DOHA: The Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), one of Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) three specialised national research institutes, is holding a workshop in Doha in collaboration with Harvard Medical School Office of Global Education.
The workshop until today is first element of Harvard Medical School Cancer Biology and Therapeutics programme (HMS-CBT), a 12-month non-clinical blended-learning certificate programme that provides participants with advanced training in key aspects of cancer research and treatment.
The programme’s first intake includes 63 clinicians and scientists from around the world, with 10 Qataris among 19 participants representing Qatar.
Alongside experts from Harvard Medical School (HMS) and QBRI, the faculty participating in workshops include experts from Hamad Medical Corporation and Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar.
QBRI and HMS announced the signing of an agreement to establish the programme this June.
Over the next year, students will take part in workshops, lectures and interactive webinars.
The residential workshop in Doha is the first of three, and will be followed by similar workshops in London and at Harvard Medical School in Boston next year that will expand on the programme’s key themes.
Dr Hilal Lashuel, Executive Director, QBRI, said, “It is a pleasure to meet the first cohort of exceptional students in the HMS-CBT programme and host them in Doha.
“The HMS and QBRI partnership represents a strong collaborative commitment to provide specialised training in cancer research and therapeutics to future leaders in biomedical science.”
At the end of the programme, participants will be awarded certificates of completion by HMS and will have had the opportunity to develop an understanding of scientific underpinnings of cancer biology and pharmacology in addition to gaining significant insights into drug development pertaining to cancer.
Programme participant Sara Saleh Al Khawaga, who qualified in Qatar as a Doctor of Medicine from Weill Cornell and is a PhD student in Biological and Biomedical Sciences Programme at HBKU, said, “The blended-learning experience of the CBT programme will provide me with deep knowledge and understanding of the cancer biology that shapes modern preventive and therapeutic approaches.
“This unique opportunity will allow me to establish collaborations and exchanges with other experts in our region and across the world,” Al Khawaga added.
The Peninsula
