Interns of Qatar Biobank’s Qatar Genome Project conduct experiments.

Qatar Biobank, a member of Qatar Foundation, concluded its month-long summer internship on  “Qatar Genome Project,” attended by five female interns who are students and graduates of Qatar University and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
After a competitive selection process which screened 22 applicants, the students - Mariam Yasser Ali, Tala Hussam Ismail, and Tanzila Zenith - were enrolled in the biomedical sciences programme at Qatar University, in addition to Tasnim Fadl, a Qatar University medical science graduate and Njoud al-Naama, a Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City graduate currently working at Sidra Medical and Research Center.
The Qatar Genome Project was announced by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation and vice chairperson of the Supreme Council of Health, during the World Innovation Summit on Health 2013. The project seeks to assist in creating a roadmap for the study of genetics and its functions, and heralds a deep change in the future approach to treatment through personalised medicine.
Dr Asmaa al-Thani, head and associate professor of Biomedical Sciences, said: “The internship represents the start of summer training series in Qatar Biobank, which offers a wealth of opportunities for students of different majors. In the future, the summer internship will include a scope of different fields such as science, law and IT.”
The summer internship, the first of its kind, created an opportunity for the interns to work on the pioneer Qatar Genome Project in which Qatar Biobank contributes as a member of Qatar’s National Genome Committee. A group of professors and researchers oversaw the summer training programme.
Dr Nahla Afifi, scientific and education director of Qatar Biobank said: “Qatar Biobank aims at serving the Qatari citizens by working towards discovering how life, the environment and genetics affect public health in the state. Such discoveries will help develop effective medical treatment and disease prevention, which will improve the health of future generations in Qatar.”
The interns had the opportunity to participate in research based on the Qatari society’s perception and understanding of the Qatar Genome Project. Participants were also introduced to the ethical and legal aspects of the project.
The interns worked on tracking and analysing genome projects around the world to learn about similar experiences and understand how other communities perceive them. Participants also researched better communication tactics that can be adopted to clarify the nature of this project and all its components to the Qatari community in the best way possible.
During the internship, students and graduates attended lectures delivered by doctors and professors on Genome Ethics, Science of Genome, History of Human Genome and Personalised Medicine and were introduced to working methodology of Qatar Biobank and the latest technologies and protocols used in the genome project.