QNRF funding to 85 research projects

Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), part of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D), went global as members of the nation’s research community gathered together in Doha, and online across the world, for the 9th QNRF Annual Forum.

Held at the Qatar National Convention Centre and simultaneously broadcast live via the Internet, the highlight of the event — a central feature on Qatar’s research calendar — was the announcement of funding awards for 85 research projects that address Qatar’s greatest challenges, through QNRF’s National Priorities Research Program (NPRP). The Forum also revealed the beneficiaries of other awards under QNRF’s portfolio of programmes. Now in its 10th year, the NPRP was described as a 'resounding success' by Dr Hamad Al Ibrahim, Executive Vice-President, QF R&D, in his opening remarks: “This year, we introduced the concept of co-funding, encouraging contributions from collaborators and stakeholders.”

Such collaborations, emphasized Dr Al Ibrahim, help to ensure that industry and the private sector are playing their parts in meeting Qatar’s priorities.

A presentation by Dr Abdul Sattar Al Taie, Executive Director, QNRF, entitled ‘Road To Impact’, focused on the importance of NPRP-funded projects leading to solid research outcomes. “As Qatar’s national funding agency, QNRF’s commitment to preparing a diverse, globally engaged research workforce has seen an increase in creative, original submissions that not only align with the Qatar National Research Strategy, but also show potential for commercialization,” he said.

For the fourth consecutive year, QNRF’s Best Research Office of the Year award announced by Riham Daher, Post-Award Administration Manager, QNRF, went to Texas A&M University at Qatar, a Qatar Foundation (QF) partner university, with Qatar University and QF partner university Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar being shortlisted.
Noor Al Merekhi, Deputy Executive Director and Director of Programs, QNRF, then presided over the awards for the Path Towards Personalized Medicine and Osra, which means ‘family’ in Arabic, programs, before announcing the awards for the 10th cycle of the NPRP.

The 13 entities in Qatar that will benefit from support through the 10th cycle of NPRP are, Aspetar (1 awarded proposal); Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (4); College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (2); Doha Institute For Graduate Studies (2); Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (1); Hamad Bin Khalifa University (8); Hamad Medical Corporation (4); Ministry of Public Health (1); Northwestern University in Qatar (1); Qatar University (29); Sidra Medical and Research Center (8); Texas A&M University at Qatar (19); and Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (5).