Two Emirati students join advanced research programme at Mayo Clinic
HALA AL KHAYAT (ABU DHABI)Reaffirming the UAE's championing of scientific excellence, the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work has announced its support for two Emirati female students to join a research training programme at the Mayo Clinic in the US.The move enables Emirati students Moza Al Alili and Hessa Mohammed Saeed Al Mansouri to gain in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience at the Mayo Clinic and enrich the UAE's healthcare system on their return.Scholarship programmes are a key pillar of the UAE's strategy to build a new generation of scientists, doctors, and researchers capable of keeping pace with rapid developments in medicine, science, and technology.The wise leadership of the UAE has placed educational scholarships at the forefront of its priorities, directing efforts to expand academic partnerships with world-renowned universities and research centres.As part of this vision, the Mayo Clinic - ranked among the top research hospitals in the world - has become a favoured destination for Emirati students, offering rare opportunities to engage with advanced applied research and world-class laboratories.
Pioneering Research OpportunitiesAs part of the President's Scholarship for Outstanding Physicians, the foundation continues to offer advanced research opportunities for Emirati students at prestigious global institutions such as the Mayo Clinic. The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work emphasised that such support lays the foundation for refining national competencies in vital areas like medicine, science, and technology, empowering them to actively contribute to the UAE's research and innovation landscape - aligned with the nation's ambitions for a knowledge-based economy.These initiatives, the foundation noted, are not merely investments in individuals, but in the future of the nation. Every scholarship student returns equipped with the power of knowledge, helping to elevate the UAE's standing in the global medical and research arenas.
Moza Al Alili: Emirati Researcher Charting Path in GeneticsEmirati student Moza Mohammed Al Alili, a third-year PhD student at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at UAE University, specialises in Biomedical Sciences. She began her academic journey with a bachelor's degree in Medical Laboratory Science from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Sharjah, graduating with honours. Throughout her studies, she focused closely on genetic disorders related to mitochondrial DNA. After graduation, she worked for three years as a Medical Laboratory Scientist at Khalifa Medical City in Ajman before fully committing to research.Al Alili pursued her master's degree in Medical Sciences – Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the UAE University. Her thesis explored RNA analysis in type 2 diabetes and its relation to bone health.Today, Al Alili is working on her PhD dissertation, which investigates genetic changes in type 2 diabetes associated with obesity, focusing on how the condition affects bone and the mechanisms of osteocyte (bone cell) communication under disease conditions."My research aims to understand the 'language' of cells through extracellular vesicles - highly specialised communication tools - which could open new doors to more precise and effective treatments," Al Alili said.Al Alili is the first PhD student at the UAE University to have her research included in the field of extracellular vesicle extraction, a speciality not yet available at the university.Thanks to a research grant from the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work, under the President's Scholarship for Distinguished Physicians, Al Alili has been given a unique opportunity to train in the Mayo Clinic laboratories.She began her training in early June, in a programme lasting from three months up to a year, under the supervision of Dr. Naureen Javed, an expert in physiology and biomedical engineering.Al Alili said that this technique helps identify the "language" of cells through biological receptors released in vesicles, aiding in the understanding of healing mechanisms and the development of molecular-level therapies.Al Alili emphasised that her achievements would not have been possible without the strong support of the UAE's wise leadership and national institutions - chief among them the Khalifa Bin Zayed Foundation, which opens doors to world-class research and training opportunities."The UAE gives every citizen the chance to grow and supports highly specialised fields that meet the needs of our era," she said.She adds that her goal is to bring this advanced knowledge back home and contribute to developing treatments that reinforce the UAE's leadership in the health and research sectors.
