Justice Kofi Boakye-Appiah, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Justice Kofi Boakye-Appiah, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician-scientist and Senior Director, Clinical Pharmacologist in Exploratory Medicine and Pharmacology (E.M.P) at Eli Lilly and Company. He possesses broad expertise spanning pre-clinical, translational, early, and late Phase drug development, with a primary focus on cardiometabolic health (including obesity, diabetes, and liver disease) as well as infectious diseases, immunology, and vaccinology.

At Eli Lilly and Company, Dr. Boakye-Appiah leads early-phase (Clinical Pharmacology) human studies to establish safety, mechanism of action, and proof of concept for novel drug candidates, including GLP-1 based compounds and first-in-class siRNA molecules within the cardiometabolic portfolio. Prior to joining Eli Lilly, he served as Associate Director of Vaccines Clinical Research and Development at Pfizer, where he led research and development teams as Lead Clinician and Medical Monitor for pivotal Phase 1, 2, and 3 COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, including the pediatric BNT162b2 Omicron vaccine.

Dr. Boakye-Appiah earned his M.D. (MBChB) and B.Sc. in Human Biology from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana, and completed his Ph.D. in Infection and Immunity at St George's University of London. He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Pharmacology, Drug Development and Regulation from Tufts University. His research has been published in premier international medical journals, including The Lancet, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, and the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.