We think FoG is the world’s best life sciences event. After 10 years and 18 Festivals in total, we would say that. But don’t take our word for it. Here’s what previous attendees had to say….
Testimonials
The Woodstock of Genomics, the Lollapalozza of Bioinformatics!
Paul Agapow, Head of Data Science, BioNTech
The Festival of Genomics & Biodata is an event that I look forward to attending and speaking at every year.
Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer, NHS England
Very nice having a mix of academics and industry in the same place! It is quite unique,
Abigail ter Kuile, Research Fellow, University College London
As scientists we have a duty to present and share our work with our community. The Festival is an excellent way to interact with our friends and colleagues, both in academia and industry, a gateway to disseminate and learn about new ideas and approaches, and an opportunity to explore new breakthroughs and collaborations. We all work in the exciting field of genomics and it is a pleasure and a privilege to be part of this great community!
Jeanette McCarthy, Adjunct Associate Professor, Duke University
My first FoG experience was a hugely positive and stimulating experience. Being able to hear from world class speakers and understanding how genomics is impacting on the lives of people was absolutely brilliant. Even as an NHS general manager, I found the talks to be accessible (mostly!) and inspiring. I highly recommend the FoG to anyone interested in genomics. Well done to the Festival organisers - the event was superbly organised too.
Dorothy Edwards, Programme Director - National, NHS Wales
Attending the Festival of Genomics & Biodata 2025 has been an inspiring experience, bringing together professionals, researchers, and industry leaders to explore the latest advancements shaping the future of genomics. The festival reinforced that we are entering an era where genomics and AI will redefine precision medicine. Exciting times ahead for those of us working in this space!
Mustafa Wehbe, Molecular Pathway Coordinator, South West London Pathology
FoG is one of the best networking events in the calendar; its an opportunity to meet up with and discuss the evolving Genomic tech market in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere
Miles Collier, Sales Director, EMEA, Dovetail Genomics
I did not make it to the talks, because I was too busy catching up with old friends, new friends, colleagues, collaborators and future leads. It was magical!
Kate Witkowska, Strategic Partnership Director, Genomics England
Judging from the program and participants at previous editions, this is clearly an event with one of the most impressive cast of scientists, genome biologists, and clinical genomicists under one roof.
Lawrence Mensah, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Chemical Engineering, The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A must attend event about genomics, on both new technologies and research sides. Thank you very much for having organized this event and keep doing it in future!
Francesco Gualdi, Pre-Doctoral, Pompeu Fabra University
I’ve participated in the Festival before, and found it was a fantastic forum for the dissemination of exciting genomic science to both the research and industry communities.
Silvana Konermann, Postdoctoral Fellow, Hsu Lab, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The Festival of Genomics has become the de facto venue in the world of genomics for clinical meets academic meets industry. A great place to catch up with lots of old colleagues and collaborators
Clare Turnbull, Professor of Medical Genomics, Queen Mary University of London, Genomics England and the Institute of Cancer Research
The management of the Festival of Genomics & Biodata was masterful. The ease of moving between multiple sessions and the ability to “catchup” on missed talks made this the most meaningful event I have ever attended. Thank you for organising a fantastic event!
Judith Hornby, Managing Director, Centre for Proteomic and Genomics Research (South Africa)
An eye-opening experience into the world of genomics with a huge span of different topics and speakers sure to interest anyone studying or working in genomics. I would definitely recommend the Festival of Genomics to all my colleagues and academic friends!
Georgia Saunders, Genetic Technologist, Oxford Regional Genetics Laboratories
I greatly appreciated the presence of many great expert speakers both from industry and academia, presenting cutting-edge science and their opinions on a broad range of subjects. Enlightening!
Marc Creus, Group Leader, University of Basel
The event was fantastic. It was great to be able to hear about the work many scientists are researching in the UK. The Festival gave me exposure to a lot of the studies and research happening that I would otherwise would not have known about. The speakers were all so captivating and very passionate about their field of study. The only real downside is that there were so many interesting talks schedules at the same time which made for a hard decision to choose which talk to attend!
Jenna Jafrj, L & D Officer, UK Biocentre
For me, it was like a much-awaited shower of fresh information and deep insights! I was quite impressed by the all the areas of genomics it tried to bring together – exciting new research, progress on cutting-edge industry techniques, perspective from the medical staff, patient involvement, integration of research into interpretation and care, how to find a start-up and seek support and funding...all of it. For me it added so much context to what I do as a bioinformatician and excited me a lot about the future. It feels good to be in such a rapidly progressing field!