Hessa Al Mansouri: Sustainable Health Solutions Come from the LabA graduate student at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at UAE University, Hessa Mohammed Al Mansouri, believes that scientific research is not just an academic choice but a vital necessity for advancing medicine in the UAE and achieving local scientific self-sufficiency. Al Mansouri is currently pursuing her postgraduate studies at the UAE University's medical college. She was nominated by the university and the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work to apply for the Visiting Research Trainee Programme at the Mayo Clinic lab.The lab focuses on extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by beta cells, aiming to understand subtle changes in their content and how these impact cellular communication during the progression of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes."This kind of research directly touches the future of healthcare, as it paves the way for discovering biomarkers that aid in more accurate diabetes diagnosis and in using them as targets for genetic or cellular therapy. The research we conduct today may make a difference in the lives of millions of patients in the future," Al Mansouri said.Her passion for scientific research began during her undergraduate years, where she realised the importance of deeply understanding the biological mechanisms of chronic diseases-especially diabetes, which remains one of the region's most significant health challenges."The deeper I dive into understanding the disease from a research perspective, the more I'm convinced that sustainable solutions come from the lab, and that a physician-researcher is the one truly capable of changing patients' lives," Al Mansouri said.She sees her experience at the Mayo Clinic as a rare opportunity to acquire advanced research skills in a rigorous scientific environment - skills she hopes to use to help develop local research programmes led by Emirati talent."I aspire to be part of a fully integrated Emirati research ecosystem, one that contributes to innovative treatment solutions for chronic diseases and places the UAE at the forefront of global medical innovation," she said.After completing her experience at Mayo Clinic, Al Mansouri hopes to transfer the knowledge gained back to the UAE by helping establish specialised research centres in diagnostic medicine and gene therapy, and by participating in the development of academic programmes that support a new generation of physician-researchers."In the UAE, we have the will, the resources, and supportive leadership. What we need now, as young people, is to take responsibility for turning these opportunities into scientific achievements that serve humanity," Al Mansouri said.She also expressed her deep gratitude to the UAE's wise leadership for their commitment and care towards students, and their belief in the role of youth in national development by providing them with exceptional educational and research opportunities.Al Mansouri extended special thanks to the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work for its continuous support and pioneering efforts in offering academic, practical, and research development opportunities at prestigious international institutions.
She noted that this support is not just a show of trust - it's a true investment in the nation's future and a firm belief in the capabilities of Emirati youth to excel and contribute meaningfully to the development journey.
Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Web Release
a day ago
- Web Release
Mayo Clinic researchers validate blood test to diagnose Alzheimer's disease in outpatient memory clinics
Alzheimer's disease, marked by memory loss, trouble concentrating and thinking, and changes in personality and behavior, devastates patients, their families and loved ones. With new treatments available for people with early signs of Alzheimer's disease, there is a growing need for accessible and cost-effective tests to diagnose the disease sooner. In a new study, Mayo Clinic researchers confirmed the accuracy of an FDA-approved blood test that can be used at outpatient memory clinics to diagnose the disease in patients with a range of cognitive impairment. The findings are published in Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association. Standard ways of measuring the buildup of toxic proteins in the brain that indicate Alzheimer's disease include positron emission tomography, or PET scans, and spinal taps. But these tests can be expensive and invasive. More accessible, non-invasive and cost-effective biomarkers — measurable indicators of a disease — are needed to improve diagnoses broadly in clinical settings. 'Our study found that blood testing affirmed the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease with 95% sensitivity and 82% specificity,' says corresponding author Gregg Day, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist, dementia specialist and clinical researcher. 'When performed in the outpatient clinical setting, this is similar to the accuracy of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of the disease and is much more convenient and cost-effective.' The research team says their findings show promise in: Better identifying research participants with Alzheimer's disease brain changes. Screening and selecting patients with Alzheimer's disease for clinical trials. Assessing how patients respond to therapy in clinical trials. More than 500 patients receiving treatment for a range of memory issues at the outpatient Memory Disorder Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Florida participated in the study. They included patients with early- and late-onset cognitive impairment, typical and atypical Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia and vascular cognitive impairment. Patients ranged from 32 to 89 years old, with the average age of symptom onset being 66. Alzheimer's disease was determined to be the underlying cause of the symptoms in 56% of the patients. The team also conducted serum tests to measure kidney disease, which can influence plasma biomarker concentrations. Mayo Clinic Laboratories tested for two proteins in blood plasma that are associated with amyloid plaque buildup, the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease: A?42/40 and p-tau217. The researchers found that p-tau217 levels were higher in patients with Alzheimer's disease versus those without the disease. Higher plasma p-tau217 concentrations were also associated with impaired kidney function, which researchers say should be taken into account when performing the blood test. Plasma p-tau217 concentrations were positive in 267 out of 509 patients, including 233 of 246 patients (95%) with cognitive impairment attributed to Alzheimer's disease. The study was featured at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in April. In a previous study, researchers from the Mayo Clinic Laboratories team showed the utility of these blood tests compared to amyloid PET scans in research participants. Dr. Day says the next steps in this research are to evaluate blood-based testing in more diverse patient populations and people with early Alzheimer's disease who show no cognitive symptoms. The team also wants to evaluate disease-specific factors that may alter biomarker accuracy in clinical trials. Other Mayo Clinic authors include Yoav Piura, M.D., Christian Lachner, M.D., Joshua Bornhorst, Ph.D., Alicia Algeciras Schimnich, Ph.D., and Neill Graff-Radford, M.D. For a full list of authors, funding and disclosures, see the paper.
