Objective
Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), in partnership with the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST), is hereby launching the equine research call.
The key objectives of this call are:
- Advancing the sequences and reference genomes of all Arabian horses and other relevant breeds, including basic annotation of genetic variation, by broad sequencing among different lines and breeds of animals.
- Developing strategies to identify and exploit genes and allelic variations that contribute to economically relevant phenotypes and traits, in part through improving functional annotation of the genomes of our breed.
- Facilitate analysis, curation, storage, distribution, and application of the datasets now being generated by next-generation sequencing and related omics technologies with regard to horse breeds of interest.
- Sharing, strengthening, and utilizing biobanks with different tissues, cell lines, and fluid types and data for analysis and research.
- Facilitating and strengthening collaboration between the two countries in research and development.
Description
For up to four-year awards, the overall application budget may not exceed USD 200K for a one- year project, USD 400K for a two-year project, USD 600K for a three-year project, and USD 700K for a four-year project. For projects of more than one year, the budget may not exceed USD 250K in any year. This amount includes personnel, capital equipment, consumables, materials, services, travel, miscellaneous, and indirect costs as applicable
Responsiveness to Challenges
The research priority areas of this call are
- Study of the details of the biochemical and cellular pathways that underpin performance, immunology, reproduction, and infectious disease response in horses
- The integration of genetic information with traditional breeding approaches
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Potential Benefits
This call aims to enhance and improve equine research, and strengthen the equine industry in Qatar and Morocco by combining their research activities, resources, and human skills. Moreover, this initiative will build upon the existing knowledge and skills in genomics research to advance the breeding programs and the overall health of the horses.