Lily Paemka

Dr. Lily Paemka is a molecular geneticist, Principal Investigator, and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, and is the Deputy Director of the West African Genetic Medicine Centre (WAGMC), both at the University of Ghana, Legon. She serves on the executive committee of the GhGenome Project as Cancer Genetics Coordinator and is Head of Genetics at Yemaachi Biotechnology Ltd.

Dr. Paemka earned her BSc degree from the University of Ghana and her PhD in Genetics from the University of Iowa, USA. Her earlier research includes work on autism, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, and cancer genetics.

In 2017, she was awarded a DELTAS Africa postdoctoral research grant, which enabled her to return to Ghana to lead research on breast cancer genetic risk in Ghanaian women. Her research interests center on elucidating the genetic underpinnings of Mendelian and complex traits and diseases in African populations.

Her current work focuses on the genomics, epigenetics, and cytogenetics of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and multiple myeloma in Ghanaians. She is also involved in drug discovery and the development of cell lines of African origin. In 2021, she received the prestigious UNESCO–OWSD Early Career Fellowship.

Dr. Paemka is passionate about genomics capacity-building in Africa and actively mentors undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Ghana.