Initiative to support collaborative research with Harvard Medical School

The establishment of the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research has been achieved as a result of the formal collaboration between Harvard Medical International (HMI) and Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC). The Foundation based at Harvard Medical School has been created to support biomedical research and academic programs that will advance new scientific knowledge and create a community of leaders in science and medicine in the Gulf Region. Programs will be implemented through the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research (HMSDC), which will also develop collaborative scientific and medical research between regional laboratories and Harvard Medical School.

“The Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research has been designed as an enduring vehicle for attracting, educating, and supporting the Middle East’s most preeminent and most promising life science researchers,” said Joseph B. Martin, MD, PhD, dean of Harvard Medical School. “It is our hope that research funded through the Foundation will help to drive a resurgence in scientific inquiry and discovery in the Middle East, and lead to innovations that will address the region’s most pressing health problems.”

The Foundation will be administered through an endowment fund designed to support the work of HMSDC as well as collaborative research in the region and around the world. The Dubai Harvard Foundation Board of Trustees has representation from the United Arab Emirates and Harvard Medical School, and is responsible for the overall strategic direction and ratification of all programs. In addition, the Foundation will draw upon the expertise of internationally renowned scientists and researchers who will serve on the Foundation’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Board. The Foundation’s funds and the endowment returns will be managed by the Harvard Management Company.

The Foundation is currently forming the Foundation Council whose members will shape and support the major academic programs at HMSDC.

“The establishment of the Foundation, coupled with the launch last year of the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center, has positioned Dubai at the forefront of regional efforts to advance health care delivery, medical education, and research,” said Robert Thurer, MD, associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and Chief Academic Officer of HMSDC.

For further information please email dhfmr@hms.harvard.edu, or contact Jasmin Mehovic, Program Coordinator, at +1 617-535-6400.