Executive Director’s Message

Tackling Global Challenges with Innovative Technologies

Dear Readers,
Welcome to the seventh edition of QNRF’s newsletter, ‘Research Matters’. As the second half of the year hurtles onward, the spread of COVID-19 continues to deeply impact our daily lives and livelihoods in so many ways. We are seeing the systematic phased lifting of lockdown measures by the Government of Qatar, and we will surely begin to adjust to the new normal of living with the virus.
While uncertainty remains over how this crisis will eventually unfold, we are looking with hope to researchers and scientists to produce a vaccine or a drug to treat COVID-19. As the region’s leading research funding agency, we will continue our efforts through our programs and initiatives to help Qatar and its institutions prepare for the challenges which no doubt still lay ahead.
I am honored to share an outstanding new achievement with the designation of Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for combatting COVID-19 and other selected infectious diseases in the region. This achievement comes in recognition of the outstanding research done by a team of dedicated researchers from WCMC-Q focusing on infectious disease epidemiology which has been primarily funded by QNRF.
Another busy month saw QNRF host the Qatar FameLab National Finals 2020, in partnership with the British Council. The competition entailed two categories of contestants: students and adults. I take this opportunity to congratulate all the winners and to wish Ahmed Al Maani, winner in the adults’ category, well, as he goes on to represent Qatar at the international finals.
In this month’s newsletter, we feature the successful outcomes of some of our QNRF-funded research projects including the innovative application of image processing algorithms to develop an automated colorectal tumor detection system that will enhance the speed and accuracy of cancer diagnosis through automated methods.
In closing, I wish you and your loved ones a very blessed Eid al-Adha. May this time bring you peace and joy, a time to draw closer as we face trials and worries amid the global pandemic.