Aspetar Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shafallah Center to carry out joint research into the genetic basis for athletic capability, chronic metabolic diseases and cardiac conditions.
The signing took place on Monday during a press conference at Aspetar attended by Dr Khalid bin Jabor, Member of the Shafallah Board of Directors on behalf of Hassan Ali bin Ali, Chairman of Shafallah Board of Directors and Dr Mohammed Al Maadheed, Director General of Aspetar.
The memorandum paves the way for a wide ranging collaboration between Aspetar and Shafallah. Some research projects already in the pipeline include a study into the Genetic Profiling of Athletes, research into Chronic Metabolic Diseases, and Cardiac Profiling.
“We are delighted to sign this agreement with Aspetar as it gives us the opportunity to work together on projects that will help improve the wellbeing, not only of elite athletes but the entire population of Qatar,” said Dr Khalid bin Jabor. He also added that a tangible value in the collaboration between Qatari institutions is the promotion of scientific research in the country, which is exemplified in this MOU.
Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease. In Qatar the prevalence of obesity and pathologies associated with it are increasing. Aspetar and Shafallah will utilise existing expertise and resources from both institutions to understand the complex genetic background of obesity in Qatar.
As part of the cardiac profiling research, Aspetar has examined over 2,300 athletes currently competing in Qatar, discovering 46 serious cardiac cases that warrant genetic and clinical evaluation for their continued participation in competitive sports.
In collaboration with Shafallah Medical Genetics Center, a center under the umbrella of the parent institution, Aspetar has the opportunity to commence ground-breaking projects that will explore recently discovered genes associated with cardiac remodeling in physiological and pathological states and attempt at discovering new genes that contribute to cardiac physiology.
This project aims to provide Aspetar physicians with an additional tool, allowing the genotyping of Qatar-based athletes who may be susceptible to sudden death conditions. Through the research collaboration with Shafallah Aspetar will also be able to identify potential modifier genes and examine their relationship to cardiac structure and function in athletes of differing ethnicities and diseased individuals.
The peninsula