Health Ministry launches advanced clinical training programme on genomic result return in collaboration with Harvard Medical School
Dr. Jaleela bint Al Sayed Jawad Hassan, Minister of Health, emphasised Bahrain's commitment to strengthening the healthcare sector and improving service quality by continuing to develop diagnostic and therapeutic services in precision medicine and genomics. She noted that the initiative is aligned with the goals of the Kingdom's comprehensive development process, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
She emphasised the importance of specialised training in the return of genomic results and its impact on enhancing the skills of the national health workforce, enabling the effective use of genomic medicine to improve healthcare outcomes.
Dr. Lulwa Showaiter, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, said that the project is a key step toward implementing precision medicine in Bahrain. She noted the ongoing development of physicians' skills in analysing and delivering genomic results with clarity and professionalism, contributing to the core objectives of the Bahrain Genome Project and establishing a future oriented medical practice.
Professor Alireza Haghighi, Chief Executive and Founding Director of the iCGD at Harvard Medical School and the Principal Investigator (PI) and Director of the National Genome Project of Bahrain, highlighted the importance of the collaboration. He noted that returning genomic results is a central component of genomic medicine and expressed pride in partnering with the Ministry of Health to deliver specialised training for physicians in this field.
Amjad Ghanem, Chief of Public Health Laboratories, said that the Bahrain Genome Project is a comprehensive national initiative led by the Ministry of Health. It encompasses several pillars, including mapping Bahrain's genetic landscape, clinical applications, policy development, capacity building, and the development of genomic infrastructure, ultimately aiming to establish personalised medicine and deliver measurable health outcomes at both individual and community levels.
The training programme brought together professionals from various healthcare specialities in Bahrain and included a series of scientific sessions delivered by international experts in genomics. Key topics included the fundamentals of genetic testing and its integration into healthcare.
The National Genome Project was launched in 2019 in two phases: the first focused on sample collection, while the second involved the analysis and study of genetic mutations in the Bahraini population, linking them to phenotypic traits and producing clinical genomic reports.
To support capacity building, a national delegation from the National Genome Centre was sent to Harvard University in the United States to benefit from global expertise. The Bahraini team received specialised training in advanced genomic sequencing, biological data classification, clinical analysis, scientific data interpretation, and genomic data management.
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