Tribune News Network
Doha
The Biomedical Research Center (BRC) at Qatar University (QU) organised a workshop recently titled ‘Biosafety and Biosecurity Capacity Building: To Boost Laboratory & Occupational Safety Practices Across Qatar’.
The aim of the workshop was to diversify the training content on biosafety and biosecurity principles as part of the ‘One Health Approach’. It also aimed to promote biosafety ethics among students and professionals in Qatar and to enhance communication and collaboration between Qatari stakeholders in the field of biosafety and biosafety.
The workshop’s contents covered biosafety and biosecurity in different laboratories and clinical settings, including COVID-19 risk management in health care workers, and the transformation of occupational risks into occupational protection and the identification of shared housing risks. In addition, it covered the administrative implementation of biosafety and biosecurity considerations in the handling of animals, biosafety and the environment, as well as the latest advances in biosafety and biosafety technologies and facilities design.
Sixteen experts from different disciplines and backgrounds, including virology, microbiology, nuclear physics, medicine, dentistry, public health, biomedical engineering, health and safety, and more, participated in the workshop. The workshop was attended by local and international speakers representing different universities, government institutions and private sectors, including the University of Cyberjaya (Malaysia), Hamad bin Khalifa University, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Municipal and Environmental Affairs, Hamad Medical Corporation, Al-Balagh Trade and Contracting and others.
This workshop is an example of the special attention paid by Qatar University to building national research capacity, encouraging talent, building local and international partnerships, keeping pace with technological development and modern research trends, in addition to increasing training opportunities, improving policies and procedures and providing various forms of support and services.
In addition, the workshop presented the efforts and talents that enrich the academic units and research centers of the Qatar University, equipped with the best requirements and staffed with distinguished specialists.
In a world of prodigious uncertainty, threats to biosecurity and biosecurity pose a challenge to the integrity of populations.