Dubai (20th January 2020) - The largest gathering of geneticists and researchers in the Arab world, the 8th Pan Arab Human Genetics Conference concluded its events today. The conference, organized by the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS) under the aegis of the Sheikh Hamdan Award, is a biennial event aimed at bringing together diverse expertise and resources in the field of medical genetics in the Arab World. The theme for this year was ‘Clinical Genomics’ and the scientific program focused on the genomics of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Metabolic Disorders, Dysmorphology, and Population Genomics and Human Disease.
Dr. Ahmad Abou Tayoun of Al Jalila Children’s Hospital discussed the ‘Current State of Genomic Testing for Neurodevelopmental Disorders’ while Dr. Alain Verloes from the Paris-VII Denis Diderot University spoke on the ‘Genetics of Intellectual Disability’. In the evening session, Dr. Anita Rauch of the University of Zurich explored ‘Dysmorphology in the Era of Clinical Genomics’ while Dr. Sally Ann-Lynch from University College Dublin spoke about adopting a ‘Systematic Approach in an NGS era’.
Attendees at the conference noted the networking opportunities that were provided and the camaraderie among delegates at the event. An invited speaker, Dr. Majid AlFadhel from the King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, said, “It was my honor and pleasure to be part of the 8th Pan Arab Human Genetics Conference. CAGS has proven itself as an advanced centre providing beautiful statistical data that is helpful to both physicians and scientists. As geneticists, we support this bright endeavor and are proud to have such an institute in the UAE”.
H.E. Abdulla Bin Souqat, , Executive Director of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Award for Medical Sciences thanked everyone, and spoke about the success of the conference. He also conveyed his sincere thanks and gratitude to H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, the UAE Minister of Finance and the Patron of the Award for his continuous support to the award and the CAGS activities.
At the end of the day he awarded prizes for the best oral and poster presentations. In his concluding remarks, he noted that CAGS was deeply grateful to the dedicated scientists serving as members of the organizing and scientific Committees of the conference, who had worked hard to bring the conference to fruition and gave a special thanks to the members of the Arab Council, Executive Board, and Advisory Committee of CAGS, for their continuous guidance.
Billed as one of the most awaited events in the calendar of human genetics, the conference lived up to its promise with plenary lectures by leading scientists, lively forum discussions, oral and poster presentations by budding young researchers and exhibitions by major biotechnology companies.
