DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) will soon set up a centre for translation of basic research into medical practice. The Translational Research Institute (TRI) is scheduled for completion in 2015 at the Hamad Medical City.
An interim TRI will be functional by the year-end.
"We are ambitious to develop Hamad Medical Corporation as a place of excellence in healthcare and part of that is developing a centre to facilitate research and basic science," Dr Al Hareth M Al Khater, Chairman, Medical Research Centre at HMC, told a press conference held on the sidelines of the Annual Research Day 2013.
"The state-of-art facility will be hosting basic research. Patients will be coming to receive new treatment and participating in clinical tasks," he added.
Dr Al Khater said that any new treatment will be provide to benefit patients and their safety will be given higher priority.
HMC has achieved a significant increase in research over the last seven years since the introduction of Qatar National Research Fund. It was granted over QR45m for 13 research proposals last year. HMC receives QR50m as internal funding for research from the Supreme Council of Health.
"Research is in different specialities based on national priorities. Top of national priorities is research into diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. We are working with national and international collaborations," said Dr Al Khater.
The Research Day was organised by the Medical Research Centre of HMC at the Hamad Medical City under the theme 'Highlight Research through Participation.'
Many oral and poster presentations were given during the day, providing an opportunity for interactive discussions among local and international researchers and experts.
Best publication awards were presented to four articles.
Two papers were awarded first prize and another two won third prize. No papers were selected for the second prize.
An article on physicians' perceptions, expectations and experience with pharmacists at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar by Manal Zaidan at the Department of Pharmacy of NCCCR, published in the Journal of Multi Disciplinary Healthcare, and an article on clinical management of occult hemothorax: A prospective study of 81 patients by Dr Ismail Mahmood at Trauma Surgery, published in American Journal of Surgery won the first prize of QR10,000 each.
The third prize of QR5,000 was awarded to Imran F Khudair, Department of Pharmacy at HGH for his research on prevalence and impact of cardiovascular risk factors among patients with acute coronary syndrome in the Middle East and Dr Ayman El Menyar, Department of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery and working in Trauma Surgery Section for a paper on impact of multi-approach strategy on acid suppressive medica
© The Peninsula 2013
