Helmy Eltoukhy is an American scientist and entrepreneur, best known for his contributions to genomics, semiconductor DNA sequencing, and personalized medicine. The co-founder of startups Avantome and Guardant Health, Eltoukhy was named to Time Magazine’s inaugural 50 Most Influential People in Healthcare (2018) and Fortune’s 40 under 40 (2017). Acquired by Illumina in 2008, Avantome was founded to develop and commercialize semiconductor-based DNA sequencing, during the race for the $1,000 genome. Guardant Health was founded to pioneer non-invasive liquid biopsy approaches for cancer diagnosis, monitoring, personalized medicine treatment, and research.

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Under Eltoukhy’s direction as CEO, Guardant Health raised over one billion dollars in financing, launched three products, established collaborations with oncology researchers, and gained recognition as a healthcare innovator in liquid biopsy approaches used for cancer diagnosis and research. Named as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and to Fierce Biotech's Fierce 15 list.

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Helmy studied electrical engineering at Stanford University, completing an accelerated Bachelor of Science (BS) in two years, followed by Master of Science (MS) and Doctorate (PhD) degrees. Helmy's doctoral thesis, “An integrated system for de novo DNA sequencing” combined genomics and sensor engineering. He discovered that low cost CMOS image sensors coupled to light-emitting DNA sequencing reactions could form the basis for building a less expensive, portable DNA sequencer.

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Helmy is passionate about healthcare and impact, and serves on the Cancer Leadership Council of UCSF Cancer Center.