Fourth session of Hamdan Award for Medical Sciences concludes successfully
24.12.2006
H.E. Mirza Al Sayegh, Treasurer of the Board of Trustees and the representative of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and Industry, conveyed the message from His Highness that His Highness has directed the Board of Trustees and the Secretariat to upgrade all efforts relating to the declaration, selection and screening procedures for the new award.
The conference was an opportunity for members of the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies, consisting of 20 scientists, who attended the meet and discussed ways to expand the genetics database which the center began establishing after the big success of a trial run in the UAE and Bahrain. Plans have been prepared to include the databases of Oman and Kuwait, in addition to other countries. Doctors will now be able to go through the data to communicate and send their reports about genetic diseases in their own countries for the purpose of studying similar cases elsewhere.
Because of the importance of the center and the services it provides through field studies and continuous enrichment of the database, the members of the Arab Centre for Genomic Studies confirmed that one of the basic tasks of the center would be to organize relations between CAGS and other organizations that work in genetics in the Arab World plus international centers doing the same work.
They decided that there should be sub-juries also which will put out rules and draw up the framework for organizing the work of the center, including focusing on diverse important topics, especially regarding ethical restrictions in this field. These bodies will also concentrate on organizing scientific conferences to raise awareness in the science of genetic studies.
Also they have discussed at the Human Genome Project in the conference, which is part of the original Human Genome Project, the focus on studying the characteristics and different genetic diseases of all continents of the world like Europe, Africa and Asia, while concentrating on Arab nations. In addition to discussing the preparations for the next conference in December 2007, agreement was also reached that each member of the Arab Council will prepare his own vision and topics for the conference.
Prof. Najib Al Khaja announced the support of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum by allocating a new budget to support the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies and to support genetics activities in general. A new budget will also be drawn up to support the research relating to the Awards and develop its structure.
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User's guide on Arab genetics database released
26.11.2006
The Centre for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS), a division of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences has, in a follow-up to the launch of the Catalogue for Transmission Genetics in Arabs (CTGA) in 2004, released the User's Guide on the database.
This has been done with a view to keep up with the growth of the CTGA database over the past two years, both in content and popularity. The objective of the user's guide is to be a manual for people who may want to use the database for their specific needs.
In its introductory chapter, the manual gives a brief introduction to the internet, as well as data mining on the internet. The structure and significance of the CTGA database in particular is then explained in a manner easily understandable even by people new to the world of data mining. More importantly, the manual provides a step-by-step guide to using the search engine provided within the CTGA database to mine useful information. A number of practical examples have been provided throughout the manual, which makes it extremely easy to understand the various search strategies.
Also available in the User's Guide is a practical guide to using the CTGA submission form available in the database. This part of the manual is of special importance to researchers, doctors and clinical geneticists who may want to make their own contributions to the database. The manual also provides examples of some important records in the database as a reference.
Ever since its inception in 2003, CAGS has worked towards a better understanding of genetic disorders afflicting the Arab population. This initiative is all the more important considering the high level of consanguinity (marriage between relatives) prevalent among Arab communities, a factor directly responsible for the increased incidences of genetic disorders. Although efforts had earlier been made to catalogue genetic disorders in Arabs, up until a couple of years ago, no concrete results were available.
The CTGA is a compendium of genetic disorders reported from the Arab world and it is the only one of its kind presently available in the market. What makes this database more interesting is that not only is the database continuously updated and modified according to newer information received, but it is also freely accessible online. The CTGA database contains clinical and molecular genetic information on genetic disorders reported among Arabs, along with epidemiological details of such reports. The database also carries details of molecular studies undertaken on disorder-related genes in the Arab population.
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Focus on common genetic disorders in Arab world
7.4.2006
The last session of the first Pan Arab Human Genetics Conference that was held yesterday featured lectures on consanguinity blood relative marriages in the Arab world as well as on the Islamic perspective towards human cloning, stem cell research and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis.
Other lectures focused on detailed aspects of common genetic disorders in the Arab world including mental retardation, genetic dysmorphologies, breast cancer, laeukemia blood cancer thalassemia, sickle cell disease, familial Mediterranean fever, and neuromuscular disorders.
The conference is being organised by the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS), a division of Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences. In 2004, the centre initiated a major activity to construct the Catalogue for Transmission Genetics in Arabs (CTGA) database for genetic disorders occurring in the population of the UAE.
At present, the database has detailed information on 224 genetic disorders observed in the Arab population of the UAE. The CTGA database also contains preliminary information on the occurrence of 464 genetic disorders in other Arab populations.
The Centre for Arab Genomic Studies recently formed its Arab Council which includes a number of scientists from the region representing: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Tunisia. Members of the Arab Council are, for first time, meeting together. The conference was also attended by members of the Human Genome Organisation Council.
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