events 2016

Speaker :Professor Alex Doemling.

Time :12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location :New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic:

Screening virtual libraries can be very useful in the hit and lead generation if high resolution structural target information is accessible. However, for the general use of virtual in drug discovery, several issues have to be solved: 1) Academic groups mostly rely on the ZINC database to perform virtual screening exercises. Although freely accessible and compounds commercially available, its chemical diversity is rather limited as it size is. Moreover, potential hits are difficult to follow up by proper IP protection; 2) Virtual screening is predicting hits often with high rate of false positives. In case of ZINC approach purchasing compounds then can become quite expensive. In case of a de novo synthesis approach a lot of expensive synthesis time can be wasted.

Thus, we have introduced the pharmacophore screening approach ANCHOR.QUERY, which can screen very large libraries of virtual compounds for receptor binding to any PDB structure. The virtual chemistry space used for virtual screening is based exclusively on multicomponent reaction chemistry (MCR). Thus, any virtual hit can be instantaneously be de novo synthesized and the corresponding docking hypothesis can be tested fast. Currently ANCHOR.QUERY and the related databases NUCLEO.QUERY and TPP.QUERY harbor a chemical space of >50 million molecules based on >20 different MCR scaffolds. 

We will discuss several applications including the discovery of PPI antagonists for p53/mdm2 and allosteric PDK1 antagonists. We will show the design principle to use ANCHOR.QUERY and discuss the discovered molecules including synthesis, protein cocrystal structures and biological activities.

Workshop : Emerging Pathogens at the Human-Animal-Environment Interface

Date : October 11-12 , 2016 - 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Auditorium, Qatar University.

Qatar University Biomedical Research Center (QU-BRC) organized and hosted a workshop on Emerging Pathogens at the Human-Animal-Environment Interface on October 11-12.‎

The event, which was supported by Qatar National Research Fund-QNRF, aimed to share up-to-date scientific research ‎findings and One Health training and outreach model systems against emerging infectious diseases -EID, to establish a ‎scientific network among ministries and professionals within Qatar and beyond, and to plan for a global congress on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Doha in ‎‎2017.

It brought together over 170 experts and participants to discuss the impact of emerging and re-emerging pathogens. Attendees included representatives from QU, QNRF, Qatar Ministry of Public Health -MoPH, Hamad Medical Corporation -HMC, Sidra Medical and Research Center, and Primary Health Care Corporation -PHCC.

QU VP for Research & Graduate Studies Prof Mariam Al-Maadeed delivered the keynote address in which she noted that global health security has become a major international issue with the continuous outbreaks of emerging pathogens, sometimes in areas and territories least expected.

Speakers included BRC Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases Dr Hadi M Yassine, QU Environmental Science Center Director Dr Jeff Obbard, QNRF Program Officer Dr Fatemeh Darakhshan-Rassam, MoPH Emergency preparedness & Response Department Director Dr Mohamad Al-Hajiri, HMC Sr Consultant  Infectious  Diseases Dr Husam Al-Soub, HMC Community Medicine Consultant Dr Hamad Alromaihi, HMC Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology Dr Emad Almaqboul, and Global One Health Initiative Executive Director at Ohio State University Dr Wondwossen A Gebreyes.

They discussed a wide range of topics including “New Technologies to Defeat Viral Illnesses”, “Airborne Concentrations of Bacteria in a Hospital Setting in Singapore”, “The leading role and impact of Ministry of Public Health”, “MRSA Infection: Recent Trends & Advances in Therapy”, “Global One Health – Implementation and interaction among academia, regulatory and research”, “QNRF’s Portfolio in Infectious Diseases”, “Overview on emerging viruses and efforts to control them: Ebola and Zika as examples”, “HPAI – Emergence, prevention and control efforts”, “MERS spread, consequence and global impact”, and “Is it the time for testing of Hepatitis E virus – blood donor perspective”.

