By developing an empowering, inspiring cycle of education and research that instills a capacity and drive to innovate from a young age – and provides a pathway of opportunity along which those who want to make a tangible difference can walk – QF is a landscape where new ground is continually being broken.

Qatar has charted its course toward being a leading global center for excellence and pioneering in the arena of science and research, an endeavor exemplified by the Qatar National Research Strategy (QNRS). The destination of this course is one where the capabilities of Qatar’s people and institutions are allowed to thrive and achieve full utilization; where sustainable economic diversification and prosperity is secured; and where a healthy society that nourishes its past while focusing on its future is in place. 

Traversing this course presents challenges; overcoming these challenges requires a spearhead. And that spearhead is found in the science and research pillar of QF.

Across a panorama of research – from energy and environment, to computing, to biomedicine – QF is channeling ambition, ingenuity, expertise, and the nation’s avidity for innovation to produce outcomes that will have a transformative impact locally, regionally, and internationally.

Propelled by national priorities, but with the potential for international benefit, QF’s research and development entities operate at the cutting edge of science. Flexible in the face of a rapidly changing world, committed to bridging the gap between the theoretical and the tangible, personified by prowess, and driven by a sense of mission, they are at the nexus of new thinking, and ardent in their aim of being global leaders in their fields, conducting research that stands comparison with any of their worldwide peers.

At Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), an institute of Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of QF, science is being translated into new, effective, and targeted therapies, and enhanced strategies in disease prevention and diagnosis, to combat the foremost health challenges facing Qatar and the region, and to centralize on achieving the ultimate goal of personalized, precision medicine.

“The main objective of QBRI is to build a strong scientific capacity that allows Qatar and the Qatari population to capitalize on the latest scientific, medical, and technical advances to address immediate health challenges and create new knowledge, treatments, and applications, that will improve the quality of life and the effectiveness of healthcare in Qatar,” explained Dr Hilal Lashuel, Executive Director, QBRI.

“QBRI aims to attract outstanding scientists and establish rigorous multidisciplinary research programs supported by state-of-the-art research laboratories, core facilities, and technology platforms on par with those existing at top institutions around the world.

“We believe the unique characteristics of the Qatari and Arab population, combined with Qatar’s commitment and investment in biomedical research, make Qatar the ideal place and partner in developing and piloting innovative personalized approaches for the prevention and treatment of diseases such as cancer and diabetes.”

The responsibility of research at QF stretches beyond scientific exploration, progression, and realization; it has a key role in developing human capacity, so that the work of today is carried forward into tomorrow through the appliance of homegrown innovative expertise. 

At QBRI, this is achieved by providing training in basic, translational, and clinical research to young Qataris and local scientists – accentuating genetics, molecular sciences, biotechnology, diagnostics, biomedicine, and new drug discovery – through focused training programs and internships. As Dr Lashuel states: “The long-term success of QBRI depends strongly on our ability to educate, train, and retain the next generation of local scientists.”

A virtue of QF’s research environment is its ability to adapt and respond to shifting societal landscapes, and the way in which advances in one field can create challenges in another.