Dr Mamoun Elawad, Division Chief of Gastroenterology at Sidra
Clinical research at Sidra Medical and Research Center plays a key role in supporting genetic research as it can help researchers learn more about the causes and treatments for genetic disorders and diseases.
While genetic research can work to identify the genetic and environmental causes of diseases, the clinical research component can help lead to the advancement of disease prevention and treatment, says Dr Mamoun Elawad, Division Chief of Gastroenterology at Sidra.
“Clinical research is very important whereby research is conducted through which both the physician and the researcher can directly interact with patients . In the case of physicians such as myself – it helps us find new and better ways to understand, detect, control and treat the conditions. We can consider a customised approach to care and medication,” he told The Peninsula.
“Clinical research also allows us to group patients in a way so that we can study their conditions in a more focused manner — it helps give a wider view of the problems they are experiencing. It also helps to find answers to difficult scientific or health questions. Clinical research today may help doctors in the future screen healthy patients before they develop certain diseases,” he added.
Clinical and genetic research depends on finding the genotype and phenotype of the disease —by matching the clinical disease presentation with the genetic make-up of the individual. Putting them together allows us to get a full description of the disease.
Also clinical research play a significant role in developing personalised medicine, that will promote better health for the people of Qatar.
“The area of personalised medicine is becoming a very important tool. One of the main things at Sidra is that we are actively working on bringing clinical research to real life. We are working very closely with our research division to partner on clinical research programs,” said Dr Elawad.
For example, if a patient has a specific disease or condition and the physicians know the genetic make-up and pre disposition of the disease — they can easily adopt specific treatments to match the condition.
“In many cases, having access to genetic information can also help with preventative measures — and working with patients who we think may be susceptible to certain diseases and conditions. This allows us to recommend make key lifestyle changes or embark on different treatment plans. This is what the concept of personalised medicine is built on,” said Dr Elawad.
“I am working closely with our clinical research teams here to apply genetic and clinical research strategies for the paediatric patients I am seeing at Sidra. A key advantage at Sidra is that we can get the genetic diagnoses done in Qatar (without having to send the samples abroad). This saves time and money and is a big step forward in not only building Sidra’s clinical research capabilities but putting us on the path to personalised care,” he added.
