Objective
The objective of the Path towards Precision Medicine (PPM) call is to support and advance research that aims to guide healthcare decisions toward the most effective prevention of disease or treatment for a given patient based on their genetic profile. This call will continue to support genomic research in Qatar by utilizing the samples and data collected and generated by QBB and QGP, with more focus on innovative projects aiming at translating basic research into clinical implementation.
Description
For up to four-year awards, application budget may not exceed US $200K for a one- year project, US $400K for a two-year project, US $600K for a three-year project and US $700K for a four-year project. For projects of more than one year, the budget may not exceed US $250K in any year.
Responsiveness to Challenges
PPM has three specific areas of priority;
1. Immunogenomics and precision immunotherapeutic approaches
Specific research priority areas (preferred but not limited to):
- Utilizing genomic and other -omics analysis of Qatari-based samples (preferably, QBB/QGP data and samples) leading to innovative approaches to understand disease trends.
- Development/validation of disease gene panels and clinical exome sequencing for immunotherapeutic treatments of diseases affecting public health in Qatar.
- Utilizing research platforms technologies such as gene editing and iPSCs, stem cells, proteomics, metabolomics, bioinformatics, imaging, biomedical engineering, and vivarium in Qatar based research institutions.
2. Clinical implementation of pharmacogenomics
Specific research priority areas (preferred but not limited to):
- Identification of predictive biomarkers for different pharmacogenomics approaches and using such information to match patients with molecularly targeted therapies in clinical trials.
- Research approaches that explore the complexity of the genotype–phenotype associations of therapy. Bioinformatics has an important role to play in addressing the complexity of the underlying genetic basis of common drug response. Furthermore, bioinformatics and statistical analyses of the data obtained from Qatari-based samples (preferably, QBB/QGP data and samples) to identify gene functionalities, in both in vitro or/and in vivo systems, are important.
3. Multi-omics analysis of common chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders and cancer
Specific research priority areas (preferred but not limited to):
- Utilizing genomic and other -omics analysis of Qatari patients leading to innovative discoveries of disease trends in this population.
- Development/validation of disease gene panels for diagnostic and preventive approaches of such disorders.
4. Precision medicine digital e-solutions and applications
Specific research priority areas (preferred but not limited to):
- Projects focusing on development of e-solutions and/or digital tools aimed at empowering patients with life style management based on their genetic makeup.
- Projects focusing on development of e-solutions and/or digital tools aimed at facilitating the work of health care professional in hospitals and clinics to provide more efficient care utilizing genomic information.
- Projects focusing on development of e-solutions and/or digital tools aimed at ethically approved easier delivery of personal genomic reporting to participant’s utilizing QGP generated personal genomic reports.
Potential Benefits
PPM3 aims to support research that benefits from the first phase of the Qatar Genome Program (QGP) in understanding disease phenotype/genotype correlations, translating research findings into medical products for better healthcare quality and promoting engagement of healthcare providers and community in Qatar towards a better understanding of precision medicine.