DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) held a workshop to raise awareness about the importance of genetic research and promote exchange of expertise and ideas between scientific organisations.
HMC, in collaboration with the US-based Boston Children’s Hospital, held the workshop. More than 50 physicians and genetics experts from HMC, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Sidra Medical and Research Centre and Shafallah Centre for Children with Special Needs and specialist physicians from Arab and Gulf countries attended.
The event included lectures on ‘Genetic Neurological Diseases’ by the Clinical and Metabolic Genetics Section at HMC. Delivered by speakers from Boston Children’s Hospital, the talks were attended by more than 500 HMC medical and nursing staff.
Dr Tawfiq bin Omran, Senior Consultant and Head of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics, HMC, said: “Continuous efforts of the section aim at providing our medical staff with training opportunities and latest updates in the field.”
“The workshop focused on the role of genetic studies in the early detection and diagnosis of disorders in children with special needs,” said Professor Christopher Walsh, Chief of the Division of Genetics, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Professor of Paediatrics and Neurology at Harvard Medical School.
He said even major research institutes cannot complete research without sharing elements and useful tools within their research with other organisations. “That is why we came to HMC.” He stressed that research in genetics have become accessible to everyone; however, findings required specialised centres with enormous capabilities to be translated into clinical practices and to make the maximum use of any discoveries.
He said more than 20 genes responsible for neurological diseases that have direct effects on the brain, had been discovered.
The Peninsula
