The Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research (DHFMR) recently announced annual grants of $350,000 each to support collaborative research programs led by scientists at Harvard Medical School and colleagues at institutions in the Gulf Region.
 

The Foundation was created in 2006 to support biomedical research and academic programs that will both advance new scientific knowledge and create a regional community of leaders in science and medicine in Dubai and the greater Gulf Region. Through the Collaborative Research Program, the Foundation provides funds to enable the recipients to build on established collaborations between research laboratories at Harvard Medical School and Middle East-based counterparts. The ultimate goal, said Robert L. Thurer, MD, Executive Director of the Foundation (pictured), is to “support the development of independent regional research institutions.”
 

Thurer added, “The researchers who are selected have demonstrated exceptional ability to generate knowledge and novel approaches to medical, biomedical, or translational research relevant to the Middle East region.”
 

All research award applications undergo a peer-review process by an ad hoc Review Committee, which makes its recommendation to the Scientific Advisory Committee, comprised of members based at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and academic medical centers in the Middle East.

Both of the collaborative research programs selected for the first Foundation awards are focused on exploring genetic causes of diseases of particular concern in the Middle East, including autism. The collaborations combine each research site’s technical expertise, augmenting the Middle East region’s research capabilities while increasing the scientific knowledge of recessively inherited conditions that are a regional public health issue.
 

Going forward with the support of the Foundation, the research teams will have the opportunity to investigate distinct population groups, with the potential to apply their findings to other inquiries involving the identification of genes that cause specific diseases or disorders. Details of the research projects are as follows:

 

CO-INVESTIGATORS
Dr. Rose-Mary N. Boustany
Chair of the Abu-Haidar Neuroscience Research Institute
American University of Beirut Medical Center

Dr. Susan Cotman
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Member of the Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston)

 

CO-INVESTIGATORS
Dr. Christopher A. Walsh
Professor of Neurology & Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Chief, Division of Genetics, Children’s Hospital (Boston)

Dr. Bassam Ali
Associate Professor of Molecular & Genetic Medicine
Faculty of Medicine, United Arab Emirates University

Dr. Lihadh Al-Gazali
Professor in Clinical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics
Faculty of Medicine, United Arab Emirates University

Dr. Brian Meyer
Chairman, Department of Genetics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (Riyadh)

 

The Foundation also awarded research fellowships to two postdoctoral researchers. These awards recognize scientists from the region who are in the early stages of their career and provide funding for up to three years of study in laboratories at Harvard Medical School.

The fellowship awardees are Dr. Faiqa Imtiaz Ahmad of the Arabian Diagnostics Laboratory at KFSHRC (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia); and Dr. Hasan H. Otu of the Yeditepe University Department of Genetics and Bioengineering (Istanbul, Turkey). Dr. Ahmad will investigate the genetic causes of hereditary hearing loss and deafness, while Dr Otu will study the management and analysis of functional genomic and proteomics data.

Dr. Muhadditha Al Hashimi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Healthcare City, said, "We are confident these awards will turn the spotlight on Dubai as a place for nurturing innovation and scientific discovery."

The criteria and eligibility requirements and application form for the 2008 award cycle will be posted on the Foundation’s website in the spring of 2008.

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