Dr. Hamda Al Sulaiti (second right), Secretary-General, Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, presenting the L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science Middle East Young Talent award to Dr. Isra Yousef Marei. Dr. Anna Paolini (right), Dir
Doha: A woman from Qatar Dr. Isra Yousef Marei has won $100,000 L’Oréal-Unesco For Women In Science prize for Middle East Young Talent Programme 2020.
Dr. Isra from Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar has been recognised for her post-doctoral research in the field of health biotechnology, titled ‘towards the development of 3D vascular drug screening platforms based on endothelial progenitor cells’.
The announcement was made in a press conference organised by Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science (QNCECS) at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education yesterday.
The press conference was attended by Secretary-General of QNCECS, Dr. Hamda Al Sulaiti; Director of Unesco Regional Office in Doha, Dr. Anna Paolini and Senior Associate Dean (Research, Innovations, and Commercialisation) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Dr. Khaled Machaca.
Dr. Hamda Al Sulaiti said obtaining prize of L’Oréal-Unesco Programme for Women in Science came within the framework of joint efforts, cooperation and partnership between WCM-Q and Unesco.
She said this aims at benefiting from the capabilities of the international organisation in supporting and strengthening national capabilities, and preparing Qatari cadres capable of managing development projects in the next phase.
“We encourage qualified candidates to apply for Unesco prizes and other regional and international organisations in order to highlight and raise the name of our beloved country, Qatar,” said Dr. Hamda Al Sulaiti.
“Dr. Isra Yousef Marei has become amongst the six winners of the 2020 L’Oréal-Unesco Middle East Regional Young Talent Programme,” said Dr. Anna Paolini. She said Dr. Isra is only the second winner from Qatar of this programme since its establishment in the region seven years ago.
“The L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science Middle East Young Talents, in partnership with Khalifa University of Science and Technology in UAE, continues to recognise Arab female scientists for their outstanding research in the fields of life sciences, physics, mathematics and computer science. Each year, three Post-doctorate Researchers each receive €20,000 and three PhD Students each receive €8,000 to assist them with their progress in their career,” said Dr. Paolini.
Dr. Khaled Machaca said L’Oréal-Unesco For Women In Science programme is very important in term of tough completion among the contestants.
“The achievement of Dr. Isra reflects the maturity of scientific research in Qatar after it was launched more than ten years ago thanks to the tireless efforts of the Qatar Foundation, and the generous research funding from the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), as well as the training and support provided by WCM-Q,” said Dr. Machaca.
Dr. Isra Yousef Marei said that she feel proud of obtaining this prize and representing Qatar. “Qatar attached great importance in the development of scientific research through its schools and universities notably Qatar Foundation and QNRF and WCM-Q which provided great support in my research work,” said Dr. Isra.
The research of Dr. Isra Yousef Marei focuses on the use of primary endothelial blood cells to study diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and the possibility of using these cells to repair damage to blood vessels because of its effective regenerative power and restorative functions.
Cardiovascular disease is one of the main causes of death for women, although the rate these diseases is lower in women compared to men however, the disease is worse and the death rates are higher for them. The Improving drug discovery methods and treatment and preventive measures will help reduce cases of cardiovascular disease.
It can be used as a platform for drug screening, and working with primary endothelial blood cells will help create new approaches to customized treatment of cardiovascular disease and pharmaceutical research.
This research will also contribute to enriching knowledge of primary endothelial blood cells and their relationship to disease, and their use in drug development and therapies.