Other discussed topics included “Trends of antimicrobial resistance in healthcare setting in Qatar”, “TB in Qatar”, Pathogen reduction and infection prevention efforts in Qatar”, “Evolutionary history of the Shiga’s bacillus”, “Antibiotic resistance in the Middle East”, “Fungi are environmental and emerging opportunistic pathogens”, Foodborne pathogens and diseases”, “Applying genomic approaches to improve food safety and quality”, and “International food trade consequence of pathogens”.

In her remarks, BRC Director and QU College of Health Sciences (CHS) Dean Dr Asmaa Al-Thani said: “The workshop comes in line with the Doha declaration on “One Health” targeting efforts for prevention ‎and control of emerging infectious diseases (EID) at the human, animal and environment interface. It demonstrates BRC’s mission to invest in research for the benefit of the society by promoting biomedical innovations that improve the health of the population in Qatar and beyond, and to serve the strategic interests of the State of Qatar and the region, in line with national aspirations towards fulfilling the goals of the National Health Strategy.”

The workshop is a Category 1 - Accredited Group Learning Activity as defined by the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners Accreditation Department and qualified for a maximum of 10.25 credit hours for all topics.

Speaker : Dr. Khaled Al Ansari.

Time :12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic : 

Dr. Khaled Al-Ansari will start his talk about different medical centers for children in Qatar that are available for 24-hours, 7 days a week. Than moving to explain three different clinical studies in Infants aged ≤18 months with bronchiolitis or age 2 to 14 y with asthma.

In one study, he compared the efficacy and safety of 5%, 3%, and 0.9% saline solution for treating acute bronchiolitis in the prehospital setting. This study resulted in an interesting conclusion regarding the hypertonic saline nebulization and the improvement of bronchiolitis severity score for patients with viral bronchiolitis.

While the other study that he is going to talk about is done to determine effect of dexamethasone treatment administered with salbutamol in patients with bronchiolitis and asthma. Concluding with exciting findings about this treatment effect on the readiness for infirmary discharge during bronchiolitis episodes in patients with eczema or a family history of asthma.

Whereas the 3rd study is on inhaled magnesium for moderate and severe pediatric asthma. Where he found out that adding nebulized magnesium sulfate to combined nebulized bronchodilator and systemic steroid therapy is either very weakly or very rarely effective, or futile for benefitting pediatric patients with moderate or severe asthma.

Speaker : Professor Omar M.A. El-Agnaf

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic :

Developing effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases is one of the greatest medical challenges of the 21st century. Parkinson’s disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are very common neurological disorders of the elderly (Jankovic et al., 2008). Although many of these clinical entities have been recognized for more than a hundred years, it is only during the past fifteen years that the molecular events that precipitate the diseases have begun to be understood. Mutations in the α-synuclein gene cause early-onset PD, often associated with dementia, and one an α-synuclein mutation segregated with pure DLB (with no Alzheimer’s pathology). Neuropathologically these diseases are characterized by the presence of Lewy bodies, intraneuronal inclusions mostly composed of α-synuclein protein fibrils, cementing the notion that this protein has a central role in PD and DLB. Despite the progress that has been made in understanding the underlying disease mechanisms of these diseases, there remains an urgent need to develop methods for use in diagnosis and treatment.

The development of reliable surrogate markers for the presence and abundance Lewy bodies in the brain would naturally facilitate a more streamlined work-up during the early care of PD and DLB patients, and importantly, allow for the biologically guided evaluation of future drug trials aimed at neuroprotection in the synucleinopathies. In this seminar, I will present the progress which has been made so far by my group to develop novel antibodies specific for Lewy bodies pathology, and their potential use in dissecting the pathogenic mechanisms, diagnosing the onset and developing a vaccine for PD and DLB.

Speaker : Dr. Nahla M. Afifi.

