Qatar University - On Nation’s Health

Since the year 2008, over 2% of the annual income of Qatar has been granted for education and research. Qatar University is the leading national university git benefitted from these means in ameliorating the infrastructure for supporting teaching and research. The inauguration of the Research Complex took place. It is the fine facility that hosts the major research centers of the university. It offers pioneering technology to the national and international scholars for conducting research engrossed on the research priorities of the country.

Since long, Qatar has been concentrating on diversifying the nation’s economy from being purely dependent on the hydrocarbon industries. The Qatar National Vision 2030 highlights the significance of establishing a knowledge-based economy focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, excellence in education, a world-class infrastructure, streamlined delivery of public services, and a transparent and responsible government.

The ambitious vision of Qatar stands on four pillars of development that are social, human, economic and environmental. The establishment of the private-public partnerships for developing an effective system for funding scientific research plays a significant role in Qatar’s master plan for supporting these pillars. The nation motivates the industry to benefit from the entrepreneurial academic expertise centers for meeting the applied research’s requirements.

Qatar- On health:

In 2014, Biomedical Research center of Qatar University was established. It was based on the strength of the successful 30-years old biomedical program of the university. The director Asma Althani who is also the dean of Qatar University’s College of Health Sciences uttered that the center is working aligned with the country’s overall strategy.

The researchers of BRC along with the colleagues at Qatar University and other international institutions have done investigation on the use of carbon nanotubes for enhancing the potential of survivability and the differentiation of the neural stem cells that are derived from the human olfactory bulb which is a part of the forebrain liable for receiving any input about odors.

The neural stem cells can differentiate into crucial cell types of the nervous tissues.  The earlier studies have shown their capability to restore the cognitive and motor deficits in the rat models concerning Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The researchers had transplanted the carbon nanotubes alongside with the neural stem cells into an ‘in vitro’ system in which the neurodegenerative disease had been induced chemically, putting back the neurodegenerative changes and the cognitive deficits. It has been found that the carbon nanotubes were providing support for the neural stem cells and boost their therapeutic prospect. As per the researchers, it can be promising for cell-based therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

In 2012, The main cause of death in Qatar was Ischaemic heart disease. The researchers of BRC are making use of zebrafish that have genomic similarity to that of humans, and chicken embryos with similar heart structures as models for studying the heart disease closely. Of recent, another team of researchers of BRC discovered a prominent association between a polymorphism which is a genetic variation in the gene codes for the receptor of Vit D and coronary artery disease. The receptor makes Vit D’s biological role enable in the body when it binds to it. As per the finding of the researchers, the people, especially those who smoke, carrying the genetic variation had a growing risk of crucial atherosclerotic lesions in their coronary arteries.

Significant investment has been done by Qatar University in the sphere of communicable diseases research. The scientists of BRC are focusing on the diseases that are common in the country like MER-CoV, Enteric Viruses, Influenza Viruses, and Multiple Drug-Resistant Bacteria. The team is studying the epidemiology of MERS-CoV in camels and humans. Along with it, they are also interested in the evaluation of the human immune responses to the virus infection. Thousands of sera samples are screened which are collected from high and low-risk groups. The scientists are decrypting the humoral immune response in the seropositive individuals for understanding the antibodies’ functionality in the specific individuals.

A major public health concern worldwide is antimicrobial resistance. Partnering with the Qatari ministries, the focus is on profiling the antimicrobial resistance in the veterinary belt through the use of current molecular and epidemiological tools. The preliminary data exposed the important prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria inclusive of those for the third-generation cephalosporin.

About the future:

The ambitions of Qatar University for graduate education is bold and transformative. The strategic plans have emphasized the need for meeting the increasing demand for the new programs of the nation that contributes to the realization of Qatar Vision 2030.

Qatar University is nurturing the progress of highly qualified scholars, independent thinkers, and researchers.