HH Sheika Moza officially opens Qatar BioBank and visits Translational Research Institute (iTRI)

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), officially opened the Qatar Biobank building in Hamad Medical City. 

Accompanied by His Excellency Abdullah Bin Khalid Al-Qahtani, Minister of Health and Secretary General of the SCH; Dr. Hanan Al Kuwari, Chairperson of the QatarBiobank Board of Trustees; and Dr. Asma Al Thani, Vice Chairperson of the Qatar Biobank Board of Trustees; Her Highness Sheikha Moza unveiled Qatar Biobank’s new state-of-the-art facility at Hamad bin Khalifa Medical City at Building 17.

The inauguration of the Qatar Biobank building follows the conclusion of Qatar Biobank’s two-year operational pilot phase.

Qatar Biobank’s collection of samples and information on the health and lifestyles of large numbers of the national population makes vital medical research possible for scientists in Qatar, the region and the world.

With plans to initially collect samples from more than 60,000 participants from the local population, Qatari nationals, or people who have resided in Qatar for more than 15 years, are eligible to participate through the contribution of samples.

This contribution involves attending an assessment session at the Qatar Biobank clinic that lasts less than three hours, and comprises the collection of a series of measurements including an individual’s height, weight, blood pressure, and blood, urine and saliva samples. The health information obtained from medical records, DNA, lifestyle, and environmental exposures has the potential to provide further insights into the management and prevention of debilitating diseases common in Qatar.

Announced by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser at the World Innovation Summit on Health (WISH) in Doha last year, the Qatar Genome Project, a genome mapping of the local population spearheaded by Qatar Biobank, signifies a notable change in future treatment through personalised healthcare.

Her Highness also visited the Translational Research Institute (iTRI) which aims, through the collaboration of QF, Qatar University and HMC, at facilitating healthcare research in Qatar and enabling the translation of scientific discoveries to aid the development of new medicines, technologies and treatments for the benefit of patients.