Nishita Thota, Bioinformatician, Genomics England
The Festival of Genomics and biodata was an eye-opening event! With a wide range of speakers and stalls, it offered valuable insights into the latest in genomics, including updates within the NHS and cutting-edge research. However, the abundance of talks made it tricky to catch everything. Nonetheless, it was a valuable experience for staying informed in this rapidly evolving field.
Gemma Shireby, Genetics Data Manager/Bioinformatician, UCL
The festival presents a great opportunity for the scientific community and enthusiasts to discuss the state-of-the-art in genomics, the role of data science in biology and the significant role data-driven genomics will have in personalized healthcare in the near future.
Anshul Kundaje, Assistant Professor, Stanford University
There was so much going on it was almost overwhelming, in a good way.
Timothy Stone, Research Fellow, Cardiff University
I’m excited to meet with people from all areas of the genomics community—researchers, patients, clinicians and more—to make connections and accelerate the implementation of precision medicine.
Mark Wanner, Director, Research Communications, The Jackson Laboratory
I am really glad and honoured to have being invited to participate in this festival. Last year, I had seen on my Twitter a feed about how the festival was. Sadly, it had already passed and I couldn’t participate, so I got really excited when I was invited to participate in a panel, especially because I can get to know top people in the field of genomics and share the efforts we are making in this field in my country.
Roselyn Lemus, Manager of Drug Development and Genomic Research, Landsteiner Scientific
The festival can foster bringing likeminded people together in a relaxed yet stimulating atmosphere. Focusing on interactions via panel discussions, highlighting interests and experience will likely lead to new collaborative efforts. My particular interest is to expand my network of colleagues and support new engagements in drug and diagnostic developments routed in personalized medicine.
Felix W. Frueh, Executive Partner, Opus Three LLC
The festival is better than ever, fantastic talks which are applicable to those working in healthcare and are patient facing. It's been great to see what have developed in the world of genomics over the past 12 months. It was great to see pharmacogenomics fully taking its place at the festival.
Cherrelle Evans, Principal Pharmacist R&I, Nottingham University Hospitals
It is pretty evident that the Festival is the most forward-thinking genetics/genomics festival out there and I am incredibly excited to share ideas with such a tremendous list of presenters and attendees.
Brian Piening, Principle Investigator Snyder Lab, Stanford University
It is pretty evident that the Festival is the most forward-thinking genetics/genomics festival out there and I am incredibly excited to share ideas with such a tremendous list of presenters and attendees.
Ted Goldstein, Research Associate, Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering, UC Santa Cruz
The event was full of topical, high impact and interesting talks.
Dr Michael Quail, Principal Scientific Manager, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Great to hear so many cutting-edge presentations in one place.
Janet Alexander, Biobank Science Lead, MARS Petcare
A great opportunity to network with leaders in the field all under the same roof.
Mark Kristiansen, Head of UCL Genomics, UCL
FOG brings together various stakeholders in the field of genomics in an open, accessible setting that encourages interaction, connection and cross-fertilization of ideas.
Prashant Mali, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, University of California
Honestly, I attend lots of meetings, but I haven't been nearly as enthusiastic as for the Festival of Genomics. What a sophisticated, but yet refreshing and sleek approach.
Alina Khromykh, Precision Medicine Integration Manager, Inova Translational Medicine Institute
Fantastic day, excellent opportunities for networking and building on knowledge. Great to see advancements in current practice.
Tate Halpin, Specialist Fetal Medicine Midwife, NHS
This Festival has a fantastic amount of speakers and covers a wide range of topics, it is a great networking opportunity where you can learn about the most up to date findings and technologies that you can apply to your research.
Louise Gregory, BRC Catalyst Research Fellow, UCL
I’m interested in this festival because this meeting encourages interdisciplinary collaborations to pursue a common goal of accelerating genomics based discovery and therapeutics development.
Ranjan Batra, Postdoctoral Fellow, UCSD
It was really great opportunity for me to attend the Festival of Genomics and Biodata. The one annual event that everyone in genomics needs to attend. Thank you!
Lakshmi Sunkara, Veterinary Molecular Microbiologist, Clemson University
This Festival has a fantastic amount of speakers and covers a wide range of topics, it is a great networking opportunity where you can learn about the most up to date findings and technologies that you can apply to your research.
Louise Gregory, BRC Catalyst Research Fellow, UCL
The festival exceeded my expectation this year in terms of content, volume and opportunity. It really showed the power of hard work and collaboration in the genomics space, especially in data management and knowledge sharing. The fruits of this labour were demonstrated in terms of real world patient benefits in the clinical and in influencing drug R & D programmes in the Pharmaceutical industry. I look forward to next year's event.
