PMFG 2020 welcomes over 250 delegates and to run online until 7 December
5 December 2020, Doha, Qatar – Sidra Medicine today launched the fifth edition of its flagship “Precision Medicine and Functional Genomics 2020” (PMFG 2020) to an online global audience of over 250 attendees.
Key topics on Day 1 of PMFG 2020 included the latest developments and innovations in genomics research and how they translate into precision medicine solutions.
Billed as one of the major scientific symposiums from the Middle East, PMFG 2020 was launched with opening remarks from Sidra Medicine’s Chief Research Officer, Dr. Khalid Fakhro.
Dr. Khalid Fakhro said: “The world as we know it has rapidly changed and adapted to the pandemic and our symposium is no different as we host the best in research, clinical and technological insights about precision medicine, on a virtual platform. Precision Medicine is a key focus area for our conference program and indeed, for Qatar. Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital and an entity of Qatar Foundation – has precision medicine built into its core pillars of patient care, research and medical education. I would like to thank our speakers, attendees and partners for joining us from different parts of the world – as we unite in a common goal to share knowledge about the latest findings that will shape tomorrow’s research and clinical agenda.”
In their opening remarks. PMFG 2020 co-organizers, Dr. Damien Chaussabel, Director of Immunology Program and Dr. Bernice Lo, Investigator of Human Genetics from Sidra Medicine, both stressed on the significant potential of precision medicine in healthcare and the ways to expand this potential combining research, education and clinical practice functions and expertise to successfully tackle conditions and improve outcomes for all patients.
In this context, Dr. Damien Chaussabel explained: “With current advances in understanding the genetic causes of disease, there is a lot of potential to possibly prevent serious health conditions – which is underpinned by the concept of preventative medicine. We are keen to provide quality treatment for patients with inherited genetic disorders. At Sidra Medicine, this is a key focus as we also continue to invest in the latest technologies and to develop the expertise that will permit us to enable precision medicine in Qatar.”
Dr. Bernice Lo said: “Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of immune regulation and tolerance, help to identify the genetic basis of disease in patients with immune dysregulation and autoimmunity. These are being advanced with the ultimate goal of developing methods for disease diagnosis and evaluating treatment efficacy”.
Keynote Speaker, Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, Chief Scientist at Genomics England, discussed the latest global projects and the impact of large-scale genomics in serving precision medicine. While the second keynote speaker, Dr. Hamdi Mbarek from the Qatar Genome Program provided further insight into the impressive national efforts in Qatar and its outcomes in the global context.
Dr. Luis Saraiva, Director-Metabolism and Diabetes Program at Sidra Medicine kicked off the highly anticipated session dedicated to COVID-19. Dr. Saraiva highlighted the importance of precision medicine solutions for managing COVID-19. The session included local and international experts who presented recent advances on tackling the pandemic with examples of current strategies for managing COVID-19; and how sequencing/omics approaches have contributed to our understanding of the virus.
Dr. Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, who also spoke at the special session about the development of COVID-19 vaccines, saying: “Most people think that viruses are smart and that they come with very smart mechanisms. I am one of the few scientists that believe the opposite; I think that viruses are extremely dumb. They are just what they are because that’s what they’ve evolved into.”
Day 2 of PMFG 2020 on 6th December will feature examples of success stories of precision medicine from Australia, Qatar, the UK and the USA, under the “Realizing the promise of precision medicine in clinical care” session and how targeted therapies improve patient outcomes. Additional sessions will cover lessons from the industry and biotech companies at the frontline of precision medicine.
For more details and the agenda, please visit www.sidra.org/pmfg.