Top: Fatima Qafoud (third from right) and Dr Syed Amir Rizvi (fourth from right) with other participants of the biobanking training.
Doha: Clinical staff members from Qatar Biobank were given the opportunity to participate in a prestigious international biobanking training course in Europe.
The highly specialised course, the “Certificate on principles of biobanking for clinical, biological and environmental biospecimens and bioresources” took place in Luxembourg and was co-organised by the Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg (IBBL) and the University of Luxembourg.
Qatar Biobank staff members were provided with a wider perspective on the financial, legal and ethical aspects of biobanking.
Other areas covered in the professional development course included the storage, processing and quality control of biological samples, together with practical sessions in IBBL’s laboratories. The sessions helped Qatar Biobank staff members ensure that the data they collect in the future is fit for purpose.
“I relished the experience to hear from other biobanks on the challenges they face as we can apply these learnings in our work. The practical training reiterated the importance of the validation process in research which requires us to continuously check that we have collected the right samples in the right containers and adhered to the right processes in the lab,” said Fatima Qafoud, Head of Clinical Services at Qatar Biobank.
Dr Syed Amir Rizvi, Clinical Data Interpretation Physician at Qatar Biobank, another participant of the course, said: “I particularly enjoyed the interdisciplinary teaching of approaches used in repositories for both human and environmental biospecimens.”
Qatar Biobank’s Managing Director Dr Hadi Abderrahim said: “At Qatar Biobank we are dedicated to exchanging knowledge and expertise with the international biomedical research community and ensuring the continued professional development of our staff.”
“Participating in cutting edge training is integral to ensuring Qatar will become further known as a hub for scientists and researchers,” Dr Hadi Abderrahim added. QNA
