REPORT ON THE PROCEEDINGS 

of 

“Strategy for Science: Young Investigators Conference” 

an event hosted by the 

DUBAI HARVARD FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH   

January 4, 2007
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

INTRODUCTION

More than 70 young and aspiring research scientists gathered in Dubai in January to help chart the future course of scientific research in the region. The event, entitled “Young Investigators Conference: Strategy for Science,” was held under the auspices of the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research, and hosted by the Foundation’s Executive Director, Dr. Robert L. Thurer.

This Report on the Proceedings of the conference is designed to summarize the day’s events as well as the outcomes of a series of collaborative discussions that involved both conference faculty and delegates. The overarching goal of the conference was to introduce the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research to members of the local science community, and identify the challenges and opportunities in building a robust and sustainable life sciences infrastructure in the Gulf Region. The conference attendees included postgraduate scientists as well as academic leaders from regional medical schools.

YOUNG INVESTIGATORS CONFERENCE

Godolphin Ballroom, Emirates Towers, Dubai
United Arab Emirates

Thursday, January 4th, 2007
9:30 am – 3:45 pm

9:30 am       Registration

10:00 am     Welcome:

Robert L. Thurer, MD
Chief Academic Officer
Harvard Medical School Dubai Center

                    Opening Remarks:

Dr. Ali Bin Shakar,
Undersecretary to the UAE Minister of Health

10:15 am     Overview:

Robert L. Thurer, MD
Chief Academic Officer
Harvard Medical School Dubai Center

11:00 am     Presentation:

Dr. Mohamed Sayegh
Professor of Transplantation Medicine
Harvard Medical School
From Bench to Bedside - Translating Basic
Research to the Clinic

12:00 noon   BREAK

12:30 pm      Working Sessions and Reports

2:30 pm        Lunch

3:15 pm        Concluding Remarks

MORNING PROGRAM

Opening Remarks from the UAE Ministry of Health

The conference was convened with opening remarks from Dr. Ali Bin Shakar, Undersecretary to the United Arab Emirates Minister of Health. Dr. Bin Shakar welcomed the faculty and delegates and emphasized the importance—in this place and in this time—of developing a research infrastructure for the Gulf Region. “We look forward to the participation of these young investigators in the development of research in our region,” he said, adding that creating a robust research infrastructure for Gulf Region scientists is key to the “economic and social progress” of Dubai and the UAE. 

Introduction to the Dubai-Harvard Collaboration

Dr. Robert L. Thurer, Executive Director of the Foundation, provided a comprehensive overview of the Foundation. He began by reviewing the origins of the collaborative partnership between Dubai Healthcare City and Harvard Medical International, and described how the Foundation and the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research are part of an interconnected triumvirate encompassing efforts to raise the standards for health care delivery, education, and research in the Gulf.

Dr. Thurer drew upon his own experiences as a thoracic surgeon to emphasize the crucial role played by researchers, educators, and students in elevating the standards of health care: “High-quality health care cannot exist and sustain itself without medical education and research, both of which continually inform practice and provide a stimulus for innovations at the patient bedside.”

Since the beginning of the partnership between Dubai Healthcare City and Harvard Medical International, many have wondered if the partners’ collaborative vision includes the creation of a new medical school. Thurer pointed out that the partners had assessed the vibrant medical education culture already in place in the Gulf Region and decided that the most pressing need was for postgraduate training opportunities.

Creating the Foundation: The Model and the Goals

Dr. Thurer, by way of background, explained that the Foundation is based on a model earlier developed at Harvard Medical School. The Giovanni Armenise-Harvard Foundation was established in 1996 by the Italian Count Giovanni Auletta Armenise, who was grateful for the care his wife received at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. During the course of her illness, Count Armenise came to realize that the most sophisticated therapies currently available could not stay the inexorable advance of the disease. He understood that inadequate understanding of the underlying chemistry and biology of cancer cells prevented the development of more effective treatment. Together with his wife they resolved to begin a foundation that would support research.

The Armenise-Harvard Foundation was established with an endowment of $50 million that in a decade has grown to $87 million. During the same time, over $40 million has been used to support medical research. Numerous Italian scientists have benefited from its collaborative research programs, and today two of the first scientists funded by the endowment are operating their own laboratories in Italy.

The Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research is pursuing a similar approach. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, United Arab Emirates Vice-President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, pledged $13.6 million in 2006 to launch a major fundraising effort with the goal of creating an endowment fund to support the Foundation’s programs. To date the Foundation has raised more than $40 million, and expects to reach its $100 million target within the next two years.

As Dr. Thurer explained, the purpose of this endowment is to “take leading scientists and give them the support to participate in groundbreaking research efforts at internationally renowned research institutions, including Harvard Medical School, and to develop research programs in ‘twin labs’ established at their own institutions in the Gulf.” The funds generated by the endowment and awarded to selected scientists will be used to equip laboratories with state-of-the-art technologies, recruit postdoctoral researchers and other necessary staff, and provide training in research best practices.

“The ultimate goal,” said Dr. Thurer, “is to support individuals who will be senior scientists in the Gulf Region.” He added, “I hope that the collaborations developed through these research programs will yield far more than what is supported by the Foundation, and create opportunities to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities available in the Middle East.”

Keynote Lecture

The morning session concluded with a keynote lecture delivered by Mohamed Sayegh, MD, Professor of Transplantation Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sayegh, a graduate of the American University of Beirut, told the audience of young scientists, “I was in your position twenty years ago.”

Adding to Dr. Thurer’s opening remarks about the critical link between doctors and researchers, Dr. Sayegh stressed the importance to research of doctors who interact with patients, and who are charged with using laboratory advances to transform health care. He said, “Research is not confined merely to the test tubes of basic science, but must also be concerned with how to translate new knowledge from the bench to the bedside.”

Dr. Sayegh drew upon his research experiences over the last two decades to provide the attendees with a perspective on how careers in research must be nurtured and navigated. He presented a set of practical guidelines to help aspiring scientists begin careers in research and identify and pursue opportunities. Among the guidelines discussed were the following:

• Choosing a strong research program led by a capable principal investigator with a good record of funding, publishing, and mentoring trainees
• Choosing a compelling project that is feasible, doable, and appeals to one’s interests
• Networking in academia, including collaborating with other faculty and fellows and attending major meetings and seminars
• Soliciting advice from mentors, other faculty, fellows, and collaborators
• Publishing at the right time, in the right venues
• Preparing for a job search
• Identifying the right kind of job, whether deciding between the academic and private sectors, or between basic and clinical science

AFTERNOON PROGRAM

During the afternoon session, the conference delegates worked in pre-arranged groups, each aided by a facilitator from the conference faculty and staff. Each group was charged with thinking about one of four questions, and presenting their ideas to the conference. The questions were designed to help identify the challenges and opportunities in research in the Gulf Region, and to establish important common ground between the Foundation and the scientists in the region. The working groups and reports to the conference elicited a spirited discussion among the faculty and delegates about the future directions of research in the region.

The four issues addressed were as follows:

• Characteristics of high-quality research
• Challenges and barriers associated with building a research infrastructure in the Gulf Region
• The interplay between the academic community and the public and private health care sectors
• Opportunities for the Foundation to help nurture intellectual capital present in the Gulf Region
  

Characteristics of High-Quality Research

Two of the working groups at the conference focused on identifying the elements of high-quality research, with international standards for the conduct of research and publication in recognized peer reviewed journals as general benchmarks.

Reports from the two groups and comments from other attendees indicated widespread agreement about what the kind of high standards the young investigators would like to see prevail in the Gulf Region. It was agreed that high-quality research should be original, doable, sustainable, and relevant to the region or community in which it were conducted. It should be conducted within a rigorous regulatory framework and governance structure that helped define ethical issues while enabling researchers to comply with international rules. All agreed that the quality of the products of such research would depend on solid planning, careful selection of the studied group, support and feedback from external and internal reviewers, and, when appropriate, interdisciplinary collaboration.

Of the research’s findings, the conference attendees stressed the importance of honesty, integrity, and accuracy, and emphasized that good research presents additional questions—it is a link in the chain of understanding, rather than the final word.

There was controversy regarding the advisability of the DHFMR funding a regional medical journal for the Gulf. Some of the attendees felt that having a high-quality, peer-reviewed, listed journal was essential. Others felt that it was unlikely that such a project could be successful at this time.