Anna Lobley, Senior Biological Data Scientist, Exscientia
Fantastic days with a wealth of different speakers appealing to different specialisms. As a genetic counsellor there were plenty of GC friendly talks and a stage that centred on GC speakers and their research and development areas of interest. I learned a lot and my interest was piqued by many of the speakers. Thanks for a great Festival!
Sophie Marlowe, Genetics Counsellor, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust
I have heard great things about the festival and its collaborative and community spirit, so I’m very happy to participate and have the opportunity to interact with fellow scientists and clinicians.
John Lamb, Director of Genetics, The Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation
It is always such a privilege to have our partners, collaborators, suppliers and customers all together under one roof with a unified drive to tackle the next challenge, and yet again FoG has provided the perfect event.
Stewart McCulloch, Head of Laboratory Development, UKbiocentre
This is a great way to make a connection with other individuals in the field and understand diverse perspectives on the future of this area of research.
James Christensen, CSO and SVP Research, Mirati Therapeutics
The line-up of speakers was excellent and the diversity of the talks - from tools to applications to policy - was pretty much everything I could have hoped for! Great to see academia, industry, healthcare sector and policy makers come together to present and discuss how we can use genomics to the benefit of human health.
Aino Järvelin, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Oxford
The FOG festival was a fantastic opportunity to hear all about the significant collaborations and advancements happening all across the UK and international ecosystem. A brilliant list of speakers complimented by engaged attendees made the event a real success.
Brandy Coote, Senior Advisor for Policy, Strategy and Engagement, NHS
An event that no biomedical researcher should miss. Super interesting talks from which you learn a lot. You have the opportunity to establish contact with other groups and companies that can help you in your daily work; from that, new ideas could be born on how to help patients.
Estefanía García, Doctor of Biology, Fundación MEDINA
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to attend the Festival of Genomics & Biodata 2021. It was amazing, and informative. Really, I was impressed like many of my colleagues with organization of the sessions and the entire festival events. I enjoyed attending this event and I am looking forward to participating in the future events
Eltahir Ali, Group Leader, Translational Medicine Informatics, Civil Hospital of Brescia, University of Brescia
This is my 4th Festival of Genomics and as always I am amazed by the quality.
Malwina Prater, Bioinformatician, University of Cambridge
The festival is a great place to celebrate the mysteries of the genome.
Brendan Keating, Assistant Professor, Depts of Surgery (Division of Transplantation) and Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania
2024 was my first year at the Festival of Genomics and Biodata and I will definitely be back! I was really inspired and there was a great range of speakers, something for everyone in the field.
Frances Elliot, Research Programme Officer, NIHR
Thank you to the whole team for this phenomenal conference. I’ve been attending every year since its start and it has never failed to make me feel proud for belonging to the genomics community.
Mary Alikian, Principal Clinical Scientist, West Midlands Regional Genetics Laboratory
Perfect blend of excellent science, thought-provoking discussions, quality keynote talks, broad industry representation, plenty of opportunity for networking.
Hana Lango Allen, Scientific Director, Cambridge Genomics Laboratory
I thoroughly enjoyed the Festival! I had a chance to connect with colleagues I had not seen in person for a long time, plus I met several sales reps I have been emailing with for years! Overall a very enriching experience.
Roberta Migale, Senior Laboratory Research Scientist, The Francis Crick Insitute
As always, it was a great festival: excellent sessions with speakers at the forefront of research, and a perfect opportunity to network.
Renata Kabiljo, Senior Research Fellow, UCL, Institute of Neurology
Fantastic event, something for everyone to take back to the clinical practice and improve patient care.
Angela Lightfoot, Senior Midwife Fetal Medicine, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Trust
A great event, filled with detailed cutting-edge research out-put and great speakers, offering a unique balance between bench to bedside research and industrial applications.
Isatou Sarr, Scientific Officer, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The Festival of Genomics has established itself as THE meeting point for genomics researchers and industry in the UK. No other event can boast such a diverse mix of excellent talks at no cost to academic participants.
Benjamin Schuster-Boeckler, Professor, Oxford University
Festival of Genomics and Biodata is a great life science event, and for the majority of people it is entirely free. Great place to hear about cutting edge science. It is now a regular annual event in my diary. I would highly recommend it to scientists but also any clinicians who would like to find out what most up to date scientific discoveries are.
