About
Professor Sarah Ennis is an internationally recognised leader in genomics, biomedical data science, and personalised medicine. She is Professor of Genomics at the University of 天发娱乐棋牌_天发娱乐APP-官网|下载, where she directs the Genomic Informatics Group and leads the Human Genetics & Genomic Medicine (HGGM) theme within the School of Human Development and Health. Her work spans the integration of genomic and multi-omic data with clinical records, the development of AI-driven diagnostic tools, and the design of national research infrastructure to support precision healthcare.
With a career that bridges academia, the NHS, and industry, Professor Ennis plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of genomic medicine in the UK. She is a Research Director within NHS England’s Genomic Medicine Service, a founding member of the Genomic Artificial Intelligence Network, and a frequent advisor to national and international research and policy bodies. She leads projects within Genomics England and UK Biobank. She has published in ~200 peer-reviewed research publications and been cited in 28 government policy documents, underscoring its global impact.
External Roles and Responsibilities
Professor Ennis holds several influential roles that extend her impact beyond academia:
- Research Director, Central & South Genomic Medicine Service Alliance (GMSA), providing strategic leadership for NHS genomic research across one-fifth of England’s population.
- Genomics Lead, Wessex Health Partners, leading initiatives in pharmacogenomics and polypharmacy in the elderly.
- Project Lead, Cancer Genomics exemplar within the ?7.5M Wessex Secure Data Environment, integrating genomic and clinical data for personalised treatment.
- Co-applicant, NHS Genomic Artificial Intelligence Network, shaping national strategy on AI in genomic medicine.
- Consultant, providing expert advice to legal firms on genetically indicated therapies in pharmaceutical litigation.
She contributes to national infrastructure through the UHS Data Science Programme Board, the Institute for Life Sciences, and the UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan. She regularly chairs sessions and delivers keynote talks at major conferences including the Festival of Genomics and BioData. Her research is regularly presented at the European and American Societies of Human Genetics, the International Society of Computational Biology and increasingly at for integrating Genomics with Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare research.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Big Data
- Genomics
- NGS for Clinical Diagnostics
- Rare Diseases
Current research
Professor Ennis leads the Genomic Informatics Group, a multidisciplinary team of clinical fellows, postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and project students. Her research focuses on integrating genomic, transcriptomic, and clinical data using advanced computational methods, including machine learning and large language models. Her goal is to uncover the molecular basis of disease, identify novel genetic variants, and enable personalised treatment strategies.
She is the creator of the GenePy algorithm, a biologically informed tool for gene-level pathogenicity scoring, which has identified over 120 missed diagnoses in national genomic datasets. She is senior author on various research projects identifying novel disease genes. This tool is now being deployed across Genomics England and UK Biobank, supporting large-scale diagnostic and stratification efforts.
As Chief Investigator of the Genetics of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study, she has led one of the UK’s most productive NIHR portfolio studies, recruiting nearly 3,000 patients and generating over 50 publications. Her team has pioneered the use of large language models to extract and structure over 32,000 imaging reports, enabling scalable data analysis in IBD research.
Her research portfolio includes EPSRC- and MRC-funded projects on data reduction, variant modelling in Xenopus, and AI-driven diagnostics. She collaborates with leading institutions including the University of Oxford, Broad Institute, Mount Sinai, and MedGenome, and contributes to national infrastructure through the Wessex Secure Data Environment and the NHS Genomic AI Network.
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
Publications
Teaching
Professor Ennis is a dedicated educator with a strong track record in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. She has led the delivery of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology teaching for over a decade, designing and delivering more than 30 hours of lectures and tutorials annually. Her teaching consistently receives excellent feedback and includes contributions to modules on genetics, metabolism, and addiction.
She was the founding Programme Lead for the MSc in Genomic Medicine, successfully securing NHS funding and overseeing its design, delivery, and evolution. The programme, now known as the MSc in Genomics, continues to thrive under the leadership of one of her former PhD students. She also contributes to the MSc in Cancer Biology and Immunology and the MRes in Big Data Biology.
Professor Ennis is the creator of the Primer in Genomic Medicine CPD course, which has been commissioned by NHS Genomics Education and adapted for pharmacists, nurses, and pathologists. She has delivered international training in Colombia and continues to mentor early-career academics through PCAP and PREP schemes.
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
Professor Ennis holds a PhD in Genetic Epidemiology from the University of 天发娱乐棋牌_天发娱乐APP-官网|下载 and a BSc in Biochemistry from the National University of Ireland, Galway. She joined the University of 天发娱乐棋牌_天发娱乐APP-官网|下载 as a Lecturer in 2007 and was promoted to Professor in 2014. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has held numerous leadership roles in research, education, and enterprise.
Her academic journey has been defined by a commitment to translational research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and educational innovation. She has led major national and international research programmes, developed pioneering genomic tools such as GenePy, and played a central role in establishing the MSc in Genomic Medicine at 天发娱乐棋牌_天发娱乐APP-官网|下载. She continues to mentor early-career researchers and supervise PhD and MSc students, many of whom have gone on to secure prestigious fellowships and academic positions worldwide.