(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar is a thought leader in precision health and has the potential for several discoveries with the advantage of the genetic heterogeneity of its population, noted an international expert in precision medicine and genomics.

“The unique genetic profile of the Qatari population provides an opportunity to discover gene variations in causing human diseases. Qatar has the talent and the means to mine these data in addition to the appropriate patient population,” Dr Edison T Liu, professor and special fellow of The Jackson Laboratory, USA told Gulf Times.

Dr Liu was speaking to Gulf Times on the sidelines of the 'Precision Medicine and the Future of Genomics Summit 2025' orgnised by Sidra Medicine, a Qatar Foundation entity. Dr Liu is an international expert in cancer biology and human genetics and was the founding executive director of the Genome Institute of Singapore.

“Qatar is already a leader in the field and the country can convert the upstream discoveries to directly affect patient care. It would be remarkable, when it happens. Qatar can expand this work into clinical implementation and the power of this fundamental science will directly improve patient outcomes,” he highlighted.

Dr Liu said that he believes in small countries, not just to catch up, but to lead the field because of their uniqueness.“Population genetics is key, and genetic heterogeneity is an advantage, not a disadvantage. Since the genetic profile of Qatar differs from those from the West, new genes can be uncovered responsible for diabetes and therefore ideal for discoveries. The size of the population is less relevant than the quality of the data,” he explained.

Dr Liu noted that the major challenge globally in this regard is to obtain appropriate funding to maintain the powerful genomic technologies.

“I think Qatar is on its way of leading the research. I hope that the decision makers will step on the accelerator because there is a lot of competition now in the region,” he noted.

“It is going to be Qatar and some other countries in the region that have such rich data. Qatar with its small size but with rich data can take it to the next level leading to clinical discoveries,” added Dr Liu.

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