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic : 

Qatar Biobank (QBB), the first very large scale, long-term public biorepository in Qatar, is designed to build a powerful research infrastructure for future investigations of the lifestyle, metabolic and genetic risk factors by collecting comprehensive phenotypic baseline data among healthy volunteers, including ECG, blood pressure, anthropometry, spirometry, retinal imaging, carotid 3D ultrasound, arterial stiffness, total body iDXA, in addition to detailed personal lifestyle and clinical data.  QBB collects and stores blood samples subdivided in 68 aliquots for different future research purposes. 

From September 2013 to Jan 2016, 3180 participants completed the baseline recruitment visit; extensive clinical phenotypic information is collected from each participant. Participants are referred when an abnormal out of range clinical measurement is recorded to the ambulatory care clinic at Hamad Medical Hospital or their own doctor. During this phase 40.2% were clinically referred, 31.1 % of  the referred participants were new cases and 9.1 % were known cases. Most of these referrals were caused by out of range values on related tests for abnormal bone density 36.7.5 %, dyslipidemia 35.6%, diabetes 30.0% and hypertension 18.7%.

Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and diabetes mellitus are emerging as major health problems and are now the major cause of death and disability in Qatar. The population in Qatar is also experiencing a nutrition transition, characterized by replacement of traditional diets with diets higher in fat and refined and processed foods, and a decrease in the levels of physical activity.

Speaker : Dr. Essam M. Abdelalim.

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic :

Diabetes mellitus is the most prevailing disease with progressive incidence worldwide. To date, there is no permanent treatment available for diabetes. Cell therapy might prove to be the best approach to treat T1D and severe cases of T2D. Transplantation of pancreatic islets is used to restore the functional β cells in diabetic patients, but shortage of human donors and the occurrence of immune rejection lead to search for other sources of pancreatic β cells. Recent studies suggest that stem cells are likely to be accepted as a therapeutic tool for diabetes. Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), including embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent cells (iPSCs) consider promising approaches to study diabetes. ESCs/iPSCs have a high capability to differentiate into insulin-producing β cells, which are closer in nature to the in vivo β cells than those differentiated from other types of stem cells. PSCs can be generated directly from diabetic patients, providing cells genetically identical to the patient to be used for in vitro disease modeling and eventually cell-based therapies. Several iPSC lines have been recently produced from patients with different forms of diabetes and most of these cell lines are able to differentiate into insulin-producing β cells. Furthermore, PSCs can provide treatment, which is personalized to the particular characteristics of each patient. However, before PSCs can be considered as a tool for regenerative medicine to treat diabetes, additional in vitro and in vivo studies are needed, as the patient safety is the most important issue to be considered. Here, I will discuss advances, challenges, and future perspectives of using PSCs as a promising tool for disease modeling and cell therapy in diabetes.

Seminar details:

Qatar University Biomedical Research Center (QU-BRC) held a seminar on ‘Zika Virus and Public Health Response in Qatar’. It was organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health.

Moderated by Dr. Hadi Yassine, Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases at QU-BRC, the seminar was an opportunity to raise awareness about the Zika virus phenomenon and its implication on global health, while focusing on Qatar’s response strategies regarding the health issue.

It featured presentations by Dr. Mohammed Al-Hajri, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response Department, Supreme Council of Health (SCH); Dr. Shazia Nadim, Acting Head of Surveillance and Outbreak, Public Health Department, SCH; Dr. Elmoubasher Farag, Acting Head of Communicable Diseases Control Programs, Public Health Department, Ministry of Public Health; Dr. Hassan Altigani, Test Confirm Specialist, Ministry of Municipalities and Environment; and Dr. Mohamed Nour, Public Health Specialist, Communicable Disease Control Department, SCH.

While presenting on ‘The current situation of zika virus and the national response framework’, Dr. Al-Hajri said that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) over the mosquito-borne zika virus disease which could be transmitted during pregnancy to unborn babies.

