Qatar University (QU) is glad to announce the official launch of a new Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research Unit (BPRU) under QU Health, which started operation in January 2017, to provide closer alignment and integration of health research sector at QU with the aim to create a dynamic and diverse environment that embraces qualified experts in health care professional education and practice.
QU Health also includes College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, and the recently established College of Dental Medicine.The BPRU brings together and unite researchers from several colleges forming multidisciplinary research teams that share resources and infrastructure. In this dynamic and ever changing environment of global research landscape, universities are adopting to forming theme-based interdisciplinary structures, where researchers that are sharing common vision and interests collaborate across organizational and work at different science disciplines’ boundaries. A research strategy strongly promoting interdisciplinary research for optimizing use of resources, maximizing research/education output, and creating a framework that builds on academic success is essential. In terms of educational strategy, one of the scopes of the BPRU is to give emphasis on the establishment of interdisciplinary disease-based graduate programs around the various thematic research areas according to Qatar National priorities.
Moreover, the interdisciplinary disease-approached research with a “problem and solution-based approach” adopted by this unit will aim to address Qatar’s grand health challenges with the ultimate goal to support the country’s efforts to advance health care. At present, BPRU hosts and supports more than 40 Principal Investigators and supporting personnel from the 4 different QU Health Colleges. The Unit strives and embrace consolidating health research sector at QU through building critical mass of researchers from other QU Colleges and Centers with overlapping research scope. The research thematic areas of BPRU have been strategically selected based on the research strengths and capacities that QU currently possesses. BPRU aims to focus on research addressing the grand challenges that Qatar’s health sector is currently facing. Thus, BPRU research focuses on the following mains themes of biomedical & pharmaceutical research: Cancer, Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, Cardiovascular Diseases, Infectious Diseases and Reproductive Medicine. In addition, another important research area is the Drug discovery and development, which will be an integrated component in all of the aforementioned thematic areas.
Qatar University launched a new Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research Unit (BPRU) under QU Health, to provide closer alignment and integration of health research sector at QU #QNA pic.twitter.com/d4RNKeoVw1
— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) October 18, 2020
We at BPRU are actively pursuing national and international research ties aiming to secure more funding opportunities and eying impactful meaningful quality research. Dr. Michail Nomikos, the Head of Research and Graduate studies of the College of Medicine and the Acting Head of the BPRU mentioned, “It took almost a year of preparations until the official establishment of this Unit. Thanks to the hard work of the QU Health implementation committee and Dr. Feras Alali (Director of Research and Graduate Studies at QU Health), as well as the continuous support from the Deans of the 4 QU Health Colleges, the Vice President for Medical and Health Sciences and the President of Qatar University the Unit has now become functional”. Dr. Feras Alali added, “We are excited to witness the rapid expansion and the structural solidification of biomedical research at QU Health under this new unit. I totally believe this unit would be a huge asset and step forward in securing QU among the key players in health research in Qatar and the globe”.
Dr. Asmaa Althani, the Associate Vice President for Strategic Planning mentioned, “The new established unit will support the Graduates programs in QU Health, considering the future direction of this new identity to accommodate both Health Cluster PhD arms (Biomedical & Pharmaceuticals sciences, as well as Population Medicine)”.
Finally, the Vice President for Medical and Health Sciences, Dr. Egon Toft said, “with this initiative we have the ambition to drive the basic medical sciences research to a higher level in the country and be a strong collaborative pillar to do this in collaboration with the other institutions doing basic medical research in Qatar”.