Executive Director’s Message | February 2021

Translating Research into Impact

Over the last couple of months, all of us here at Qatar National Research Fund have been busy with preparing and launching the latest cycles of some of our programs from our diverse portfolio of capacity building, competitive funding, and research connection programs.

Currently, we are accepting applications for eight such programs, including the fourteenth cycle of our flagship program, the National Priorities Research Program-Standard (NPRP14-S), and the inaugural cycles of three new initiatives.

The new initiatives include the Equine Research Call, which we covered in the last month’s edition of Research Matters. Furthermore, under the banner of NPRP, we are launching the NPRP-Blue Skies Research Award (BSRA) and the NPRP-Research Outcome Implementation Award (ROIA), both of which have been specially designed to complement our research-funding programs.

These programs aim to encourage local researchers to redefine the limits of scientific research and innovation and help bridge the gap between research being conducted in Qatar and the implementation and deployment of their outcomes for the end-users. We have introduced a new vision with these programs to lead the research sector in Qatar towards excellence and societal impact and I am eagerly looking forward to the milestones our researchers will achieve through these initiatives.

In this month’s newsletter, you will learn in detail about the NPRP and what we aim to achieve through our two new programs. We also share a remarkable success story about a novel drug-delivery system developed by researchers from Qatar University which can improve treatment effectiveness for breast cancer patients.

Moreover, on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are featuring a young Qatari female researcher who is shaping the future of scientific research and innovation in Qatar. You will learn about her journey as a female researcher and what advice she has to offer to young girls who want to make their mark in scientific fields.  

It is unfortunate that there still exists a large gender gap in scientific research across the world and it is time to change this because, without the help and support of our talented and hardworking women, we will never be able to achieve our development goals and objectives.

I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter and I encourage you to browse through our website to learn more about our programs which are currently accepting applications and start yours in time. As always, the QNRF team is here for you, and if you have any questions or clarifications, feel free to reach out to us through our communication channels.