Seven studies win Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Health Research Grant
The Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences awarded seven projects from 361 eligible applications, including several led from Abu Dhabi and using Abu Dhabi health data.
Seven projects selected from 361 applications
The Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences has announced the seven winners of the inaugural Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Health Research Grant, chosen from 361 eligible submissions. The successful projects span three streams: Biomedical Research (three awards), Medical Education Research (two awards) and Health Policy Research (two awards).
Dr Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of the Foundation, said the scheme targets promising research at a stage where funding can materially advance development. He underlined the Foundation’s intention to support a research environment in which selected projects can generate evidence and practical applications across healthcare and academic institutions.
Abu Dhabi-linked studies among winners
Several of the awarded projects have direct Abu Dhabi connections. A team led by Professor Mohammad A. Qasaimeh, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering at NYU Abu Dhabi, will develop “A Tri-Modal AFM–Raman–microRNA Machine Learning Platform for Precision Exosome-Based Prostate Cancer Classification”, combining advanced analytical techniques with machine learning to refine prostate cancer classification.
Another biomedical project is led by Dr Yasmin Sajjad of Fakih IVF Centre, Abu Dhabi. Her trial, “Thymosin-α1 for Recurrent Implantation Failure Following Transfer of a PGT-A-Tested Embryo: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial”, will evaluate thymosin-α1 for patients experiencing recurrent implantation failure after transfer of embryos tested by PGT-A.
In Health Policy Research, a team led by Dr Dian Kusuma, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology at Khalifa University, will use Malaffi electronic health records in Abu Dhabi for the retrospective cohort study “Probability of an Obese Person Attaining Normal Body Weight”. The work aims to estimate the likelihood of people with obesity achieving a normal body weight and to inform weight-management policy.
The remaining awards include two medical education projects led by academics at United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain — Dr Fayez Alshamsi’s “From Bias to Bridge: An AI-Powered Intervention to Advance Medical Education and Publishing Equity for the UAE and MENA Region” and Dr Adnan Agha’s “Project AMAN: Developing and Validating a Linguistically-Safe AI Clinical Reasoning Tutor for Gulf Medical Education” — and a Sharjah-led biomedical study and a health policy project from the University of Sharjah.
The Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Health Research Grant forms part of the Foundation’s broader effort to strengthen research capacity, generate new scientific knowledge in health, and prioritise projects that combine scientific merit with potential for application in clinical practice, policy and education.
Source: WAM