Presenting virtually from Qatar and locations worldwide, leaders in their fields discussed current progress and the future of pediatric genomic medicine as well as discoveries using large-scale genomes and data for the benefit of human health.
4 December 2021, Doha, Qatar – Sidra Medicine launched the sixth edition of its flagship conference on precision medicine today. Opening remarks were given by Dr. Khalid Fakhro, Chief Research Officer; Dr. Ammira Akil, Organizing Chair of Track 1; and Dr. Younes Mokrab, Organizing Chair of Track 2, all of Sidra Medicine. The first day of the conference consisted of two concurrent tracks, one on ‘Future of Pediatric Genomic Medicine’ and ‘Large-Scale Genomes and Data: From Discovery to Health.’
The first track saw keynote speakers such as Dr. Hakon Hakonarson from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USA, discuss Precision Medicine Approaches in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Complex Pediatric Disorders; Dr. Stephen Scherer from The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada explore the Precision Medicine Landscape in Canada; Dr. Thomas Caskey from Baylor College of Medicine, USA address Precision Medicine for Disease Prevention; and Dr. Robert Green from Harvard Medical School, USA examined the topic of Newborn Sequencing with its Implications for Lifelong Precision Care.
Conference Chair of Track One, Dr. Ammira Akil, Principal investigator and head of Precision Medicine in Diabetes Prevention Lab at Sidra Medicine, noted: “Precision medicine is data and knowledge-driven, and a critical new tool in the fight against pediatric disorders. At the Sidra Medicine Precision medicine program, we support innovative pediatric genomic research that will yield lifesaving therapeutic options. The newly discovered genomic technologies have the potential to transform our capability to understand the precise foundations of each child genetic disorder, and in many instances, highlights the significance of tailoring a specific medical treatment and prevention procedures to the patient’s genetic profile rather than to the disease type or category, alone.”
The second track saw presentations from keynotes Dr. Dave Brown from Qatar Precision Medicine Institute, Qatar on Federation of case reference data is vital for precision medicine, Prof. Nancy Cox, Vanderbilt University, USA, on the integration of Genetics, EHR, and BioBanks to Drive Precision Medicine in addition to high profile presentations from Prof. Ingrid Sheffer, University of Melbourne, Australia on precision medicine in epilepsy, Dr. Fowzan AlKuraya from King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, KSA on large scale mendelian genomics programs as enablers of precision medicine and Dr. Laura Addis from GSK, the UK on Recall-by-genotype studies in genetics-driven drug discovery.
Conference Chair of Track Two, Dr. Younes Mokrab, Principal Investigator and head of Medical and Population Genomics Lab at Sidra Medicine, said, “Medicine has been witnessing a drastic transformation to harness the huge amounts of data that is being obtained on patients and their genomes worldwide. Having in mind the goal of helping catalyze such endeavor in the Arab and Middle Eastern region, in this year’s PMFG21, we gathered some of the world’s best experts and pioneers to talk about how data resources have been enabling genomic medicine, the impact of large sequencing consortia as well as the latest developments for genome and phenome actionability for healthcare. Really thrilled to be chairing this year’s event on this theme and serving in strengthening the momentum for our national Qatar Genome Program and various local and regional partnerships“.
The three-day conference promises a deeper understanding of the themes of Genomic Medicine and Precision Care in Maternal and Child Health as well as Advances in Innovative Therapies provided by a host of eminent scientists and physicians, all leaders in their discipline.
Conference attendees can receive 12 continuing medical education (CME) credits if they attend the required sessions as approved by the Qatar Council of Healthcare Practitioners (QCHP)