetics and Genetic Epidemiology (University of Cape Town, 2013)
• M.Sc.: (University of Cape Town, 2010)
• B.Sc. (Hons): (University of Cape Town, inferred)
• B.Sc.: (University of Kinshasa, 2005)

Professional Background  

• Professor of Bioinformatics & Computational Biology (Current) - Northumbria University, UK.
• Associate Professor (Former) - University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa.
• Director (Former) - Medical Sciences BSc Honours program in Human Genetics and Forensic Genetics, UCT.
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Former) - University of Cape Town.

Current Research Projects

• Pharmacogenetic Modeling: Exploring genetic factors influencing drug response, particularly hydroxyurea in Tanzanian sickle cell disease patients.
• Genomic Risk Assessment: Developing computational methods for disease risk stratification in multi-way admixed populations.
• Multi-omics Disease–Drug Modeling: Utilizing network-based integrative multi-omics approaches to reveal biosignatures and repurpose drugs for diseases like COVID-19.

Academic Profiles of Dr. Chimusa

• Northumbria Research Portal
• Scopus
• Web of Science
• Cienciavitae

Recent work emphasizes data-equity, pharmacogenetics in sickle cell disease, fetal haemoglobin modifiers, and hypertension genomics in African cohorts; plus simulation methods to optimize GWAS in diverse populations.

• Munung, N. S., Ewuoso, C., Chimusa, E. R., & Ogundiran, T. (2025). Cultivating an equity-oriented data sharing culture for African health research initiatives. Nature Communications, 16(1), 8122.
• Mugo, J. W., Mulder, N., & Chimusa, E. R. (2025). Data simulation to optimize frameworks for genome-wide association studies in diverse populations. Frontiers in Genetics, 16, 1559496. DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1559496.
• Nkya, S., Nzunda, C., Saukiwa, E., Kaywanga, F., Buchard, E., Solomon, D.,... Chimusa, E. R., et al. (2025). Exploring pharmacogenetic factors influencing hydroxyurea response in tanzanian sickle cell disease patients: a genomic medicine approach. The Pharmacogenomics Journal, 25(3). DOI: 10.1038/s41397-025-00372-3.
• Wonkam, A., Esoh, K. K., Levine, R., Ngo Bitoungui, V. J., Mnika, K., Nimmagadda, N.,... Chimusa, E. R., et al. (2025). FLT1 and other candidate fetal haemoglobin modifying loci in sickle cell disease in African ancestries. Nature Communications, 16(1), 2092. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57413-5.
• Agamah, F. E., Ederveen, T. H. A., Skelton, M., Martin, D. P., Chimusa, E. R., & 't Hoen, P. A. C. (2024). Network-based Multi-omics Disease–Drug Associations Reveal Drug Repurposing Candidates for Covid-19 Disease Phases. Drug Repurposing, 24(1), 7-15. DOI: 10.58647/DRUGREPO.24.1.0007.

Last Updated on October 09, 2025