(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: Leading researchers in the field of proteomics convened at Qatar National Library for a two-day conference organised by Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q).
Researchers from Qatar, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Sweden, the US, Canada and South Africa were in attendance at the 2nd WCM-Q Proteomics Conference to discuss the latest discoveries in proteomics, a branch of molecular biology that studies the set of proteins expressed by the genome of an organism.
Proteomics is considered an important field because it helps researchers understand the roles played by proteins in healthy and unhealthy cells, giving insight into fundamental biological processes. Proteomics has many potential applications, including in personalized medicine, biomarker discovery to aid diagnosis of diseases, identifying potential targets for development of new drugs, and characterizing complex molecular pathways that lead to disease, among other uses. Proteomics has also played a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing tools for researchers to analyse and understand the characteristics of COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the molecular level, which aided vaccine design.
The two-day conference began with welcoming remarks by Dr. Javaid Sheikh, Dean of WCM-Q, and Dr. Mohammed Jarrar, senior scientific expert at the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Council (QRDI Council). The main sponsor of the conference was Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).
There were also introductory remarks by the conference organizers, Prof. Dr. Frank Schmidt, associate professor of biology and director of the proteomics core, and Dr. Karsten Suhre, professor of physiology and biophysics and director of the bioinformatics core, both of WCM-Q.
In recent years, Doha has emerged as an important hub and centre of excellence in proteomics research thanks to significant investment in expertise and hi-tech research infrastructure. WCM-Q plans to host an international proteomics conference on a regular basis to support the development of this important area of scientific discovery. The conference also provided a means for bridging the gaps between the complementary specialisms of proteomics, genomics, and bioinformatics to facilitate 'multiomics' approaches to research.
Dr. Sheikh said:“It is extremely gratifying to welcome so many eminent researchers in such an important field of discovery to Qatar to share their expertise in proteomics. We are very grateful to QNRF and the QRDI Council for sponsoring this conference, as we are to Qatar Foundation and the leadership of the State of Qatar for their stalwart support for our mission to conduct cutting-edge biomedical research in Qatar. We believe this area of research offers huge potential for enhancing healthcare and improving our understanding of biology at the fundamental level.”
The conference heard from one of the pioneers of proteomics, Dr. Ruedi Aebersold of the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, who spoke about the use of mass spectrometry technology to measure multiple layers of proteomic information.
In addition to providing updates of important advances in proteomics, the conference also presented an opportunity for researchers to meet and discuss potential collaborations on future research projects. The conference was co-sponsored by East West Trading International, biomedical research company Olink, and Sengenics, a precision medicine company.
Prof. Dr. Schmidt thanked QNRF for their funding support for the conference and the Schmidt and Suhre laboratories at WCM-Q. He also thanked Qatar Foundation for supporting the research efforts at WCM-Q through the Biomedical Research Program (BMRP).