QNRF supports undergraduate research at WCMC-Q

The leaders of QNRF and all the universities involved in
the Undergraduate Research Experience Program gather
at an event to sign a Memorandum of Understanding.

Twenty-four WCMC-Q students and nine faculty members have been awarded funding for eight research projects as part of Qatar National Research Fund's (QNRF) undergraduate research experience program.

A first for the region, the program aims to introduce more students to research, helping them improve their problem-solving and scientific communication skills. Students will undertake independent work and interact with research professionals as part of the program. A secondary aim is to fund research that addresses the economic, social needs and opportunities of Qatar.

All of the WCMC-Q proposals reviewed were awarded funding following a competitive and independent peer assessment process. They were among 61 projects to receive funding by QNRF in the first round. A second round will begin later this month.

WCMC-Q's research projects focus on a range of topics in the sciences and humanities, from traditional healing methods to the characterization of novel cationic lipids as gene therapy agents.

Representatives of the different universities in
Education City listen to a presentation by a
QNRF representative.

One of the projects, on wind energy measurements in Qatar, is a collaborative effort between students and faculty at the Medical College and at Texas A&M University in Qatar.

Associate professor of organic chemistry Dr. Kevin Smith welcomed the opportunity to develop WCMC-Q's research capabilities.

"Each year selected students go to the US to acquire research experience and medical faculty later comment on their improved ability at managing the medical curriculum," he said.

"QNRF has taken this one step further and is helping us develop our own in-house research projects, offering more students the opportunity to experience research."

Dr. Smith and senior lab assistant Mandy Bondaruk are mentoring five students through an investigation into disease fighting phytochemicals from the stress-induced plants of Qatar.

Dean of WCMC-Q, Dr. Daniel R. Alonso, thanks QNRF
president, Dr. Abdul Sattar Al-Taie, for the funding of
eight WCMC-Q undergraduate research projects.

He explained the goal of the project: "In a nutshell it is about using Qatari plants in medicine. When plants are under stress they produce phytoalexins as a defence mechanism. We hope to discover if such compounds, from plants local to Qatar, could become components for the prevention and treatment of disease."

Until now the focus of efforts to identify phytoalexins has been on the agriculture sector. As a result, less than 0.1 percent of the 250,000 or more flowering plants have been investigated. Through their research, Dr. Smith's team hope to extend Qatar's current knowledge of phytochemistry of native plants.

Meanwhile, pre-medical students Sabrina Alam and Usav Nandi, under the mentorship of Dr. Alan Weber, lecturer in writing at the Medical College, are investigating the possible beneficial effects of literature in the WCMC-Q curriculum.

Usav explained why he was excited by the research. "This is an opportunity for us to investigate what it is, beyond the biology, that makes the human part of becoming a doctor," he said. "If you just know your scientific knowledge there is only so much you can do for patients."

Dr. Weber, who gives a WCMC-Q course on literature entitled 'Beyond the Bones' commented, "We live in a diverse country and deal with a very diverse group of patients. The more we understand about their culture and where they come from, the better doctors we can become. And we can reach that understanding through literature, through stories."

Sabrina hoped to answer some common questions from her fellow students: "It's a shock to people we (pre-medical students) take English classes. It makes you wonder why. Does it improve our relationships with our future patients? Does it prepare us to be better doctors? These are the questions we are endeavouring to answer."

On March 27, at WCMC-Q, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the leaders of QNRF and all of the universities involved in the Undergraduate Research Experience Program. QNRF plans to showcase five of the best research projects at an annual conference.