According to him, since there is no specific vaccine or treatment yet for the disease, the best form of prevention is protection against mosquitoes especially through the use of insect repellants.

Speaking on ‘Human Surveillance for Zika Infections’, Dr. Nadim, alerted that about one out of five people develop symptoms associated with the zika virus disease, emphasizing as well that since there is yet no vaccine to prevent it, people in endemic areas also need to wear long sleeve shirts and long pants.

She said that although the disease has not yet been reported in Qatar, a surveillance case alert has been developed and distributed to all hospitals and health facilities in the country. In addition, all Qatar Airways flights from affected countries are disinfected while screening of blood donors for recent travel history to affected countries has been instituted, Dr. Nadim added.

While advising people to also make use the zika mobile apps developed by WHO to update their knowledge about the disease and access available information, she said that Qatar has set up two 24/7 hotlines for people to reach the relevant agencies anytime. The numbers are 66740948 and 66740951.

The issue of ‘Vector Surveillance and Control’ was treated by Dr. Farag and Dr. Altigani. Dr. Farag said the aedes mosquito, which causes the zika virus disease is adaptable to human habitation and that the eggs can remain dry for up to 400 days.

He said that steps were being taken to develop a National Strategy for Surveillance Control of Disease Vectors of Public Health Concern in Qatar.

Dr. Altigani outlined preventive and control measures against mosquitoes in Qatar and urged people to use mosquito nets, tightly knit mesh and insect repellants as well.

Dr. Nour on his part spoke on “health education and risk communication”.

The seminar attracted participants from the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation, Sidra Medical and Research Center and Qatar University colleges and research centers.

Speaker : Dr. Emad Bashier Elmagboul.

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic :

Rapid molecular techniques for identification Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA directly from positive blood culture. Positive Blood stream infection (BSI) is one of the most important causes of mortality and morbidity. Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) is a major cause of both community and hospital acquired bacteraemia. S. aureus bacteraemia (SAB) is a serious infection, and today mortality is approximately 20% with recurrence and secondary metastatic complication like endocarditis, osteomyelitis, arthritis and meningitis. The management of S.aureus infections have become more difficult with the increasing prevalence of methicillin resistance S.aureus (MRSA).The Rapid identification of these isolates has the potential to optimize antimicrobial treatment in septic patients and implement the appropriate infection control measures.

The presentation is about a diagnostic study for evaluation of rapid assays performed on blood cultures showing Gram-positive cocci in clusters with review of the updated new technologies potential to be beneficial particularly in routine laboratory work.

Speaker : Dr. Huseyin Cagatay Yalcin.

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic:

Heart disease is one of the major causes of death in the world. Despite the prevalence, the etiology of many types of heart disease (especially congenital ones) remains unknown. Genetic mutations can explain some types. However, in addition to genetic factors, non-genetic factors are thought to play a role in these diseases as well. Numerous animal studies showed that, as a non-genetic factor, disturbed hemodynamics (i.e. hemodynamics means blood flow related forces) can lead to cardiac defects. Therefore, by altering biological signals, disturbed hemodynamic loads are also a major source for heart disease. In my research, I investigate the influence of both the mutational genetic factors and non-genetic factors such as disturbed hemodynamics on the development of cardiac defects. This information is critical for developing therapies based on restoring altered biological mechanisms by these factors. Our focus is serious types of heart diseases that are known to be affected by mechanical and genetic factors. These include congenital heart defects (CHDs) and calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). We also work on generating artificial cardiac substitutes that induce minimal hemodynamic disturbance. Our research efforts are a combination of cellular, animal, clinical, experimental and computational studies.

Speaker :Prof.,Ala-Eddin Al Moustafa, PhD.

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic :

Breast and colorectal (CR) cancers are the most frequent cause of cancer-related deaths among women and men worldwide. Currently, the majority of these deaths occur in developing countries. On the other hand, it is estimated that around 20% of human cancers are linked to bacterial as well as viral infections including high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), which cumulatively infect 80-90% of the population worldwide.

