Dubai, 20th of January 2016: Tomorrow, the Center for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS), a center of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Makotum Award for Medical Sciences, will open the activities of the 6th Pan Arab Human Genetics Conference at Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai, with the participation of 35 countries include; UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, UK, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Russia, Finland, India, Australia, and USA.

 

The main theme of the 3-days conference is the “Multifactorial Disorders”, which are major diseases caused by interplay between genetic and environmental factors.

 

Dr. Mahmoud Talib Al Ali, the Director of CAGS and the Chairman of the Scientific Committee, highlighted that the conference is accredited for18 CME hours from the UAE Ministry of Health, and discusses 114 studies, from which 18 will be delivered as lectures and 96 will be presented as posters.

 

Additionally, in collaboration with the "Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute", which is one of the world’s leading human genetics research foundations, and during the 3rd day of the conference, a workshop will be held on "Genetic Counseling", with the participation of the genetic counselors Dr. Christine Patch and Dr. Anna Middleton.

 

The conference is held with the participation of a number of prominent speakers, including Professor Stylianos Antonarakis, the President of the Human Genome Organization, Professor Mark McCarthy, Oxford University, Professor Alain Verloes, University of Paris VII, and Professor Sir John Bern, Newcastle University.

 

In conjunction with the conference, copies of the new CAGS’ booklet entitled "Multifactorial Disorders" has been distributed to a number of health institutions and NGOs within the UAE, with the aim of spreading awareness among lay people who are the main focus of fighting these diseases in regards of its nature, symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis, and management.