* * * * *

Challenges and barriers associated with building a research infrastructure in the Gulf Region

The discussion of what constitutes high-quality research led naturally to consideration of the characteristics of a high-quality research infrastructure. Two working groups grappled with the challenges and barriers standing between scientists in the Gulf Region and the kind of top-flight research regularly appearing in major medical journals. The challenges and barriers might be categorized in three interrelated areas:

Cultural, Systemic, and Environmental Factors

A common theme heard throughout the afternoon session concerned the absence of a collaborative research culture in the Gulf Region. Several attendees noted the lack of collaboration between scientists, whether dispersed throughout the region or working in the same community. There is no centralized database that records what research is conducted, and where, and by whom, and so efforts may be duplicated, information is not shared, and the networking that is the catalyst for so many fruitful collaborations does not happen. Further, many of the scientists felt that the concept of intellectual property protection has lagged in the region; this has deterred researchers from sharing ideas and stymied collaboration.

Others noted that the bureaucratic system governing research was too difficult to navigate, with rules that varied from place to place, uncertainty with regards to how funds for research are awarded, and inconsistency restrictions around how funds can be used.

Finally, several conference delegates noted the lack of awareness and understanding of research among the general public in the region—of why research is important, what it can accomplish, and why it should be funded and supported.

Human and Technical Resource Factors

A major objective of the Foundation is to encourage the growth of human capital within the region, and this was emphasized as a critical need. Supporting the development of senior scientists is one thing, but there is also a major shortage of skilled technicians and fellows to help carry out research. A number of conference delegates stressed the need for more conferences, seminars, and workshops designed to share knowledge and provide research training. These would also help to nurture a network of like-minded professionals in the region.

Technical resources are also sorely needed. Local laboratories need an infusion of new technology in order to get state-of-the-art research initiatives off the ground, attract fellow scientists, and sustain their work. They need new equipment to replace outmoded research tools, and they need access to animal model facilities.

Funding Issues

The issue of funding was no doubt on many minds during the conference, and many agreed that increasing overall funding for research in the region would be critical to the development of an infrastructure. This would include funding to support individual scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and technicians; the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment and supplies; the development of animal model centers; support for multicentered regional trials that would produce results and spur collaboration; and the training required to make all of these pieces sustainable.

* * * * *

The interplay between the academic community and the public and private health care sectors

Conference delegates and faculty alike acknowledged the important role that the academic community—including researchers—has to play in catalzying innovations in the public and private health care sectors. The topic elicited a spirited discussion that revealed that many of the delegates question whether such an academic community really exists. To the extent that it does, this community represents the fragmented efforts of groups of faculty and researchers who by and large are unaware of the others’ efforts. Delegates therefore called for the establishment of a kind of centralized body, made up of representatives from the private, public, and academic sectors, that would:

• establish guidelines and regulations
• gather, maintain, and make available data on researchers, research programs, and research centers
• oversee the development of consortia and resource centers
• work with regional universities to see that research training is integrated into curricula, and
• take the lead in increasing awareness among researchers and institutions (public, private, and academic) and in the general public.
  
  

* * * * *

Opportunities for the Foundation to help nurture intellectual capital present in the Gulf Region 

At the conclusion of the afternoon program, the delegates and faculty came to the final topic of discussion, the one most clearly looking forward. As one of the working groups presented it, the Foundation’s role could be viewed as managing the space where individuals, facilities, and funding intersect:

To impact individuals
Raise awareness:

• General public
• Students, including undergraduates and postgraduates

Create training opportunities:

• Incorporate research training into curricula
• More workshops, seminars, and conferences
• Programs for postgraduates
• Student exchange programs

To help develop infrastructure and facilities
Focus on the software:

• Intellectuals
• Collaborators

Focus on the hardware:

• Open existing facilities to research
• Create centralized laboratories
• Spur the development of new facilities

Focus on the support:

• Equipment
• Services
• Supplies

To help drive funding:
Get to know every regional funding group:

• Private individuals and organizations
• The government
• Charitable initiatives
• Donors of fellowships, scholarships, and grants

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Dr. Sehamuddin Galadari, one of the faculty members of the conference, is Associate Professor at the United Arab Emirates University and a member of the Foundation’s Advisory Council. Like many of the attendees, he began his research career abroad, at Duke University in the U.S. He attended the conference as a facilitator helping the participants think through the challenges and opportunities related to research in the Gulf Region. At the close of the conference, he summarized the prevailing mood of optimism surrounding this initial gathering: “One of the most important outcomes of this conference is that we have identified the issues we face collectively and identified common ground that will be vital for the Foundation to achieve its objectives.”

