Sidra Medicine wins $1mn research grant

Sidra Medicine a member of Qatar Foundation, has been awarded a grant, to the value of $1mn from JDRF, the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organisation. The grant will support the establishment of a programme in Qatar that combines autoantibody and genetic screening for children with T1D.
According to the International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes Atlas, Qatar is ranked fourth globally with the highest incidence of T1D. Currently there is a lack of screening studies on T1D in Qatar and generally in the Mena region.
Titled "DIA-MENA: Type 1 Diabetes Islet Autoantibody Screening Initiative in the Middle East and North Africa”, the programme will initially pilot autoantibody and genetic screenings in Qatar, aiming to predict the future risks of T1D in children. The pilot will form the basis to establish national paediatric T1D autoantibody screenings across the country; which can serve as a model for the rest of the Middle East and North Africa region.
The grant, won by Dr Ammira al-Shabeeb Akil, lead principal investigator and head of the Precision Medicine for Diabetes Prevention lab at Sidra Medicine, will encompass a comprehensive research-based screening programme over the span of four years. Key support will be provided by Sidra Medicine’s precision medicine programme, pathology, genetics and genomic medicine clinics.
“Most global screening initiatives to identify children at high risk of developing T1D have targeted relatives of individuals living with the disease. However, latest data shows that more than 85% of the children who end up with T1D, do not have affected relatives with the same disease. By combining the comprehensive islet autoantibodies and genetic risk scores testing, we intend to detect and provide estimates of the prevalence of early-stage T1D in children,” said Dr Akil.
Through the JDRF grant and in partnership with the Qatar Genome Programme and the Primary Health Care Corporation, Dr Akil’s team will embark on a combined screening pilot programme on young children from the ages of 1 ½ years to 14 years old; using a small blood sample and pathology-based testing technology that has been developed in-house at Sidra Medicine by Dr Akil’s team.
By determining the individuals most likely to develop T1D, the DIA-MENA programme will also become the focal point in guiding future clinical trials in Qatar.