Today's Edition
SAMI ABDEL RAOUF (DUBAI)
Under the patronage of Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Chairman of the UAE Genetic Diseases Association (UAEGDA), the IFCC World Lab 2024, a prestigious global conference that bring together laboratory professionals and scientists worldwide, kicked off on Sunday.
The four-day global event is being held in the Middle East and Africa region for the first time, as well as the first time outside of Europe.
The IFFC World Lab 2024 features five events, including the 26th International Summit on Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine.
On Monday, the summit revealed that 3%-6% of newborns suffer from congenital disorders, indicating that there are many factors that influence the development of congenital disorders, including genetic predisposition, maternal health, and environmental exposure.
Medical data and statistics presented on the first day of the conference showed that 25% of congenital malformations are hereditary in origin, and individual gene defects represent approximately 17% of congenital malformations. The results of the research presented at this international conference indicate that artificial intelligence (AI) will play a pivotal role in the coming years in decoding genomics on a large scale with high accuracy, which will enhance research and health care.
A multimedia AI model series capable of predicting age, generating synthetic biological data, discovering targets, and modelling diseases was also presented for the first time during the conference.
Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, said: “This summit comes at a time when the UAE seeks to enhance investment in research and studies, and is encouraging youth to innovate and focus on scientific research.”
He added: “The UAE is interested in this type of investment to achieve its strategy of sustainability, achieving a long, healthy, renewable life and improving the quality of life, which is considered one of the strategic priorities of the UAE government.”
He pointed out that this international event emphasises the importance of exchanging experiences and knowledge and working towards a road map for the future of medicine.
Al Qatami stressed the importance of investing in health and prevention as the first step towards building healthy and prosperous societies, stressing the importance of supporting and encouraging scientific research and evidence-based medicine.
For her part, Dr. Maryam Mohammed Matar, Founder and President of the Emirates Society for Genetic Diseases, said: “The 26th World Summit for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine 2024, for which the UAE is the conference’s first Arab host country, is distinguished by the addition of new views and takes into account the needs of the Arab world.”
She added: “At the request of the Emirates Society for Genetic Diseases, 20% of the summit’s activities and topics over its three days have been allocated to suit the health priorities and challenges of the Arab region.”
She pointed out that among the new themes and topics of the event are approved tests to estimate and examine a person’s healthy age, sustainability in health and solutions, and genetic tests, declaring that 4% of the negative impact on the environment is caused by medical laboratories due to the medical waste they produce.
