Qatar Precision Health Institute Advances Precision Health Through Transformative Workshop

(MENAFN- BLJ Worldwide)
The workshop was co-organized with IARC/WHO and Thermo Fisher Scientific, with 17 countries participating.

Doha - Qatar 1st December 2024: Qatar Precision health Institute (QPHI), a global hub of genomics and biobanking and a national center for research under Qatar Foundation, hosted a two-day workshop, from December 1 to 2, titled, ‘Setting up Large-scale Programs to Empower Precision Health’.
Co-organized with the International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization (IARC/WHO) and Thermo Fisher Scientific, delegates from 17 countries across the MENA region, Africa, Asia, and Europe participated in the workshop. The event focused on high-level strategic priorities and objectives for national biobanking and population genomics programs.
QPHI, IARC/WHO, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, recognize the value in sharing biobanking and predictive genomics knowledge to international science and policy leaders, empowering them to establish their own national initiatives. The two-day workshop provided international leaders with strategic and practical awareness on leveraging genomic data for precision health and predictive genomics, utilizing population-based cohort studies for patient-centered outcomes, and the significance of adequate biobanking practices in precision health.

During one of the workshops, Prof. Said Ismail, Acting President of QPHI, commented: “We have accumulated extensive knowledge to share with our peers and are doing so with the best research partners. Achieving what we have so far is down to our far-reaching experience, and we aim to share this with fellow experts looking to start their own national programs.”

Experts from QPHI and other national partners led the conversation on critical topics such as building strategy and governance, public health, benchmarking business models, building human capacity, education and training, and predictive genomics. The workshop also covered the technical aspects of genomics programs, with experts showcasing the best practices and sharing practical and theoretical experiences on infrastructure setup and building the necessary collaborations for developing national genome and biobanking programs.


Dima Darwish, the Genomics Education Expert at QPHI, also emphasized: “Qatar is a thought leader in genomics, and as one of the earliest adopters of precision health, we’re proud to invite scientists and policymakers from all over world for this important workshop. This two-day event serves as a benchmarking tool to share our expertise and encourage the international research community to become involved in such initiatives.”

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About Qatar Precision Health Institute
Qatar Precision Health Institute (QPHI) is a national center for research and implementation under Qatar Foundation.
Its primary focus is to enhance precision healthcare quality and value through comprehensive study of genomics and multi-omics.
QPHI was conceptualized to leverage more than 10 years of valuable data collection, research, and ecosystem development accomplished by Qatar Biobank and Qatar Genome. The goal is to lead in preventing and curing health issues through personalized approaches, and consequently empower and enable precision health practices leading to healthy and vibrant communities. For more information, please visit

About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue exceeding $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies or increasing productivity in their laboratories, we are here to support them. Our global team of more than 100,000 colleagues delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit

About IARC’s Mission: Cancer research for cancer prevention
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization.
The objective of IARC is to promote international collaboration in cancer research. The Agency is interdisciplinary, bringing together skills in epidemiology, laboratory sciences, and biostatistics to identify the causes of cancer so that preventive measures may be adopted and the burden of disease and associated suffering reduced. A significant feature of the Agency is its expertise in coordinating research across countries and organizations; its independent role as an international organization facilitates this activity. IARC has a particular interest in conducting research in low- and middle-income countries through partnerships and collaborations with researchers in these regions.

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