Jelena Blagojevic, Locum Consultant Geriatrician, Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust
Thank you and all concerned for presenting a brilliant Festival; a true celebration of Genomics and Data.
David Archer, Liason Officer, British Society for Cell Biology
A great place to network as well as stay abreast of current hot topics in research and diagnostics.
Rebecca Ellmers, Clinical Scientist, Synnovis
This was an amazing festival for anyone interested in big data biology and genomics. You have ample opportunity to network and listen to the most amazing speakers.
Areeba Marib, PhD Student, University of Portsmouth
The community that gathers at the Festival of Genomics represents a unique opportunity to build relationships, create collaborations, learn, and brainstorm potential solutions to the most important issues in biologic sciences and pharmaceutical industry.
Jamie Dananberg, CMO, UNITY Biotechnology
A great way to network within the UK genomics community, so many friends, colleagues and partners from across my career present!
Daniel Swan, Head of Bioinformatics and Data, Naturemetrics
This year's festival was bigger and better than ever. I especially loved the location and the A/V setup with the headphones having the ability to tune into different stages. Great diversity of topics, sometimes too many interesting things, I had scheduling conflicts!
Zabeen Patel, Developer, Anthony Nolan
These last four days were packed with the most relevant and current topics for a broad audience interested in keeping up with the latest in genomics and its clinical implementation. I learned a lot and look forward to the next event!
Samantha Hasenleithner, Researcher, Medical University of Graz
I am amazed by the quality of talks and speakers. Best science festival!
Salina Thapa, Research Technician, Genome Centre, QMUL
Top quality speakers and presentations, I really learnt a lot!
Michelle Cole, Clinical Scientist, UKHSA
The festival is a unique take on collaboration and discussion across the genomics field. I’m excited to network and interact on a larger scale than at other events.
Erica Ramos, Staff Genetic Counsellor, Illumina, Inc.
The Festival of Genomics & Biodata was a fantastic way to keep up with EVERYTHING new in the field!
David Bick, Chief Medical Officer and Faculty Investigator, HudsonAlpha Institute
One of the best conferences I've ever attended. Extraordinary speakers, awesome venue and perfectly organized. A special experience.
Alexander Blume, Scientist, Max Delbruck Center
I really enjoyed the FoG2024 as it is the best event in Europe that brings academic and industry research together, and combines knowledge with technology.
Nikolaos Trasanidis, Computational Science Investigator, GSK
Great experience learning how genomics is impacting health care and how future technologies will go further in doing so. Also a great opportunity to connect with colleagues both past, present and also future!
Helen Northen, Staff Scientist, Illumina
If you work on human genomics and genomics applied to healthcare, this is the place to be. If you work on healthcare data solutions this is the place to be. If you struggle to decide which of the many interesting talks to attend, come prepared, but come.
Asier Gonzalez-Uriarte, Bioinformatician, Genomics England
The best conference for networking with like-minded scientists.
Shikta Das, RWE Scientific Lead, AstraZeneca
Superb speakers describing state-of-the-art genomics and use of bio data, an excellent conference.
Malcolm Skingle, Director Academic Liason, GSK
It was a great opportunity to attend and hear about the advancements we are making in this ever evolving field of science. I particularly enjoyed the fireside chats with Dr Venter, Dr Adam Rutherford, Professor Turi King and Louis Theroux. Some fascinating talks.
Zoe Hatt, Pre-Reg Clinical Scientist, Synnovis
The Festival of Genomics is always something I look forward to.
Mike Hubank, Scientific Director, NHS England Genomics Health Hub
Great meeting to broaden knowledge, plenty of opportunities for sharing ideas and speaking to other researchers from academia & pharma. Panel discussion and fireside chats with Craig Venter were excellent.
Harpreet Saini, Senior Director, Bioinformatics, Astex Pharmaceuticals
It was a great event with some key players in the market showcasing the latest technology. It was well organised and people were very open to discussion and learning more about what's happening in the field and new technologies.
Alicia von Achten, Head of Sales, Envoke
The FoG is a really lovely annual event full of a variety of talks surrounding genomics and life sciences. I would really recommend it to those in drug discovery due to its opportunities to hear from peers on the work they have been getting up to
Christine Withers, Advanced Bioinformatics Data Scientist, BenevolentAI
Buzzing talks, cutting-edge posters and spearheading technologies. Looking forward to future events!
Juri Kazakevych, Epigenomics Application Specialist, Diagenode
The Festival was a fantastic event that brought together clinicians, researchers and industry members all working towards a common goal. It was a great opportunity to see what other groups are working on, and helped me to generate new ideas for my own research.
