Interdisciplinary Research Program (IDRP)

Today’s extraordinary healthcare challenges call for reaching beyond the established patterns and organization of the research community. In order to help propel research and scholarship beyond the ordinary, QBRI’s Research Office has launched the Interdisciplinary Research Program (IDRP). This platform takes into account the complexity of the human body and the various diseases or combination of diseases a person could be suffering from and looks at finding more holistic biomedical solutions. As a disease-focused institute, while continuing to work towards improving personalized medicine, QBRI also explores the potential for commercialization through the IDRP.

The idea behind the initiative is to encourage researchers tackling common scientific challenges across two or more of QBRI’s research centers to work together and stimulate biomedical research across different disciplines. The approach is expected to generate innovative, problem-solving strategies that transcend individual disciplines while integrating a diverse range of skill sets and expertise.

While the IDRP calls for the collaboration and working together of multiple investigators from QBRI’s research centers, it can also involve partnerships with other national and international organizations. Additionally, IDRP enforces Qatar Foundation’s vision for research that focuses on translational projects. This will result in translating findings in fundamental research into medical practice with meaningful health outcomes.

The program extends grants worth QAR 4 million per year for a period of three years which can be extended up to five years. The proposals for IDRP are screened by a team of local, regional and international experts. A peer review committee involving world leaders in the proposed field of research oversees the selection process. The collaborative efforts span over several research areas and are based on a common innovative and translational approach.