Qatar Foundation Lecture Series to Probe Biology and Medicine

Doha, January 21 (QNA) - The role of new technology that can help transform biology and medicine over the next decade will be probed at the 13th lecture of the Distinguished Lecture Series, organized by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF). President and Co-founder of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington, Dr. Leroy Hood will speak on 'Systems Biology, Systems Medicine and Proactive P4 Medicine'. Focusing particularly on the solutions necessary for systems biology to face 21st century challenges, Dr. Hood will discuss emerging technologies that can transform biology and medicine over the next decade. He will also explain how medicine can be modified from its current reactive state to a so-called "P4" mode that is predictive, personalized, preventive, and participatory. The presentation will also discuss the Institute for Systems Biology s recent research into neurodegenerative (prion) disease and glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive form of brain tumour. Case studies on mice have allowed Dr. Hood to learn more about these conditions in humans. Vice President for Research at QF, Dr. Abdelali Al Haoudi emphasized the importance of the advancement of medicine in Qatar. He said, "The development in computing and biotechnology including genetics, computational biology, functional genomics and systems biology has leapfrogged over the years. "It is very timely for Qatar to embrace these fields, which will advance us to a new era of preventive, predictive, personalized and proactive participatory medical care for the State." Dr. Hood's professional career began at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he helped develop synthesizers and sequencers for the DNA gene and for protein. His efforts not only revolutionized biomedicine and forensic science, but earned him the 2011 Fritz J. and Delores H. Russ Prize, awarded by the US National Academy of Engineering. At the forefront of numerous groundbreaking discoveries, Dr. Hood is promoting QF's mission to achieve a knowledge-based economy. His insight, fresh perspective and remarkable achievements will encourage the development of human potential, both in QF and Qatar as a whole. The free lecture is open to the public and will be held 10:30 am to 12:30pm on January 24 at the Lecture Hall 4 at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q). (QNA)