We have explored the presence and role of these viruses in human breast and CR cancers. Thus, we demonstrated that the E6/E7 onco-proteins of high-risk HPV type 16 convert non-invasive and non-metastatic breast cancer cells to an invasive and metastatic phenotype; this was accompanied by an overexpression of Id-1 gene, which is an important regulator of cell invasion and metastasis. More recently, we reported that high-risk HPVs and EBV are present in breast and CR cancer and their presence is associated with high-grade invasive carcinomas. Accordingly, we believe that high-risk HPVs and EBV onco-proteins can cooperate together to initiate and/or enhance cancer progression of these two malignances. Therefore, in my presentation, I will talk about the presence and role of these onco-viruses in human breast and CR carcinogenesis; more specifically, l will focus on the role of the E6/E7 and LMP1 onco-proteins of HPVs and EBV , respectively.

In alignment with BRC objectives to improve Qatar Health by focusing on; research, training, and service in applied and basic biomedical research and taking advantage of its most special and competitive elements such as; in housing of  state-of-the –art biomedical laboratories which is just the right place for world-class biomedical research in Qatar , , BRC had organized a four full days Training Course under the title of “Principles of Mammalian Cell Culture Training Course” on the 28th -31st of Aug 2016.

Brief on the Workshop:

Mammalian cell culture is one of the most essential common tools in biological sciences. The “Principles of Mammalian Cell Culture” course came to provide many students and researchers with basic theoretical and practical knowledge on the mammalian cell culture. The course has been designed to cover main cell culture techniques and the best practices related to the entire cell culture work flow, such as laboratory setup, safety, and aseptic techniques, in addition to methods related to cell freezing, thawing and passaging. The major applications of mammalian cells culture such as stem cell technology, and tissue engineering were also covered in this workshop.

Instructors:

The training course was provided in practical and theoretical parts, where several of BRC staff has instructed. Dr. Hadi Yassine – BRC Assistant professor, Dr. Ala-Eddin Al Moustafa – Professor, Dr. Hany Elsayed Mady - BRC Research Professor / Project Manager, Dr. Huseyin Cagatay Yalcin - BRC Assistant Professor, Ms. Layla Al-Mansoori - BRC Research Assistant and Ms. Maria Khalid Smatti - BRC Research Assistant.

Who attended:

Twelve participant had attended the Training course and they are from different academic and professional background;

-Faculty from colleges like Pharmacy and Arts and Science.

-Graduate, master students from biomedical science faculty.

-Researchers from academic and medical Institutes like HMC and QBRI.

Participants’ Training benefits:

The course had covered group of theoretical classes and hands on sessions in a variety of areas related to the mammalian cell culture, such as:

-Types of cell cultures and applications.

-Principles of cell cultures and applications.

-Cell growth and growth curve analysis.

-Primary cell culture and cells transformation techniques.

-Stem cell culture and applications.

Speaker : Dr Samina Hasnain

Date : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic : 

Background:

Neisseria meningitidis (NM) is a crucial reason behind meningitis and septicemia. N. meningitidis has an overall dispersion at rate of 11 % of the cases, accepted that 10% to 20% of the population carries Neisseria meningitidis in their throat at any given time. Regardless, the carriage rate may be higher in epidemic circumstances.

Objective:

This study aimed to describe the incidence and epidemiological characteristics Neisseria meningitidis in Qatar.

Methods:

A retrospective review of epidemiological data for cases of Neisseria meningitidis reported to Department of public health, H P& CDC section in 2010-2014 form all active surveillance sites in the health region. NM types of Isolates from cases were serogrouped at microbiology laboratory in Hamad Medical Corporation. Estimates of the incidence and number of cases in the state of Qatar were calculated by sex and age group.

