Qatar Foundation enhances the representation of the Arab genome in international research

Mark
Written By Mark

Doha- A recent scientific study showed that the representation of individuals of Arab origins in genomic research amounted to only about 0.17%, compared to 88% of individuals of European origins, which hinders the progress of precision medicine in the world, as individuals of European origins represent a minority among the world’s population. However, they constitute the largest percentage of human genome research, and this directly affects the understanding of the diseases prevalent in the world, the methodology for developing treatments, the pharmaceutical industry, and the innovation of ways to prevent diseases.

Within the framework of the State of Qatar’s endeavors in the field of developing precision healthcare in the region, and the pioneering role played by the Qatar Foundation in this regard, Dr. Raja Baji, Director of Applied Genomics at the Qatar Precision Healthcare Institute, a member of the Qatar Foundation, says, “The Qatar Precision Healthcare Institute contributes through Qatar.” Biobank and Qatar Genome are working to address this global imbalance, by taking advantage of the unique demographic structure of the State of Qatar, which includes a large proportion of the Middle Eastern population who are not currently adequately represented in the global genome database, in addition to the Institute’s efforts to devote precision medicine to National Health Strategies,” according to a statement issued by the Qatar Foundation on Monday, reaching Al Jazeera Net.

In its seventh edition of the conference, which will be held in Doha on November 13 and 14, 2024, the World Innovation Summit for Healthcare (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation, is scheduled to discuss multiple tracks, including: the health of minorities and vulnerable populations, and innovation and change. At the system level, under the main theme of the summit, “Health from a Human Perspective: Equality and Resilience in the Face of Conflicts.”

Precision medicine is considered one of the main fields that will contribute to bringing about change at the level of health systems in the world, not to mention the role it plays in promoting the health of minorities who are not included in research in general, especially genomics research.

Dr. Raja explains the main factors that lead to the dominance of the European genome in drug research, saying, “Historically, Europeans invested early in the infrastructure for genetic research, and major genomic research and biobanks were launched in Western countries. Researchers have continued to rely on the European genome for their data.” For their reference, due to the absence of other genomic representation, precision medicine has not been the focus of national strategies in the Arab region, due to the high costs of establishing the necessary infrastructure for data storage and analysis, the high costs of genetic sequencing, and the shortage of specialized human capabilities in genetics and informatics. biology and other related disciplines.

Enhancing the comprehensiveness of genomic data

Dr. Raja added, “Qatar Biobank and Qatar Genome, which operate today under the umbrella of the Qatar Precision Healthcare Institute, a member of Qatar Foundation, have greatly contributed to enhancing the comprehensiveness of global genomic data by sequencing more than 14,600 genomes from the population of the State of Qatar and more.” Of 2,900 genomes from 19 other Arab countries, a recent whole genome association study showed that as of 2022, Qatar contributed 96.2% of the Arab genome representation, compared to the remaining 3.8% collected from 10 other countries. These efforts have led to the identification of 2,900 genomes from 19 other Arab countries “More than 24.6 million previously unknown variants, and many new variants associated with diseases, which highlights the important role played by Qatar Foundation and its researchers in addressing the severe lack of representation of Arab origins in genomic research.”

The doctor continued, “In addition, the integration of genomic data with clinical data has led to the discovery of genetic variants that cause severe cardiovascular diseases. These findings are considered pivotal in enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms of diseases prevalent in the Arab population. This participation is also crucial for innovating new methodologies in Develop medicines and prevent diseases that meet the needs of diverse populations globally.”

Despite these developments, researchers still face various challenges, and Dr. Raja Baji says, “Ensuring the continued participation of the population in long-term studies is difficult, due to the disparity in the level of health literacy, and cultural specificities regarding data collection, in addition to the absence of the necessary resources and funding.” Joint research in many countries.

Researchers also face complex technical and organizational challenges in exchanging genomic data at the international level, which requires more cooperation in this context. Dr. Baji concludes, “While we emphasize the importance of data exchange, it is necessary to build cooperation frameworks and platforms to facilitate the safe exchange of data and comply with international data protection regulations.” “Thus building more strong partnerships and cooperation in this field.”

The seventh edition of the World Innovation Summit for Healthcare (WISH 2024), one of the global initiatives of the Qatar Foundation, will be held on November 13 and 14 in Doha, within the framework of “Health from a Human Perspective: Equality and Resilience in the Face of Conflict.” The conference will be held over two days at the Qatar National Convention Center with the participation of more than 3,000 participants including leaders, pioneers, innovators, researchers, businessmen and healthcare workers around the world, with the aim of searching for innovative solutions to a group of the biggest health challenges facing the world today.

This year, WISH is cooperating with the World Health Organization to launch 3 pioneering research projects, led by the World Health Organization, that aim to issue solid scientific reports based on evidence and evidence that will be discussed and carefully studied during the summit.