A strategy for science: Dubai Harvard Foundation convenes conference for Gulf Region researchers

Dr. Robert Thurer convened the conference by providing an overview of the Foundation’s objectives.

More than 70 young and aspiring research scientists gathered in Dubai in January to help chart the future course of scientific research in the region. The event, entitled “Young Investigators Conference: Strategy for Science,” was held under the auspices of the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research, which was launched in March 2006 with the goal of developing scientific leaders who will help build a life sciences infrastructure in the Gulf Region.

The conference was led by Robert L. Thurer, MD, Executive Director of the Foundation and Chief Academic Officer of the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research. Its overarching goal was to introduce the Foundation to members of the local science community, and identify the challenges and opportunities in scientific research in the Gulf Region. The conference attendees included postgraduate scientists as well as academic leaders from regional medical schools.

“This conference was an opportunity to begin a conversation that will continue all over the Gulf Region and have a tremendous impact on the development of scientific research,” said Thurer, who is Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. “Bringing the region’s most promising scientists together will allow us to focus the Foundation’s efforts, identify regional laboratories that could potentially host collaborative research programs, and spark collaborations between individual scientists, working here and abroad.”

Building careers in research
Dr. Ali Bin Shakar, Undersecretary to the UAE Minister of Health, welcomed the attendees, saying, “We look forward to the participation of these young investigators in the development of research in our region,” adding that creating a robust research infrastructure for Gulf Region scientists is key to the “economic and social progress” of Dubai and the UAE.

Thurer provided an overview of the collaborative partnership between Dubai Healthcare City and Harvard Medical International, demonstrating how the Foundation and HMSDC are part of an interconnected triumvirate encompassing efforts to raise the standards for health care delivery, education, and research in the Gulf.

“High-quality health care cannot exist and sustain itself without medical education and research, both of which continually inform practice and provide a stimulus for innovations at the patient bedside,” said Thurer.

Mohamed Sayegh, MD, Professor of Transplantation Medicine at Harvard Medical School, gave the conference’s keynote lecture, focusing in part on developments in his field but also laying out a set of practical guidelines to help aspiring scientists begin and nurture careers in research.

Sayegh stressed the importance to research of doctors who interact with patients, and who are charged with using laboratory advances to transform health care. “Research is not confined merely to the test tubes of basic science, but must also be concerned with how to translate new knowledge from the bench to the bedside,” said Sayegh.

Initially, the Foundation will provide opportunities for select Gulf Region scientists to participate in collaborative research programs abroad, at world-renowned institutions like Harvard Medical School. The ultimate goal is to put in place the infrastructure and resources to make these opportunities available in the Gulf Region. That process will take time, but investment in the region’s intellectual capital—its home-grown talent—has already begun. Most of the scientists who attended the conference have conducted research outside the Gulf Region—going to where the opportunities are present—but the prospect of being able to pursue their work in their home communities has fueled interest in the Foundation’s efforts.

Salem Al Kindi, an attendee from the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Oman, conducted research in hematology in the United States and Ireland before returning to his home country. He said that although Oman is home to many talented scientists, “the infrastructure has not been in place to support their efforts. Conferences like this one can help get that infrastructure started, and also give researchers an opportunity to network with others in the region working on the same questions.”

First steps forward
Dr. Sehamuddin Galadari is Associate Professor at the United Arab Emirates University and a member of the Foundation’s Advisory Council. Like many of the attendees, he began his research career abroad, at Duke University in the U.S. He attended the conference as a facilitator helping the participants think through the challenges and opportunities related to research in the Gulf Region. “One of the most important outcomes of this conference is that we have identified the issues we face collectively and identified common ground that will be vital for the Foundation to achieve its objectives,” he said. 

Among the challenges cited by the attendees were the need for more funding to support research, skilled technicians and research fellows, animal models and equipment, and greater cooperation between institutions and individual scientists. Many stressed the importance of awareness-building—in the academic community and the general public—regarding the crucial role of research in the region’s development.

Another conference leader, Dr. Abdulmonem Al-Hayani of the King Abdulaziz University School of Medicine, said that the research infrastructure developed in the Gulf Region should be designed carefully to serve the community, with the fruits of scientific inquiry closely attuned to regional health challenges. He also emphasized that it would take more than funding to make this happen. “We are talking about changing a culture, so we have to involve all of the stakeholders in the community at this time,” he said.

According to Thurer, the Foundation is well on its way to reaching its fundraising goal of $100 million within the next two years. These funds will eventually support an endowment that is invested in collaborative research programs between laboratories in top-notch academic medical institutions and counterparts in the Gulf Region. In addition to supporting selected scientists, the funds will be used to recruit postdoctoral fellows and provide training to help advance the capabilities of local laboratory programs. The ultimate goal, said Thurer, is to produce senior scientists for the region who will lead sustainable research programs.

To learn more about the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research, please visit the website at www.dhfmr.hms.harvard.edu. A full report of the conference will be posted on the website.

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