Results:

A total of 41 cases of Neisseria meningitidis were reported during the study period. The incidence of Neisseria meningitidis in Qatar ranged between 0.8, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 cases per 100,000 populations in 2010,2011,2012,2013 respectively and then considerably increased by end of 2014 (0.6 per 100,000 population). The incidence of NM was highest among males (37 cases) then females (4 cases) while NM occurred mainly in young adults group of populations.

Conclusion:

The incidence of Neisseria meningitidis was very low in Qatar. Occurrence is affected emphatically by al1 age group, young adults having the highest risk in Qatar. Further need active surveillance & dynamic research, fast conspicuous verification, and Sero typing of N. meningitidis will support public health decision making in the control of rising strains in Qatar.

Speaker : Professor Serhiy Souchelnytskyi.

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic:

Matching drugs and patients is the cornerstone of personalized medicine. Practically all anti-cancer drugs act on or via proteins. Drugs would act on a tumor only if their targets are expressed and perform as intended.

In my presentation, I would like to show how results of a fundamental research are implemented in the clinical practice. The examples are from FMDx.

FMDx was developed as a response to requests from the clinic, and contains a number of tests – tests with Circulating Tumor Cells, with organ culture, biochemical tests and proteomics tests. Outputs of FMDx are diagnostic, prognosis, help with selection of drugs and treatments, and monitoring of efficacy of treatment.

The common denominator of FMDx tests is a solid cancer biology research, including directed and OMICs studies.

In my presentation, I will make an overview of FMDx, followed by presenting examples of clinical applications.

* (for FMDx, please see private homepage www.serhiysouchelnytskyi.expert ).

Speaker :Prof.  Ashfaq Shuaib, MD, FRCPC, FAHA.

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic :

Stroke is the leading cause of chronic disability and the second most common cause of death worldwide. Every year more than 16 million people suffer a stroke and of these, 6 million die, mostly from complications arising from the acute event. Stroke-related complications begin early, usually in the initial hours when the patient is still in the emergency department and are a major cause for delay in discharge, progression of disease and death. Most complications are preventable if appropriate measures are taken early beginning following admission to hospital.

We created the stroke ward at Hamad Hospital in March of 2014 and have now over 2000 patient experience with admission to the service. A comprehensive stroke registry monitors the rates of complications and the progress though the course of hospitalization. My presentation will focus on the most recent advances in the treatment and management of acute stroke and how the establishment of the stroke ward at Hamad Hospital led to an improvement in patient care.

Speaker : Dr. Eva Thomas.

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic :

Infectious diseases rank among the leading causes of illness and hospitalization and often present serious public health concerns. They cause phenomenal cost to the health care systems through frequent Emergency Department visits (ED) and hospitalizations. It has been shown that laboratory tests are ordered in 84% of ED visits. Although many of the infections that lead to an ED visit may ultimately be due to a self-limited viral infection, which does not require medical intervention, the symptoms may often overlap significantly with those of severe viral or bacterial infections. Diagnostic tests are needed to contribute to effective medical assessment before a decision on patient management can be made. After triage in the ED, the patients and families wait to see a physician, who in the absence of a specific diagnosis- may order precautionary diagnostic tests, prescribe unnecessary and potentially harmful antibiotics and contemplate admission for observation. Specimen collection, transport and laboratory testing, including waiting for results, requires the patient and family to remain in the ED, leading to intense use of human resources and hospital facilities. This creates an ED choke point in the system, which may be particularly pronounced during seasonal peaks for viral infections (e.g. influenza and RSV). A timely and definitive diagnostic test will reduce length of stay, avoid admission, reduce invasive tests and may narrow antibiotic treatment, all resulting in better patient care and safety and savings for an already overburdened health care system.

With the emergence of fast and reliable direct detection technologies, such as closed assay systems that allow frequent stat testing and miniaturization of equipment we are now experiencing a proliferation of robust rapid molecular test devices for infectious diseases, which may eventually allow important tests to be performed right at the patient's bedside.

