Events 2021

Poor air quality is now the single biggest environmental risk factor to life expectancy globally and exposure to fine particulate matter continues to place a significant burden on human health. The global impact of atmospheric aerosols stems from their effect on the Earth’s climate as they scatter and absorb sunlight and alter cloud formation and properties. In his talk, he provided insights into the role of atmospheric aerosols in air quality, climate change and human health as informed by recent findings from international studies, and highlighted the recent and ongoing efforts to quantify and characterise sources of particulate matter in Qatar and determine their health and economic burden.

The Biomedical Research Center (BRC) of Qatar University hosted Dr. Ali Eid an Associate Professor of Basic Medical Sciences at the College of Medicine, Qatar University. Dr. Ali talked about the interplay between estrogen (receptor) and α2C-ARs in human VSMCs and showed how the cAMP/Epac/Rap pathway mediates estrogen-induced expression of α2C-ARs, also, how estrogen receptors act through JNK to potentiate cold-induced vasoreactivity of resistance-sized vessels. He provided an insight into the mechanism by which exaggerated cold-induced vasoconstriction occurs in estrogen-replete females, and identify Epac and JNK as potential targets for the treatment of RP.

The Virology Unit in the Biomedical Research Center (BRC) at Qatar University organized a workshop on “Viral Genomics and Bioinformatics”. The workshop was organized by Dr. Hebah AlKhatib from Qatar University, with the support of Qatar Genome Program. The training consists of a series of lectures and hand-on sessions, to provide the participants with basic knowledge on viral genome sequencing and data analysis. Participants learned how to analyze large sequencing datasets using graphical user interface (GUI) programs as well as command-line tools. In addition to gaining knowledge and skills, the workshop aimed to provide an environment for exchanging ideas and developing future collaborative projects between different stakeholders interested in virology research in Qatar. The trainees represented different institutions and stakeholders in Qatar.

Dr. Abdullah Shaito a newly joined member in the Biomedical Research Center gave a talk about the pathogenesis of traumatic brain injury and its therapy by using different approaches and the effect of different smoking modalities on cellular functions, also, he mentioned the Integration of alternative herbal medicine into conventional health care systems through evidence-based research.

Dr Hadi Yassine, Associate Professor from Biomedical Research Center, participated in the lasts COVID-19 panels. The Symposium was organized by the Research and Graduate Studies Sector, under the title “Scientific Research and the COVID-19 Vax Debate"” included two important speakers, The Director of the Health Department at the Ministry of Public Health Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al Thani and the Professor of infectious Disease Epidemiology at Weill Cornell Medicine Dr. Laith Abu-Raddad.

The Biomedical Research Center (BRC) of Qatar University hosted Dr. Juergen A. Richt from the United State. He talked about the how unprecedented pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has accelerated research on the epidemiology and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 as well as development of vaccines and therapeutics. In his speech, he discussed some of the research conducted in his lab at Kansas State University, mainly on the susceptibility of various animal species to SARS-CoV-2 and potential therapeutic approaches.

The Biomedical Research Center organized the first basic online training covering the use of Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) as an animal model in biomedical research. The training session included a mix of theory and video demonstrations of practical zebrafish research. The aim of this course was to guide researchers and students to be certified properly to use Zebrafish in their research, and to give general understanding on the regulations for using this animal model. The online training course lasted for 2 full days and included the following topics: zebrafish animal model in biomedical research, zebrafish maintanance and husbandry, monetoring of zebrafish embryo/larvae, and experimental techniques with zebrafish. This basic training is planned to be offered twice/year hopfully next time it will be held the Biomedical Research Center not virtually.

The Biomedical Research Center organized the first online summer internship program. The program covered various essential research techniques and tools and assessed participants’ to understand the practical applications of various techniques. Including Introduction to Biomedical Research, Microbiology, Cell culture, Genomics, Chick embryo, Zebrafish embryo.

BRC organized the first online seminar with Dr. Huseyin Cumhur Tekin. He talked about Sensitive detection of biomarkers, which has a great importance for diagnosis and prognosis. Microfluidic devices provide automated detection of biomarkers in a minute amount of sample. These devices enable highly sensitive detection of biomarkers using magnetic techniques. In his speech, he mentioned the use of magnetic nanoparticles in microfluidic devices as both capturing surface and label for protein-based biomarker detection. Moreover, the magnetic levitation technology to measure the density of cells that can be used for the separation of cancer cells. The use of a deep learning-based object detection approach for label-free identification of rare cancer cells within levitated cell populations was explained. Furthermore, he also mentioned the application of these innovative approaches into telemedicine systems for the remote control and monitoring of disease.

The Biomedical Research Center (BRC) of Qatar University hosted Dr. Kissmekia Corbett from the United States on 4/3/2021 to present a talk about COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development. Dr. Corbett is a senior research fellow at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National Institute of Health (NIH) and has led the collaboration between her institute (NIH) and Moderna to develop and evaluate the Moderna mRNA vaccine in preclinical and clinical trials. She works under the direct supervision of Dr. Barney Graham and Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of NIH. She presented the different stages of vaccine development, illustrating with scientific data the utilized approaches to make the candidate vaccine available for phase I clinical trial 66 days after the emergence of the pandemic. Relying on former knowledge from MERS vaccine development, the Viral pathogenesis lab at VRC-NIH demonstrated the ability of mRNA vaccine to induce potent antibody response in preclinical settings (mice and monkeys), before the vaccine was tested in phase 1-3 human trials. Answering some questions, the speaker recommended the vaccination of pregnant and nursing mothers, noting that phase III clinical trial is undergoing in this regard. The seminar was moderated by Dr. Hadi Yassine from the Biomedical Research Center, who participated in coronavirus vaccine development at NIH before joining Qatar University.

The Biomedical Research Center at Qatar University organizes a workshop on Biosafety and biosecurity capacity building: To Boost Laboratory and occupation Safety Practices across Qatar. With the support of Qatar National Research Fund, the Biomedical Research Center (BRC) at Qatar University (QU) organized a workshop on 6-7 February 2021. The workshop aimed at providing diversify training content on biosafety and biosecurity principles, following the “One Health Approach”. It also aimed at promoting biosafety ethics among students and professionals in Qatar, as well as enhancing the communication and collaboration between Qatari stakeholders in the field of biosafety and biosecurity.