Web Release
2 days ago
- Web Release
Hamdan Centre for Giftedness and Innovation Students Excel in Cambridge University Pre-University Program
Students from the Hamdan Centre for Giftedness and Innovation, part of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, have concluded their participation in the Pre-University Program at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, achieving outstanding results and receiving certificates of excellence across multiple fields of academic research. The program, held from 27 July to 9 August 2025, brought together more than 250 students from 15 countries, reflecting the ability of Emirati students to excel in prestigious international academic environments. Dr. Mariam Al Ghawi, Director of Hamdan Centre for Giftedness and Innovation, said: 'We are proud of the exceptional performance of our students, which reaffirms their ability to innovate and excel in the most distinguished global academic settings. These achievements are the result of a clear vision and an integrated strategy for nurturing talent and refining research and scientific skills. Their outstanding participation at a renowned institution like Cambridge reflects the high quality of academic preparation we provide, their ability to engage in advanced scientific discussions, and their capacity to present research characterized by depth and innovation. We believe that investing in young minds is an investment in the nation's future, and that these talents will be capable of leading research and scientific projects that contribute to the UAE's progress and strengthen its global standing in science and technology.' Student Humaid Al Hooli was named Best Overall Student across all program cohorts for his work in the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering course. His extensive research focused on the Chernobyl disaster, covering its historical background, technical causes, and environmental and human impacts, while highlighting its role in reshaping global nuclear safety regulations and contributing to the development of safer operational systems for nuclear power plants. Student Khalid Al Emadi secured first place in the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering course with research on advanced applications of artificial intelligence in the aviation sector, focusing on real-time aircraft data analysis for early fault detection, enhancing predictive maintenance procedures, and improving air traffic monitoring systems to raise safety standards and reduce accidents. Student Hanadi Darwish earned first place in Physics with a comprehensive research project on antimatter, exploring the theoretical foundations of its formation, possibilities for industrial-scale production in high-energy laboratories, associated technical challenges in storage and utilization, and potential future applications in energy and medicine. Student Sayed Mansour Al Hashemi participated in the Cybersecurity and Computer Science course, presenting an analytical study on password security. His research provided an in-depth review of common hacking techniques and vulnerabilities in traditional authentication systems, proposing innovative solutions such as multi-factor authentication and advanced encryption methods to strengthen data protection against increasing digital threats. This achievement aligns with the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation's vision to support talented students and prepare them to compete globally, reaffirming the UAE's position as a leading hub for fostering creativity and innovation. The Centre continues to enhance its academic and training programs to expand opportunities for participation in international scientific events, empowering students to lead pioneering projects that contribute to building a knowledge-based future. Hamdan Centre for Giftedness and Innovation is one of the Foundation's flagship initiatives, dedicated to identifying and nurturing gifted students, offering advanced educational and training programs, and creating opportunities for participation in international academic events to develop their scientific and practical abilities, preparing them to become future leaders across diverse fields.
Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Gulf Today
Aunt's heroic donation saves nephew as UAE doctors perform youngest infant liver transplant
A five-month old 4.4-kilogramme Emirati boy, stricken with a rare unpreventable recessive X disorder, and the youngest recipient of a donated liver in the UAE, courtesy of his 37-year-old paternal aunt, shall now be on lifelong monitoring and treatment. Fifth child Ahmed Al Yassi is recuperating at the Burjeel Medical City-Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (BMC-PICU) since his April 4, 2025 12-hour ultra-delicate transplantation. His giant strength, and his family's and the medical team's indefatigability, serve as an inspiring testimony for the August 13 'World Organ Donation Day." The WODD 2025 theme is 'Answering the Call,' for the continuous correct information dissemination on the necessity to grant one's organ/s to save lives. In the UAE, since 2017, is the Ministry of Health and Prevention-spearheaded National Programme for Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues-Hayat Programme. According to a press statement, quoting undersecretary, Dr. Mohammed Salim Al Olama, it has been boosted with advanced digital solutions and artificial intelligence that guarantees transparency and efficiency at every stage of organ donation and transplantation process. Its website as of 4:30 p.m. of August 13 had '37,298 registered donors.' From a press statement quoting Department of Health-Abu Dhabi undersecretary Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, 1,380 transplantations, through the Hayat Programme, were carried out from 2017 to 2024. The 2024 were at 290: seven heart, 142 kidney, 117 liver, 22 lung, and two pancreas. Over at BMC, elated was Ahmed's father Yahya: 'My baby's recovery is nothing short of a miracle. We were once a family living in fear of losing another child due to a liver problem. I hope our story inspires others to come forward, to learn more, and consider becoming donors. You never know whose life might change.' Abdominal Transplant and Hepato-Pancreatic Biliary surgeon Dr. Johns Shaji Mathew confirmed that Ahmed shall receive 'lifetime monitoring and therapy that includes immunosuppressive medications to prevent organ rejection, while the transplant on Ahmed has resolved the liver-related complications.' 'Ahmed will be regularly supervised by liver and genetics specialists for ongoing evaluation,' added Mathew, among the multi-disciplinary team members, led by Burjeel Abdominal Multi-Organ Transplant Programme-Transplant Surgery director Dr. Gourab Sen. The other on-case Transplant Team were Anaesthesia Division chairperson Dr. Ramamurthy Baskaran and specialists Dr. George Jacob and Dr. Anshu S., and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) consultant Dr. Kesava Ramakrishnan. Their advice: 'urgent transplantation.' Ahmed's health debilitated due to the rise of his liver enzymes immediately birth. His diagnostics demonstrated that he is afflicted with ATP6AP1-Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation (ATP6AP1-CDG). Instrumental were the 'family's conviction' and the bravery-cum-volunteerism of mother-of-five Haifaa, Yahya's sister-in-law, who passed all compatibility tests. She and Ahmed are A+ blood type. Mathew said: 'The family's conviction came from the fact that without a transplant, Ahmed's survival chances were extremely low. They already experienced the loss of an older son to similar complications, which made them determined not to lose another.' 'The doctors gave us new hope. My sister-in-law gave us life again,' said Yahya. The USA-headquartered public-private-supported Frontiers in Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (FCDG) portal notes that ATP6AP1-CDG generally affects males at one every one million. Ahmed has so far become the 31st survivor. There are 30 in other countries. The oldest patient is age 67. ATP6AP1-CDG 'age onset' range from the mother's pregnancy to age two, notes the Orphanet Knowledge on Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs. From the FCDG, patients 'may have variable degree of liver dysfunction and immunodeficiency with recurrent infections.' Impaired-ness include developmental delays; abnormal body movement; gastrointestinal, urinary and genital problems; congenital heart defects and blood syndromes. So far, the solution is 'liver transplantation which has been successful in patients with severe liver failure.' Mathew said decreased transmission would only be via 'genetic screening and pre-marital genetic counselling to identify carriers and inform reproductive decisions for families with a known history.' Ahmed's family history has 'his grandfather passed on in 2010 due to a liver disease.' From the BMC Transplant Team that encourages a well-informed community on organ donation and transplantation: 'Ahmed's survival underscores the transformative power of organ donation and the advanced capabilities we now have in the UAE to perform complex, high-stakes surgeries for even the tiniest patients. Liver transplantation is not just surgical procedure; it is a second chance at life for those with no other options.'
