Who We Are
Sidra Medicine is an international biomedical institute of excellence created in 2015 by Qatar Foundation (QF). Our mission is to discover and advance knowledge for the benefit of society, public health and economic prosperity in the field of biomedicine in Qatar.
We are a hub for biomedical research to advance the understanding of epidemiology and mechanisms of diseases, develop preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic tools, and improve the health outcomes of the women and children.
Strategic Approach and Plan
We prioritize investigation and addressing biomedical problems that are of national relevance and also have a global impact. As part of this strategy, we investigate genetic disorders and genomics, diabetes and metabolic diseases, and mother and child health.
Our aims is to develop projects that lead science and research programs worldwide. These projects will also align with Qatar's national research strategy and help address other public health issues.
What Type of Research is Conducted?
Research can be of several types, but consists mainly of:
- Preclinical research is when we collect specimen and there is no intervention to patient treatment in terms of medication or use of new devices.
- Clinical trials are new treatments and procedures we use on volunteer patients who have not responded to traditional treatments.
We aim to translate new scientific knowledge into health benefits for society to support clinicians in their personal practices.
The Qatar Genome Program
We host the largest genome sequencing facility in the Middle East through the Qatar Genome Program (QGP), aimed at sequencing the genome of the Qatari population.
The QGP was created with the mission to carry out projects in genome sequencing and analysis in collaboration with researchers from all over Qatar, and from the international research community in order to ensure the competitiveness of Qatar in the strategic area of genomics.
The Sidra Medicine Research Branch - Qatar Genome Program started operations in October 2015 with an X-Ten sequencing system, which enabled a sequencing capacity of over 1,000 Gbases/day, the equivalent of completely sequencing ten human genomes every 24 hours. This capacity positions Sidra Medicine Research - Qatar Genome Program as one of the largest centers in terms of sequencing capacity.
Why Is It Important for Patients to Participate in Research?
Current medications and treatments have been designed to work on adult patients only. There is scientific evidence that shows that children respond differently to medication and treatment. Hence research that involves pediatric patients is very important to improve the standard of healthcare for children.
Patients can help us improve drugs by participating in research specifically designed for pediatric patients. We need to have medicines, treatments, and care that best suits children instead of using medications that best suit adults.
Frequently asked questions about your child participating in research at Sidra Medicine can be found here.
A Training Hub for the Next Generation of Biomedical Scientists
A key initiative of research at Sidra Medicine is to provide first-class research training to the next generation of Qatari scientists. They will also facilitate the process of clinical testing and discovery by adopting advanced technologies.