A team of researchers and physicians from Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation, were at Precision Medicine World Conference (PMWC 2023) in California last week to showcase how it has made precision medicine a reality for children with rare diseases in Qatar.
The Sidra Medicine delegation at PMWC 2023 included chief medical officer Prof Ziyad M Hijazi, chief research officer Dr Khalid Fakhro, Endocrinology division chief Prof Khalid Hussain, attending paediatric neurologist and epileptologist Dr Ruba Benini and Advanced Cell Core Therapy director and attending physician in paediatric hematology and oncology Dr Chiara Cugno, as well as Research Operations and Strategy director Dr Max Renault.
Prof Hijazi said: “PMWC 2023 was a fantastic opportunity for us to highlight Qatar Foundation’s investment in precision health and precision medicine, through an entity like ours. I was very proud of our ground-breaking case studies and clinical research that showed how we have made precision medicine a reality and used our genomics know-how to transform patient care in Qatar.”
In a panel session titled ‘Building Future Precision Care in Qatar’, Prof Hijazi and Dr Fakhro, along with Dr Edison Liu, the former president and CEO of the Jackson Laboratory and member of the Research board at Sidra Medicine, explored the bench to bedside pathways of care for patients at the hospital.
Sidra Medicine was also part of the ‘Challenges and Opportunities for National Precision Medicine Initiatives’ panel with Microsoft, where Dr Fakhro talked about the precision medicine initiatives being undertaken at Sidra Medicine and how they were transforming healthcare for patients in Qatar.
Dr Fakhro concluded: “Sidra Medicine not only has the clinical and research expertise, technology, innovation and skill sets, we are now in a strong position to contribute to the global knowledge economy. Our experience with Middle Eastern genotypes and phenotypes as well as with novel diseases, is a game changer in the precision medicine field. We are seeing a lot of interest in collaborations related to precision oncology; data sharing for rare diseases and pharmacogenomics.”
Prof Ziyad Hijazi and Dr Khalid Fakhro at the event
