Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has approved the formation of the Board of Emirati Genome Program. His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office, will chair the Board.
The Emirati Genome Program aims to provide preventive and personalized healthcare for the Emirati population. This is achieved by understanding citizens’ genetic makeup to deliver the next wave of key innovations that holds the promise for a healthier local community now and for future generations.
The program seeks to provide the best healthcare system for all Emiratis, understand the nature of the genetic diseases prevalent among the UAE population, implement personalized medicine and provide accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Accurate genomic studies can help in the the prevention of genetic and chronic diseases in the future generations, equip national competencies to re-shape the future of healthcare policies in cooperation with the highest medical research centers, foster the country’s position as a global innovation hub in the health sector, and raise the country’s profile in the Global Competitiveness Index.
The council will oversee the execution of government genomics programmes and propose legislations to govern the field in coordination with health regulators across the country. It will regulate data acquisition and storage and establish a system for issuing ethics and consent approvals for all genomics programmes.
As part of its role in governing multiple novel programmes, including the national biobanking programme, the council will support technology start-ups and companies and build partnerships with world-leading technology firms to drive cutting-edge genomics research.
Among the council’s responsibilities is supporting new innovative therapies for rare and chronic diseases and developing technical training and graduate programmes and knowledge incubators to build the next generation of omics professionals.
The Board includes Minister of Cabinet Affairs HE Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Health and Prevention HE Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Minister of State for Advanced Technology HE Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications HE Omar Al Olama, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Health HE Sheikh Abdulla Mohammed Al Hamed, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority HE Awad Saghir Al Ketbi, Vice Chancellor of Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences Dr. Amer Ahmad Sharif, President of Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence Professor Eric Xing and Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School George Church.
News Source: https://www.mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/June/15-06/mohammed-bin-rashid
