Winning team from Parkhouse School — Veronica Mugi, Eiman Ali and Noor Alanni — with the officials.
Doha College brought together medical experts from Sidra Research & Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) for its inaugural Medical Review Conference. Developed by Doha College the Medical Review Conference is open to all schools across Qatar and aims to inspire and encourage students wishing to develop their careers within medicine and healthcare.
The judging panel drawn from medical experts from Sidra and WCMC-Q assessed the presentations. Six student teams presented their research findings. Presentations included topics such as: Designer Babies — the future of a genetically modified generation, Optogenetics — a light for the future and The Bionic Eye — see into the future.
All students competed for cash prizes plus the chance to join WCMC-Q’s summer enrichment programme. Following the judges’ scorings, the prizes were awarded by Dr Basim Uthman, Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Neurology WCMC-Q and Dr William Greer Director of Clinical Epidemiology at Sidra Medical & Research Center.
The winning team from Parkhouse School were Veronica Mugi, Eiman Ali and Noor Alanni whose presentation The Bionic Eye – see into the future captured everyone’s imagination. In second place were Akshita Srivastava and Ayah Mekhaimar from Doha College who gave an insightful presentation on Optogenetics — a light for the future and in third place Dukhan School’s team, Cleo Zarina Reyes, Per Rin Tan and Rawan Abouel-Hassan with a fascinating presentation on Designer Babies — the future of a genetically modified generation.
Helen Braben, Head of Biology at Doha College explained the rationale behind the conference. “We have an increasing number of students applying for medicine and we saw the opportunity to grow our existing medical review group and develop a conference to help not just our students but all students across Qatar. Medical university places are in high demand and students need to prove their research and medical knowledge.”
“The level of knowledge and commitment expressed by the students is outstanding. I am very hopeful that this conference will further stimulate their passion for medical research, and encourage them to seriously consider medicine and its related fields as potential career paths - perhaps leading to future career opportunities through Sidra,” said Sidra’s Director of Clinical Epidemiology, William Greer. In his closing remarks judge Dr Basim Uthman from WCMC-Q précised the judge’s views.
“I have been inspired by what I have heard this evening. It was an honour to listen to these students and judge their presentations, the quality was excellent and as judges we had some difficult decisions in choosing the winners. My advice to all students’ choosing a medical career is simple: make the most of your time, be passionate about what you do and remember patients are at the heart of every decision you make as medical professionals.”
Teresa Woulfe Senior Vice-Principal of Doha College summed up the event: “Our aim for this conference is simply to inspire the next generation of medical experts. The conference will become an annual event in January and we encourage any school in Qatar to enter a team and benefit from the expert knowledge of our judging panel. If your school is interested in taking part email [email protected] for an information pack and invitation.”
The Peninsula
