QBRI team attends stem cell research conference

Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, has been represented at the worlds largest stem cell conference. A three-member delegation from QBRI attended the International Society of Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) conference recently to gain international exposure for the institutes new stem cell centre, and to recruit scientists and post-doctoral researchers for its stem cell programme. Dr Mohamed Emara, who heads a research programme in stem cell at QBRI, attended the scientific sessions and led recruiting efforts at the conference, held in Yokohama, Japan. Marketing staff members Cherryl Madrelejo and Bradley Steffens manned the QBRI exhibition booth. The stand attracted more than 700 visitors, 110 of whom were interested in working with QBRI and provided their personal details to the institutes delegates. Dr Abdelali Haoudi, acting executive director of QBRI, said the delegation carried the message of Qatar National Vision 2030 to the most prestigious stem cell conference in the world, and returned with a significant number of viable candidates for the open positions within QBRI. Each year, the International Society of Stem Cell Research conference showcases the most up-to-date discoveries made in various stem cell research labs around the world, he explained. Now, the global community of stem cell researchers knows that a world-class stem cell research centre has been established in Doha as part of Qatars commitment to move from a carbon-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. Dr Emara stated that the interest in Qatar and QBRI surpassed all expectations and he had several side discussions with scientists in the field, including the current and previous presidents of ISSCR, all of whom are very excited about the initiation of the stem cell research programme in Qatar. They are looking forward to our active participation in stem cell research and our contributions to the field. In addition, many of them are very interested in scientific collaboration. In terms of recruitment, we conducted several initial employment interviews during the conference, and have received dozens of CVs since we returned to Doha. QBRIs participation in the ISSCR conference has helped jumpstart human capacity-building in the area of stem cell research that is vital to the future of Qatar. Dr Emara attributes the success of the QBRI participation in the conference to the co-ordination between QBRI team members to achieve all their goals in the areas of science, recruitment, networking, and publicity. All the aims behind attending that conference were completely achieved, he said. According to marketing analyst Cherryl Madrelejo, 54% of the delegates who left contact information with QBRI are interested in employment either as scientists or as post-doctoral researchers. A further 17% are keen to collaborate with QBRI on stem cell research projects from their own laboratories in Japan, Australia, South Korea, the UK, the US, and elsewhere. Bradley Steffens, marketing consulting for health sciences at QBRI, recalled that the QBRI booth was filled with delegates right up until the announcement that the exhibit was over. Interested delegates continued to visit the QBRI booth on the last day while other exhibitors were closing their booths and packing up their displays, he added.

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QBRI team attends stem cell research conference