Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, announced an unprecedented scientific and historic achievement with the publication of the results of the largest whole-genome sequencing study conducted on 1,024 Egyptian citizens representing 21 governorates.
This milestone comes in implementation of the direct presidential directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to position Egypt on the global genomics map and localize precision medicine technologies in line with Egypt Vision 2030. The study demonstrates Egypt’s possession of the scientific expertise and research infrastructure capable of leading major nationally driven research projects.
Dr. Konsowa emphasized that these globally published results—achieved with the participation of a distinguished group of Egyptian scientists—successfully identified nearly 17 million unique genetic variants that had not been previously recorded in international databases. This provides Egypt, for the first time, with a “national genetic reference,” ending decades of underrepresentation of Egyptian genomes in global research. The study also revealed a distinctive Egyptian genetic component of 18.5%, helping specialists better understand the unique genetic makeup of the Egyptian population. For non-specialists, this explains why responses to diseases and medications may differ from those of other populations, paving the way for the era of “personalized medicine,” where treatments are tailored to each individual’s genetic code.
In this context, Dr. Gina El-Feky, Acting President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, stated that this achievement represents a direct implementation of the presidential mandate to build sovereign national scientific and research capabilities. She affirmed that these results are a fundamental and necessary step toward transitioning to a personalized medicine system in Egypt.
Dr. Mostafa El-Naqib, Director of the Center of Excellence for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), noted that the success of the project reflects the strategic vision of the political leadership in establishing world-class research infrastructure aimed at delivering safe and innovative medical solutions aligned with the ambitions of the New Republic and ensuring scientific leadership.
The study also highlighted the importance of “national calibration” of global genetic risk models, revealing that reliance solely on European-based metrics in disease prediction may lead to significantly inaccurate results for Egyptians in conditions such as stroke and kidney diseases.
Dr. Khaled Amer, the project’s Principal Investigator, stated that this study marks a turning point that ends the marginalization of the Egyptian genetic signature globally and provides a national reference that will reshape preventive medicine in Egypt based on precise scientific foundations, ensuring accuracy in screening and diagnosis.
Dr. Ahmed Mostafa, Head of the Bioinformatics Department at the Center and Professor of Genomic Data Science at the American University in Cairo, confirmed that the research team has practically demonstrated that global standards alone are insufficient to ensure medical accuracy, emphasizing the necessity of incorporating the Egyptian genetic signature to improve diagnostic precision and public health outcomes.
Dr. Adel Abdel Ghaffar, Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stated that this national project is the result of close collaboration and a strategic partnership among several national entities. The Academy of Scientific Research and Technology served as the primary funding body, while the research was conducted by the Center of Excellence for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, with active participation from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, as well as research contributions from the American University in Cairo, Alexandria University, and several university hospitals.
Study Link: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.02.715521
