Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), Qatar Foundation Research & Development (QFR&D) and the Japanese Preventive Medicine & Diagnosis Innovation Programme at RIKEN (RIKEN-PMI), have announced plans to establish joint research laboratories and programmes in Qatar and Japan, at advancing preventive and personalised medicine in Qatar.
Recently, QBRI signed a letter of intent with RIKEN, one of the world’s leading scientific innovators and Japan’s largest cutting-edge research institution. The agreement will establish joint programmes to carry out projects with academic researchers and hospitals in both countries.
In April last year, HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation, with a delegation from QF R&D had visited a number of research centres in Japan with the goal of increasing research and development collaboration between the two countries.
During the visit, Qatar Foundation and RIKEN signed an agreement to establish a framework to expand scientific exchange in the fields of computing, energy, environment and biomedical research.
Qatar has taken important steps to develop innovative personalised medicine, and through the partnership with RIKEN, QBRI is furthering Qatar’s capabilities in this field by moving research into practice. Personalised medicine uses very specific genetic information about a person or their disease to choose treatment and care that is tailored to individual or personal needs and preferences to ensure they have the best outcome possible.
RIKEN-PMI will train QBRI scientists and facilitate the transfer of genomics technologies and expertise in transcription network analysis. Researchers will apply these skills to diagnostics and precision medicine to address health issues that prevail among the Qatari population.
The partnership’s first project will focus on breast cancer, the most common form of cancer in Qatar, and will be conducted in collaboration with researchers from Hamad Medical Corporation.
QBRI and RIKEN-PMI will address the possibility of implementing the biomarker discovery project utilising RIKEN’s genomic technology to identify disease signatures.
The project will include a joint research laboratory for molecular diagnostics in Qatar, which will enable researchers to discover new biomarkers and develop personalised preventive medical solutions.
Dr Hilal Lashuel, executive director, QBRI said: “This partnership is the first fruit of QF Chairperson HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser’s visit to Japan earlier this year.
The programme is also the first Qatar-Japan research bridge in biomedical research and personalised healthcare, which we believe will benefit the Qatari population and improve personalised healthcare throughout the entire region.”
Prof Alexander Knuth, medical director and chairman of Cancer Services, HMC added: “Rapid progress in treatment opportunities and outcomes through personalised medicine, is also anticipated enabling Qatar to offer excellence in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.”
Dr Yoshihide Hayashizaki, director RIKEN-PMI, said: “This partnership is a milestone that marks a transitional stage in the field of medicine. It comes at the optimum time since the accumulated scientific knowledge and developed technologies are going to be applied to clinical practice, and will no doubt have a strong impact in Qatar and beyond.