In this presentation I will discuss the importance of infectious disease testing in pediatrics and describe the journey from classical microbiology testing to new tests based on molecular technology that allow rapid turnaround time (TAT). I will also discuss the benefits of workflow improvements between the ED and the microbiology laboratory.

Speakers :  Dr. Nasser Rizk, PhD and Mr. Alaa Bzour, MSc.

Date:       7th – 8th of March 2016.

Time:      8:30 AM – 3:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Workshop details : 

With the rise of the Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISA), the underlying technology rapidly entered life science and medical research. Continuous methodological improvements nowadays allow monitoring nearly all kinds of known biological process and a broad utilization in clinical diagnostics.

One of the latest development in the field is given by bead-based multiplex immunoassays (xMAP technology; Luminex), which enables the analysis of up to 500 different analysts "simultaneously" within only a few microliters of sample amounts. these assays provide an appropriate and well-established technology to overcome the limitations of western blotting and traditional ELISA. Combining the several analysts into assay panel (e,g gut peptides, adipocytes, angiogenesis, signaling pathway, .., etc.) offer the possibility to analyze complex protein signature in one shot. the multiplex immunoassay was established in the biomedical labs where it was used for more than five years to produce various data about diabetes, obesity CVD, endothelial functions, angiogenesis, bone and cancer biomarkers for the signature of Omics studies as well as basic and clinical studies. The assay is economical in terms of time and effort and provides sensitivity and flexibility over the traditional systems. It is also used in our studies to validate and discover new biomarkers.it is used also for system approach studies of diabetes and integrated with metabolomics and proteomic data to identify biological processes and pathways of proteins that are associated with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) that were differentially up- or down-regulated in comparison to normal controls.

Speaker : Dr. Sayed Kamel Goda.

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic:

Antibody-Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy (ADEPT) is a novel strategy to improve the selectivity of cancer treatment. Methotrexate (MTX), a synthetic folate analogue that inhibits dihydrofolate reductase, a key enzyme in the folate pathway, serves as an important component of various chemotherapeutic regimens for the treatment of cancer patients. One major drawback to the clinical use of MTX is an unacceptable level of toxicity. One of the most effective ways to achieve a rapid removal of the excess of these drugs is by glucarpidase degradation. Repeated cycles of ADEPT and the use of wild type glucarpidase in detoxification are essential but are hampered by the human antibody response to the enzyme. Additionally, glucarpidase has a relatively slow action in detoxification.

We embarked on a program to produce novel and long acting glucarpidases by different technologies to overcome problems associated with this therapy. We successfully produced, by DNA shuffling an ultra-active glucarpidase that degrades MTX with a very high efficiency and we are continuing the production of more efficient forms of the enzyme. We also isolated two novel glucarpidase producing bacteria from soil. We successfully cloned and molecular characterized a novel glucarpidase from one of the two isolated strains which could be used in the ADEPT techniques for cancer treatment that could overcome the immune response problems. We introduced a new mutation into the newly isolated enzyme which led to a 500% increase in its activity.The talk will also cover the production of long acting glucarpidase which can avoid or minimize the patient immune system response. All the novel variants of the glucarpidases will be largely produced for a further studies and possible clinical trials.

Speaker : Dr. Hany Elsayed Marei Mady.

Time : 12:00 PM –01:00 PM.

Location : New Research Complex H10 - Biomedical Research Center, Zone 5, Room # D-140, Qatar University.

Topic :

Stem cells are have two defining attributes: the capacity for self-renewal, and the ability to differentiate into many different cell types. There are about six classes of stem cells. We will discuss the two most important classes of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. While this suite of stem cell types has shown promising results in stem cell-based therapy at preclinical paradigms, stumbling blocks still exist in the current treatment regimens. The lecture will highlight the major efforts in the experimental application of stem cell based therapies used as treatment options for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and spinal cord injury and will discusses the major impediments against their successful translation into clinical.