Research Matters

Dear Readers,
Welcome to the fourth edition of the QNRF’s newsletter, “Research Matters”. The speed with which the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading is quite alarming and has exposed our unpreparedness and fragility on a global level to deal with a crisis of such magnitude. Needless to say, the impact of the virus has penetrated every sector of our society and has serious implications that call for robust, evidence-based policies to be enacted, as well as the formulation of better mitigation strategies in dealing with the coronavirus and protecting the communities most vulnerable to it.
 

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly evolved as a human tragedy in a matter of few months since its outbreak was first recorded in Wuhan, China. Today, cases have been reported in almost every country and authorities are taking various measures, ranging from initial containment to nationwide lockdowns, to mitigate the threat and curtail the spread of this disease.

Qatar National Research Fund (QNR) regularly organizes research outcome seminars to give researchers a platform to share the outcomes of their QNRF-funded research with members from the research and academic sector, representatives from industry and stakeholders, and the general public.
Earlier this month, QNRF held its fifth Research Outcome Seminar (ROS) as a virtual event due to the social restrictions now in place to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The seminar brought together six researchers, who presented their research on infectious diseases and discussed the spread and impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

For more than 13 years, the Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) has been sponsoring original and innovative research projects of students across educational institutions in Qatar. Under the past 26 cycles of UREP, Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), a Qatar Foundation (QF) member, has awarded more than 4380 undergraduate students in Qatar, who conducted more than 1120 projects addressing the pillars of the Qatar National Research Strategy.