WCMC-Q nurtures homegrown research talent

August, 2015

Certificates were presented to six Qatari research trainees to mark their completion of the Biomedical Research Training Program for Nationals.

The annual program gives talented Qatari graduates the opportunity to spend six months working in WCMC-Q’s state-of-the-art laboratories learning key scientific research and administrative skills.

The program concluded with a presentation ceremony at the college when Dr. Khaled Machaca, associate dean for research at WCMC-Q, presented certificates of completion to interns Maryam Al-Dosari, Rouda Al-Qahtani, Noof Al-Kuwari, Maha AlDosari, Aisha Al-Qahtani and Sharefa Al-Mannai.

Dr. Machaca said: “I offer my warmest congratulations to these highly talented young researchers for showing the perseverance and dedication needed to complete this challenging course.

“They have demonstrated great intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm for learning a wide range of research and administrative skills that will prove extremely useful to them as they take the next step in their careers in research. We are privileged to have welcomed them to WCMC-Q and we wish them the very best of luck in the future endeavors in research. We are also very proud to have been able to make a positive contribution to building human capacity in scientific research in Qatar toward the Qatar National Vision 2030.”

This year marked the fifth installment of the highly successful Biomedical Research Training Program for Nationals, which has now provided training to a total of 24 interns since its launch in 2011. Interns who complete the program learn a variety of essential research skills, becoming proficient at practical bench work, project design and research administration, among many other key competencies.

The program is designed to give talented Qatari nationals an opportunity to gain key skills and experiences in a challenging and rewarding research environment, helping them to establish careers in a variety fields related to biomedical research. The program is coordinated closely with the Qatar Science Leadership Program of Qatar Foundation.

Intern Aisha Al-Qahtani, an electrical engineering graduate from Texas A&M University at Qatar, said: “I am interested and passionate about biomedical research and I believe that this program has helped me to fill the gap between my background [in engineering] and my work in computational biology. I have learned biostatistics, epidemic modeling and how I can apply my engineering degree to biomedical research.”

Aisha hopes to pursue her career in research further and aims to obtain a Ph.D. in Biomedical and Biological Sciences in the future.

Sharefa Al-Mannai, who graduated from the University of Colorado-Boulder in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in integrative physiology, also completed the program. She said: “Joining the program has been my first step toward developing my career in research. One of the great things about the program is the way it exposes participants to the different research areas, ranging from working in labs to administration.

“Aside from finding what I’m truly interested in in research, this program has helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses in a work environment. I truly believe this program is a great bridge connecting recent graduates and biomedical research.”

The online applications for next year’s program will be open from mid-September to October, with specific dates to be announced soon on the following webpage:
http://qatar-weill.cornell.edu/research/traniningprograms/internship.html