Tomorrow morning, the 5th Pan Arab Human Genetics Conference (5PAHGC) and the Golden Helix Symposium 2013 will be inaugurated. The 2 conferences are organized by CAGS, a center of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences (HMA), in cooperation with the Golden Helix Association for Biomedical Research.

 

The 5PAHGC is held under the theme “Genomics Into Healthcare” from 17 to 19 November at AL Bustan Rotana, Dubai, with the participation of around 6 0 0 doctors and geneticists from more than 15 countries including the United States of America, China, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Tunisia.

 

Dr. Mahmoud Talib Al Ali, Director of CAGS and the chairperson of the scientific committee of the conference said that the 3-days conference will present 50 scientific lectures and 122 posters on 4 main topics including next-generation sequencing, cancer genetics, pharmacogenomics and diagnosis and molecular profiling.

 

“The conference includes 9 lectures from the UAE showcasing the rich Emirati experience in scientific research along the line of human genetics. Importantly, UAE was one of the first Arab countries to respond efficiently to the threat of genetic disorders by adopting appropriate policies and initiating protocols and programs to combat the spread of these disorders nationally”, Al Ali said.

 

“Additionally, the conference will host a workshop around the project, RD-Connect, which is a global endeavor to link up databases, registries and biobanks related to research on rare diseases”, he added.

 

“Among the participants in the conference is Dr. Jun Wang, director of the BGI center in China, one of the biggest genomic centers worldwide. Also, Max Planck institute in Germany will be present through a lecture by Dr. Hilger Ropers who will speak about using next-gen sequencing in studying and diagnosing genetic disorder that can lead to mental retardation”, Al Ali added.

 

“On the sidelines of the conference, CAGS will hold a series of important meetings including a meeting for the members of CAGS’ executive board to discuss the proposed plans for the development of work over the coming years in the center, and the board’s structural changes commensurate with the nature of the next phase of work”, he added.

 

“Another meetings will be held between the officials of CAGS and both the Kuwaiti and Saudi delegations to discuss strengthening the mutual cooperation concerning the 2 books on genetic disorders in Kuwait and KSA which are scheduled to be issued shortly by HMA”, he said.

 

It is worth mentioning that on the occasion of celebrating the10th anniversary of the establishment of CAGS, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences has issued a new book reviews the achievements of CAGS and its important mark in the field of human genetics in the region to be distributed during the conference.