Sylvie Chan, Clinical Research Fellow, UCL Cancer Institute
Great mix of topics and speakers, impressed with high quality of talks, well organised. Learnt a lot!
Linda Hogarth, Project Manager, Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre
Best genomics event with representations from innovators, industry and the healthcare sector.
Hatim Yusufali Ebrahim, Specialist Healthcare Scientist, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
The Genomics Festival is a must visit event.
Asheeda Lohidasan Sugunan, Genetic Technologist, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust
As someone from a genomics core facility, it was great to have the opportunity to listen to so many interesting talks about different aspects of genomics and to network with vendors that we work close to in our own work place as well as discovering new ones.
Laura Durrant, Genomics Specialist, Babraham Institute
An excellent event with interesting, relevant talks and lots of opportunities for making industry connections or learning about the latest developments in genomics or biodata. Highly recommended.
James Siddle, Healthcare Technology and AI Consultant, Independent
Great festival, lots of presentation streams and something for everyone interested in science. The headphones which enable participants to hear the presentation was a great addition.
Karen Ambrose, Chief Data Officer, The Francis Crick Institute
When I saw the line-up and the spirit of the first Festival of Genomics, I knew that it was going to be somehow different from existing events. I attended and had a great experience. I came back to Cincinnati Children’s more energized.
Kristen Sund, Point Person, Institutional Genomic Initiatives, Cincinnati Children's Hospital
The Festival was a great way to appreciate the impact of the Science we do. I have a wet-lab based role so I don't always see the impact on a day-to-day basis however, attending the festival got me to appreciate the wider story behind the lab work. It also highlighted the great relationship between the NHS and research, helping one another to improve our healthcare.
Rhiannon Evans, Senior Sequencing Scientist, University of Cambridge
Thank you for organising such a great event. It was a fantastic opportunity to hear about what is happening along side the all important what is to come. There was so much going on at times I was spoilt for choice in where to go and who to listen to. Amazing work team and I look forward to attending again.
Rachel Hart, Consultant Clinical Genetics, LWH
A great variety of talks and stalls made for a great event. The networking opportunities were great and the event was well-organised and easily accessible. Looking forward to attending again in the coming years.
Catherine Sutherland, Genetic Technologist, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust
Last year’s attendee list included many people I admire in the field and I look forward to interacting with them all at this year’s event.
Mark dePristo, Head of Deep Learning for Genetics and Genomics, Google Brain Team
I was thoroughly impressed with the agenda and broad content. There was something for everyone. Having multiple themed stages really helped satisfy your interests and the useful app sorted your schedule very easily.
Simon Youlton, Director, Early Strategic Partnerships, Novartis
A great conference, and well worth attending. I made some really good contacts
Chris Hind, Chair, Public & Patient Voice Group, East GMSA
It was easily the best genomics conference we have attended. We all lost our voices speaking to passionate people within genomics on the first day and were all in bed, exhausted, by 10pm. The conference was very well organised having the talks in the same room as the stands making the stands feel much more approachable and talks more flexible to jump in and out of. Also the ability to walk around the stands while listening to a talk on the headphones - class!
James Mawhinney, Head of Genomics Strategy, Randox Laboratories
Participating in the FoG event has been an enriching experience on multiple levels. Not only does the conference provide a platform to gain valuable insights from leading experts in genomics and cutting-edge data science, but it also serves as an excellent opportunity for networking and collaboration. FoG elevates knowledge through expert presentations and fosters a vibrant community where ideas are exchanged, relationships are forged, and a collaborative spirit thrives. The combination of intellectual stimulation and the chance to connect with colleagues makes FoG an invaluable event in fostering both personal and professional growth.
Isabela Malta, Global Training Assistant Manager, Wellcome Connecting Science
What an incredible experience at the Festival of Genomics 2025. I’m beyond grateful to have shared the stage for a fantastic panel discussion. Being surrounded by such brilliant minds in the genomics space truly reaffirms how much progress we’re making and how much potential still lies ahead. A huge thank you to the organisers Front Line Genomics, the attendees, and everyone involved in making the event such a success. Can’t wait to see where these innovations take us!
Teodora Popa, Director, Reproductive Science and Women’s Health Programme, UCL
This is a high-paced, well-packed conference. Lots of opportunities to network, great variery of talks. Good speakers, well-organised, great talks, good vibes.
Rose Eichenberger, Governance and Ethics Manager, NIHR BioResource
