Fourth session of Hamdan Award for Medical Sciences concludes successfully

H.E. Mirza Al Sayegh thanked the Ministers of Health of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Republic of Yemen and the State of Qatar for participating in the Award ceremony as well as the conference. He said they expressed their great admiration on the ceremony and the events of the conference.

The distinguished visitors thanked and praised the efforts behind the Award and declared their full support during their visit to His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. They praised the efforts being made to support medical sciences in all its forms, especially the activities of the Secretariat, by honoring their visit to the exhibition.

They were keen on sharing all information about the Award, especially on the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies, which is considered as an important body in the award. They promised to support the activities of the centre and also will open channels of communication and partnership among them on the issue.

H.E. Mirza Al Sayegh also stated that His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum acknowledged the participation of Dr. Abdel Fattah Al Awaisi and Prof. Duncan Rice from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Dundee and the Faculty of Medicine in Scotland and the officials from the Al Maktoum Charity Foundation and the Medical College of Dundee.

They took part in the celebrations of the Award and the conference, emphasizing the need for coordination and cooperation in all fields and the exchange of visits between the representatives of the Award and the Board to coordinate their activities.

In conclusion of the Fourth term of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, all speakers and attendees thanked H.H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE and H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and members of the higher supreme council, Rulers of the Emirates.

They also thanked and praised Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Industry, the sponsor of the Award, for his unlimited support to the Award and his continuous care for rewarding the excellence of scientists who work for the honor of science.

Prof. Najib considered that conference was a huge event that was organized every two years and is one of the most important events being organized in United Arab Emirates and in the world in the medical field.

Earlier, the event began with the Award ceremony for 2005-2006, where Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum honored all winners and praised their efforts in research and topical studies in the important fields to do with diseases and their causes and the latest remedial ways to treat them. Their work may also be nominated to for the Noble Prize in Medicine.

He also praised some of the international figures like Prof. Sir Magdi Yacoub for his efforts in serving patients worldwide through the "Chain of Hope." He also applauded Dr. Abdulrahman Al Soumait and his honorable services in humanitarian fields through "Direct Aid Society."

He congratulated all persons honored from the UAE. On top of the list were H.E. Mr. Hamad Abdulrahman Al Madfaa and Dr. Muhammed Yaseen, one of the oldest doctors in the country, in addition to Late Dr. Ahmad Yazbek.

Dr. Najib also spoke about important medical centers that had been honored like the Sharjah Blood Transfusion and Research Center (Blood Bank), considered one of the recognized centers in the Arab World that has been able to get ISO Certificate and lately also has become a member of the International Health Committee.

In addition, he also mentioned the Thalassemia and Genetic Centers in Al Wasel Hospital and the Department of Health and Medical Services in Dubai that have become some of the most important and well-known medical centers in the region and the world with their reputation for highly qualified personnel and medical abilities.

Prof. Najib praised the role of the Sheikh Hamdan Award in supporting scientific research. The Award has supported about fifty (50) scientific researches till now. The Award will also support new groups of researches in the near future. Dr Najib explained that one of the biggest accomplishments of this session was the establishment of the "SHAMS, Journal of Medical Sciences" the medical sciences magazine.

It is sure to have a big influence in the local and international fields and also will influence the thinking of Editors of important international magazines like "The Scientist" and Nature Genetics." They have expressed their interest and readiness to cooperate in publishing articles in "SHAMS, Journal of Medical Sciences."

It is worth mentioning that H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum was one of the first to congratulate this magazine. He assured wholehearted support to make it as a prestigious publication and to make it a well-known medical index, apart from becoming one of the most important medical magazines.

The conference was an opportunity for members of the Center for Arab Genomic Studies, consisting of 20 scientists, who attended the meet and discussed ways to expand the genetics database which the center began establishing after the big success of a trial run in the UAE and Bahrain. Plans have been prepared to include the databases of Oman and Kuwait, in addition to other countries. Doctors will now be able to go through the data to communicate and send their reports about genetic diseases in their own countries for the purpose of studying similar cases elsewhere.

Because of the importance of the center and the services it provides through field studies and continuous enrichment of the database, the members of the Arab Center for Genomic Studies confirmed that one of the basic tasks of the center would be to organize relations between the Arab Center and other organizations that work in genetics in the Arab World plus international centers doing the same work.

They decided that there should be sub-juries also which will put out rules and draw up the framework for organizing the work of the center, including focusing on diverse important topics, especially regarding ethical restrictions in this field. These bodies will also concentrate on organizing scientific conferences to raise awareness in the science of genetic studies.

Also they have discussed at the Human Genome Project in the conference, which is part of the original Human Genome Project, the focus on studying the characteristics and different genetic diseases of all continents of the world like Europe, Africa and Asia, while concentrating on Arab nations. In addition to discussing the preparations for the next conference in December 2007, agreement was also reached that each member of the Arab Council will prepare his own vision and topics for the conference.

The lectures at this conference were of high standard. They were presented by professional practitioners and doctors from the biggest universities in Europe and the USA, which included winners and speakers. The researches funded by the Award were displayed prominently at the conference and soon will be displayed on the webpage of the Award as well.

Prof. Najib Al Khaja praised the fresh award of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Industry, the patron of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, by pointing out that it is awarded to particularly recognize achievements and excellence in the medical field in the Arab World. It has a noteworthy place among other awards presented in the Arab World.

Prof. Najib Al Khaja noted that H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum always did everything possible to support science and scientists by his endless and unlimited support for the Award. This has in turn made it one of the major awards in the world. The Secretary General of the Award added that he is making more efforts to meet H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum's vision for the medical field.

Prof. Najib Al Khaja announced the support of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum by allocating a new budget to support the Center for Arab Genomic Studies and to support genetics activities in general. A new budget will also be drawn up to support the research relating to the Awards and develop its structure.

In conclusion, Prof. Najib Al Khaja thanked the committee and all people involved in making it a successful event that held a high and respected place in society. He noted it was well organized and thanked all companies that participated and contributed in making the conference a huge success such as Artes, Al Bustan Rotana Hotel and Etisal Event Management. He also thanked the Members of the Board of Trustees and General Secretariat and the staff members of the General Secretariat.

Dr. Yousef Abdul Razzaq, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Sheikh Hamdan Awards, stated that one should take a look at the amount of work that was accomplished in two years' time that included choosing the Award titles as well as the names of the winners. The help of international juries was taken for ensuring the selection of the winners.

He also pointed out that the continuous efforts put in to organize the conference to attract scientists and distinguished attendees from all over the world was in accordance with keeping in mind the high status of the award. He confessed that it was only now that the conference had successfully concluded, they could breathe freely! In his concluding speech, Dr. Yousef Abdul Razzaq thanked the scientific committee for the success of the conference.