Siham was the program lead for Sentinel, an international partnership with ACEGID to build an early-warning system to detect viral threats through the development and deployment of advanced genomic surveillance technologies and data analytics and visualization tools to inform public health action. Siham was instrumental in standing-up the program at the onset of the pandemic and contributed to increasing SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing and sequencing capacity in Sentinel sites in West Africa. She also collaborated with diagnostics scientists to operationalize our multiplex surveillance platform at ACEGID, and supported other implementation and technology transfer efforts.
Having worked in international development consulting and biotech research and development for well over a decade, Siham has extensive experience managing health systems strengthening projects in limited-resource settings and advancing product development for disease surveillance. She is currently the Director, Biosecurity Technical Platforms at Concentric by Ginkgo Bioworks where she leads the expansion of laboratory partnerships in support of international biosecurity programs, and manages translational science initiatives to enhance programs’ public health impact.
Siham’s research focuses on the ethical considerations of pathogen genomics data-sharing and benefit-sharing, and on translational approaches for public health. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Saint Michael’s College, and a Master’s degree in Bioethics from the Harvard Medical School.