Tribune News Network
Doha
Sidra Medicine, in collaboration with the MENAT-NIAID initiative, hosted the Recent Advances in Primary Immunodysregulation Disorders (RAPID) conference on May 9 and 10, 2024.
The inaugural event, which brought together close to 250 attendees, including global authorities in the field, experts from the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), demonstrated notable advancements in addressing the challenges and opportunities related to primary immune dysregulation disorders in the region.
Conference co-chairs Dr Mohammed Yousuf Karim, division chief of Hematology, Immunology and Transfusion, and Dr Bernice Lo, principal investigator from the Laboratory of Immunoregulation at Sidra Medicine, said: “RAPID 2024 solidified Sidra Medicine’s position as a regional leader in the diagnosis and treatment of immune disorders. It offered a multi-pronged approach to advance the care of patients with immune dysregulation disorders, by fostering knowledge exchange and aiming to improve early recognition and diagnosis among healthcare providers. The conference’s success also paves the way for further collaborations with NIAID and other organisations, ensuring that patients in the MENAT region benefit from the latest global advancements.”
“Genetic immune mediated diseases are a major problem in the MENA region and RAPID 2024 highlighted the key scientific advances in the field, bringing together experts from around the world,” said Prof Mohamed H. Sayegh, conference co-chair and senior advisor to the director, NIAID/NIH.
“We hope the conference will spearhead major collaborative research efforts to advance the diagnostic and therapeutic options for patients with genetic immune mediated diseases. We are grateful to Sidra Medicine for hosting this conference and providing a platform for collaborative research efforts,” he added.
RAPID also served as a powerful call to action for researchers, healthcare providers and other stakeholders to help enhance the global understanding of these disorders.
The Career Development Panel session, featuring experts from Sidra Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar University, Weill-Cornell Medicine Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa University and Mohammed Bin Rashid University (UAE), inspired the next generation of professionals to dedicate themselves to advancing care and research in this field.
The Jeffrey Modell Foundation’s generous sponsorship at RAPID 2024, allowed young doctors and scientists from across the region, including those from lower-income countries, to attend and present their research. This investment in the future generation of researchers will have a lasting impact on the field of immune dysregulation.
