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Over 3 Million Riyals Awarded by HMC for Medical Research

10 pioneering new research projects to be launched
Doha, 18^th May: In a high profile event held at Hamad Medical City , the winners of the Internal Research Grants Program at Hamad Medical Corporation ( HMC ) were announced. They will get QR3 million riyals in research funding from HMC .

The winners of the research grants were commended by HMC Managing Director,
Dr. Hanan Al Kuwari, who termed research as one of the pillars of the medical corporation. "In five years we will make HMC as the leading organization in medical research in the region", Dr. Hanan said.

The research award ceremony was also attended by Dr. Peter Hill, Medical Director, Professor. Edward Hillhouse, Chief Policy Advisor on Academic Health Systems, HMC , Mr. Mohammed Al Noimi, Executive Director of Marketing, Media and Public Relations among many other senior medical staff from HMC .

"It is the inaugural cycle of the internal research competition, where we received 37 proposals on various medical research projects. All the projects were scrutinized by an eminent committee of HMC and external experts. The best 10 research projects are selected and they will be launched soon," said Dr. Al- Hareth M. Al-Khater, Chairman of the Medical Research Centre (MRC).

Dr. Al-Hareth further stated that the research proposals received were of a very high quality and will promote better education and health care services within the organization.

"A lot of these research projects are multi-disciplinary in nature with collaboration from medical experts from North America and Europe. Their findings will be published in local, regional and international medical journals and will help in improving patient care and delivery of service," Dr. Al Hareth added.

The Internal Research Grants Program also saw honorable mention of previous research grant winners, who have contributed towards promoting research and education at HMC .

HMC has also chalked out an ambitious plan to develop the medical corporation into an academic health centre with continuous investment in education and research.

HMC is collaborating with its national partners such as Qatar Foundation , Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar, Qatar University, University of Calgary-Qatar, College of North Atlantic-Qatar, and Shafallah Medical Genetics Centre among others.

"In addition to our internal and external grants, HMC has received the best bio-medical research award at the Annual Qatar Foundation Research Forum. Building on this achievement we are planning to set up a dedicated Medical Research Facility at Hamad Medical City . The researchers will be able to conduct basic science research that will complement the active clinical research that is ongoing currently. It will have special laboratories to facilitate multi-disciplinary collaboration between health providers from Qatar," Dr. Al-Hareth stated.

Note: Internal Research Grants Competition Winners:

" Novel Smartsock Technology to Prevent Diabetic Foot Ulcer Based On Fiber-Optic Concept. ". Talal K. Talal, Medicine Department.

* "Using of The Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) to Estimate Imatinib Myslate (IM) Compliance In Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia (CML) Patients In State of Qatar. " Dr. Hanadi El Ayoubi, Sr. Consultant, Hematology Department

* "Assessment of Oncology Patient's Adherence to Oral Anticancer Medications" Ms. Manal Zaidan, Pharmacy Department

"Review of Factors Associated With Suicide And Self-Harm In Qatar." Dr. Suhaila Ghuloum, Psychiatry Department

"The Contribution of Genetic Variation In the MO-I Gene to Obesity And Diabetes In Qatari Arabia." Dr. Abdulbari Bener, Head, Department of Medical statistics & Epidemiology

"An automated alert system for Multi drug resistant organisms in hospital locations- An Indicator For Patient Risk & Safety. " Dr. Godwin Justus Wilson, Specialist , Lab. Medicine & Pathology

"Correction of Viatmin D In Asthma Control In Viatmin D Deficient Children With Moderate-Servere Asthma" Dr. Khalid Al Ansari, PEC, Pediatrics Department.

"Homocystinuria: A Common But treatable inborn error of metabolism in Qatar Treatment and Pathophysiology." Dr. Tawfeg Ben Omran, Head of Clinical & Metabolic Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.

"Validation and cultural Adaptation of the Arabic Versions of The Mini Mental Status Exam and Mini Cog Test In The Qatari Population" Dr. Mohd Albanna, Consultant , Psychiatry Department

"Using pressure mapping in the selection of equipment to reduce pressure sores" Mr. Mamoun Al Khoub, Specialist in seating & Positioning , Occupational Therapy Department

"A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial of Therapeutic Hypothermia vs. Therapeutic Hypothermia And Magnesium Sulphate (MGSO4) In The Management of Term Babies With Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (The Meg-Cool Study)" Dr. Sajjad Ur Rahman, NICU, Pediatrics.

* Joint proposal

About HMC :
Hamad Medical Corporation is the premier non-profit health care provider in Doha, Qatar. It was established by Emiri decree in 1979 and manages five highly specialized hospitals, namely, Hamad General Hospital, Rumailah Hospital, Women's Hospital, Al Amal Hospital and Al Khor Hospital. Since its establishment, HMC has rapidly developed medical facilities capable of providing state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment of diseases that previously could only be managed in overseas medical centers.

HMC prides itself in providing quality and cost efficient health care for all patients regardless of nationality, in line with the State of Qatar's pledge of "Health for All". For this purpose, the Corporation implements a policy of continuous improvement of all management systems and patient care protocols. HMC 's ethos is based on three key pillars which are Health, Education and Research. Please visit: www.hmc.org.qa

For more information, please contact:
Marketing and Public Relations Department
Hamad Medical Corporation
Tel. No.: +974 4439 5271
Fax No.: +974 4439 5002

© Press Release 2011