25 October 2022, Doha, Qatar – Sidra Medicine has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Microsoft to facilitate its research division’s digital transformation goals and accelerate its precision medicine and genomics research programs.
The MoU was signed at Microsoft Qatar’s Lusail office, by Dr. Khalid Fakhro, the Chief Research Officer from Sidra Medicine and Lana Khalaf, General Manager of Microsoft Qatar.
The MoU signals a series of strategic collaborations and implementations that will enable Sidra Medicine’s research division to expedite its technology and cloud adoption on Microsoft’s platforms, towards a complete digital transformation.
Dr. Khalid Fakhro, Chief Research Officer from Sidra Medicine, said, “The MoU with Microsoft is the start of an exciting collaborative journey with a trusted and cutting-edge technology leader, that will enable us to offer innovative solutions to research challenges. The partnership comes at an opportune time, as we are scaling up our genomics research capabilities to meet growing local and global demands. It is part of our positioning strategy to become a leading healthcare and research facility and a benchmark for precision medicine and personalized healthcare.”
The transformation, which will be led by Sidra Medicine’s Digital Health team (Research), will use Microsoft Cloud to safely store and access data more quickly and conveniently. It will allow its scientists to perform complex data operations using Microsoft’s Data and AI platforms. Sidra Medicine will also utilize High-Performance Computing (HPC) on Microsoft Azure for industry-specific services to build an ecosystem that can facilitate genomics computing.
“It is a distinct privilege to partner with Sidra Medicine’s research division as they use Microsoft Azure and its AI and machine learning capabilities to support advanced research and breakthroughs in precision medicine and genomics”, said Lana Khalaf, General Manager of Microsoft Qatar. “I am inspired by this collaboration between medicine and technology and its ambitious goals to lead the way in new discoveries and medical science innovation.”
Microsoft will also help enhance Sidra Medicine’s research teams' digital capabilities through its National Skilling Program (in partnership with Qatar’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology) and other development initiatives including workshops and training programs.
The partnership with Sidra Medicine follows the recent launch of Microsoft’s new cloud datacenter region in Qatar, where Sidra Medicine’s research division was recognized for Innovation Excellence in High-Performance Computing at the launch event.