Among the challenges cited by the attendees were the need for more funding to support research, skilled technicians and research fellows, animal models and equipment, and greater cooperation between institutions and individual scientists. Many stressed the importance of awareness-building—in the academic community and the general public—regarding the crucial role of research in the region’s development.

Another conference leader, Dr. Abdulmonem Al-Hayani of the King Abdulaziz University School of Medicine, said that the research infrastructure developed in the Gulf Region should be designed carefully to serve the community, with the fruits of scientific inquiry closely attuned to regional health challenges. He also emphasized that it would take more than funding to make this happen. “We are talking about changing a culture, so we have to involve all of the stakeholders in the community at this time,” he said.

CONFERENCE DELEGATES

Abdilshakur Abdulle
United Arab Emirates University

Fatima Abidi
United Arab Emirates University

Chaker Adra
King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KSA)

Ola G. Al Ahdab

Mushfika Ahmed
United Arab Emirates University

Fahimah Al Awadhi

Haifa Al Awadhi
United Arab Emirates University

Mohammed Al Balushi
Karolinska Institute

Lina Albitar
University of New Mexico (US)

Lihadh Al Gazali
United Arab Emirates University

Suleiman Al-Hammadi
United Arab Emirates University

Abdulmonem Al Hayani
King Abdul Aziz University

Bassam Ali
United Arab Emirates University

Sameera Mohamed Ali
DOHMS

Sumaya Ali
United Arab Emirates University

Khaled Al Kattan
Al Faisal University (KSA)

Salem Al Kindi
Sultan Qaboos University (Oman)

Ali Al Madhani
Sohar Hospital

Abdulla Al Maniri

Ahmad Al Marzouqi
United Arab Emirates University

Alia Al Moalla
Rashid Hospital (UAE)

Sheikha Al Muhairi
United Arab Emirates University

Hajar AL-Rajaibi
Sultan Qaboos University (Oman)

Habiba Sayeed Al-Safar
United Arab Emirates University

Muna Al Saffar
McGill University (Canada)

Amna Al Shamsi
Queen’s University (UK)

Mariam Al-Shamsi
United Arab Emirates University

Dena A. Amer
UAE University

Souhaila Mohamed Shareef Awadhi
Fujairah Hospital (UAE)

Hutoof Jamal Ayoub
Dubai Medical College

Hadiah M. Azzam
DOHMS

Mohammed Baniyas
United Arab Emirates University

Riad Bayoumi
Sultan Qaboos University (Oman)

Fatehia Aly Bayoumy
Dubai Medical College

Penelope Bell
University of Sharjah (UAE)

Tavoos Hassan Bhat
Bundelkhand University (India)

Hani Eid
United Arab Emirates University

Omar El-Agnaf
United Arab Emirates University

Wisal El-Assaad
University of Montreal (Canada)

Abdel Basset El Essawy
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)

Fariba Fattahi
University of Sharjah (UAE)

Sehamuddin Galadari
United Arab Emirates University

Hamid Hashemi
University College London (UK)

Mohammed Osman Hassan
Sultan Qaboos University (Oman)

Nahed Mohamed Ismail
Theodor Bilharz Research Institute (Egypt)

M. Azzam Kayasseh
Dr. Kayasseh Medical Clinic (UAE)

Froogh Khadri

Marwa Khalil
Dubai Medical College

Sabeen LuLu
Dubai Medical College for Girls

Ra'ed Abu Odeh
University of Sharjah (UAE)

Najlaa Raafat
Dubai Medical College

K.G. Ramesh
Gulf Medical College (UAE)

Tahir A. Rizvi
United Arab Emirates University

Nadia Al Rouby
Dubai Medical College

Doaa Sultan
Dubai Medical College

Martha Torres

Nada Yassein
University of Jordan

Facilitators from Harvard Medical International, the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center, and the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research:

Robert Thurer

Arlene Asgard

Chris Railey

Robin Wheatley

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THANK YOU to all of the delegates and faculty members who attended “Strategy for Science: Young Investigators Conference” and offered their insights and knowledge into the challenges and opportunities we face together in our mission to improve health care delivery, education, and research in the Gulf Region.

MANY WORDS OF THANKS to the committed staff of the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research, the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center Institute for Postgraduate Education & Research, Dubai Healthcare City, and Harvard Medical International for their hard work in making this event a success.