The Centre for Arab Genomic Studies Hosts Genomic Data Analysis Workshop in Dubai

 Dubai UAE

Sallam Sallam

Under the patronage of Sheikh Hamadan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, and in collaboration with the European School of Genetic Medicine (ESGM), the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS) organized a workshop titled “Genomic Data Analysis for Gene Discovery and Variant Interpretation”. The workshop was held at the Mohammed bin Rashid University on the 17th and 18th of January.

Over the 2 days of the course, delegates were exposed to a series of lectures as well as practical workshops on handling sequencing data with the help of bioinformatics tools. The delegates were encouraged to apply the learned concepts to their own datasets during the workshop and were also asked to present their own cases of interest.

The workshop was accredited with 12 CME points by the UAE University.

Dr.Mahmoud Taleb Al Ali, Director of CAGS said, “the workshop was an intensive course on clinical genomics and next generation sequencing. Catering to a small group of participants, the workshop offered hands-on case-based learning for analyzing high throughput sequencing data. A special focus of the workshop was on exploring the power of consanguinity in allowing novel gene discovery, a technique that is especially relevant to the Middle Eastern and North African populations”.

The course was led by Prof. Giovanni Romeo, Director of ESGM. Over the last 20 years, Prof. Romeo has developed several research and training projects in collaboration with Middle East countries where he is now transferring some of the ESGM courses. The course faculty included Dr. Alberto Magi from the University of Florence, Dr. Tommaso Pippucci from the University Hospital of Bologna, Dr. Julia Baptista from the NHS-UK, Dr. Youssef Idaghdour from the New York University in Abu Dhabi, and Dr. Ahmed Al Fares from Qassim University in Saudi Arabia.

Prof.Giovanni Romeo the director of ESGM Said, “Nowadays the use of bioinformatics in genetics and genomics has become an essential part of our work. We are very pleased to work with CAGS for the 8th PAN ARAB HUMAN GENETICS CONFERENCE, and deliver a workshop dedicated to the GENOMIC DATA ANALYSIS FOR GENE DISCOVERY AND VARIANT INTERPRETATION. I am very happy that some of the best experts from the GCC region and from Europe have accepted to be the instructors of this workshop”.
Speaking about her involvement with the course, Dr. Julia Baptista said, “At this time in genomics when sharing knowledge really is key to advancing the care we offer to our patients, I feel very privileged to contribute to the delivery of this workshop in genomic variant interpretation. I look forward to teaching, learning and sharing interesting discussions”.

On her part, Dr. Stephanie Al-Hayek, Assistant Director of the CAGS said, “ESGM has been devoted to the advanced training in genetics and genomics of young geneticists and health professionals from Europe and elsewhere in the world; in particular graduates from the Southern rim of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. This is the first time that the School is collaborating with CAGS and its parent organization the Sheikh Hamdan Award for Medical Sciences”.

It is worth noting that the activities of the 8th Pan Arab Human Genetics Conference, will be launched tomorrow 19th January 2020 at the Roda Al Bustan Hotel – Dubai. The focus of the conference in its 8th edition is on clinical genomics and the main topics to be discussed in the conference include neurodevelopmental disorders, metabolic disorders, dysmorphology, as well as population genomics and human disorders.