ABOUT US
Congenica is a leading provider of genomic analysis software and services who have developed the gold-standard clinical genomics analysis platform Sapientia. Based in Cambridge, UK, and born out of pioneering research from the Sanger Institute, Congenica aims to revolutionize personalized patient care through accurate diagnoses, curation of evolving knowledge bases and support in clinical trials and drug development.
Congenica’s world-class team of experts have gathered together, in a single secured platform, all the resources necessary to enable clinicians and scientists to make informed medical decisions. Validated by Genomics England for the 100K Genomes Project, Congenica are empowering doctors around the world to diagnose the un-diagnosable.
OUR PARTNERS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
Dr Tom Weaver, CEO
Tom holds a PhD in Experimental Oncology and has a proven track record of creating value in highly successful start-up companies, applying genome-based technologies and contract services for fundamental research, clinical, and drug discovery purposes. He has also led large infrastructure programs in genomics and animal model genetics, serving as a Director at the Medical Research Council (Oxford, UK). He trained at the University of Cambridge and MRC Lab for Molecular Biology (Cambridge, UK), and the University of Wisconsin Medical School, (Madison, USA).
Dr Nick Lench, Chief Operating Officer
Nick was previously Director of the NE Thames Regional Genetics Service at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, with responsibility for the strategic and operational management of a genetics service that provides DNA diagnostic testing to a population of approximately 4.5M people. Nick is an honorary Reader at the UCL Institute of Child Health, and has over 25 years of research experience in human molecular genetics. He was awarded a personal chair in Medical Genetics at Cardiff University in 2005 and is a founding CEO of London Genetics Ltd and Programme Director at Oxagen Ltd.
Laura Taylor, Chief Financial Officer
A Chartered Accountant, Laura joined Congenica in 2015 to play a key role in shaping the strategic future of the company and in promoting its long term success. After an early career at Deloitte, Laura held Group Financial Controller roles at Xaar plc, a listed manufacturer of industrial inkjet printheads and then Abcam plc, a global leader in the supply of protein-research tools. She most recently held the role of Investor Relations Manager at Abcam. Her passion lies in supporting businesses through periods of rapid growth and innovation and streamlining systems and processes to maintain operational efficiency.
Dr Richard Durbin, Informatics Director
Richard is a Group Leader of the Human Genetics Programme at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and a Member of EMBO. A pioneer in the industry, he has developed sequence data analysis tools that are now standards in the field. His current research focuses on human genetic variation by large scale genome-wide re-sequencing. Richard has led the international 1000 Genomes Project and the UK10K Genome Project, and has made significant contributions to the Ensembl resource for vertebrate genome annotation, and the TreeFam and Pfam databases.
Dr Matthew Hurles, Scientific Director
Matt is Senior Group Leader at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and a leader in the Deciphering Developmental Disorders, 1000 Genomes and UK10K projects. He has pioneered the analysis of whole exomes in clinically relevant disorders that previously failed diagnostic methods, and has led an initiative to characterise structural variation in the human genome, and integrate this knowledge into disease and population genetic studies. Matt has been awarded the Balfour Lecture by the Genetics Society and the Crick Lecture prize for accomplishments in genetics by the Royal Society.
Dr Philip Beales, Medical Director
Phil is a consultant physician and Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics at the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH), an NIHR Senior Investigator, an Honorary Consultant in Clinical Genetics at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and the lead on Personalised Medicine for UCL. He is an internationally recognized expert in the genetics and pathogenesis of ciliopathies and pioneering use of next generation sequencing in mapping disease genes in this area.
Peter Fox, Chief Technical Officer
Peter has over 20 years of experience in leading product development in a range of industries, and applies his extensive experience at Congenica where he is responsible for the development & innovation of Congenica’s key product; Sapientia. After completing a degree in Pure & Applied Physics at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, Peter went on to a masters in Software Engineering at Aston University.
Following his education, Peter went on to hold several Software Engineering and Development Leader roles, before being appointed the Development Director at Oracle, then Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at Aegate, and finally CTO at Congenica in September 2017.
Shikha O'Brien, Chief Business Officer
Shikha leads the Sales, Marketing and Customer Support at Congenica. She is an accomplished executive with a strong track record of global commercial leadership in bringing innovative solutions in Life Sciences and Healthcare informatics. Her focus is in value-based leadership and in becoming the voice of the customers which has resulted in long term commercial success for many companies, including Biovia (part of Dessault Systems), Dotmatics, and Station X.
Dr Andy Richards, Chairman
Andy is an Entrepreneur specialising in healthcare and life sciences. He is currently Chairman of Ixico plc, Abcodia Ltd, Novacta Ltd and Cambridge Temperature Concepts Ltd, and a Director of Arecor Ltd and Ieso Health Ltd (formerly Psychology On-line). He was a founder of Chiroscience and an Executive Director through to the sale of Celltech in 1999. Andy is a founder, director and active investor in more than 20 innovative companies. He is a director of Cancer Research Technologies and Babraham Bioscience Technologies, a member of CRUK and a Trustee of the British Science Association.
Dr Hermann Hauser, Board Member
Dr Hermann Hauser KBE has wide experience in developing and financing companies in the information technology sector. Hermann has founded over 20 technology companies and is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Institute of Physics, The Royal Society of Chemistry, and of The Royal Academy of Engineering, as well as an Honorary Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. He is a member of the Government’s Council for Science and Technology and a Distinguished Fellow of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. In 2015 Hermann was awarded a KBE for services to Engineering and Industry.