UAE could be first mover in European Biomedical Sciences Collaboration

Dubai, 2 February 2012 – A Roadmap for enhancing inter-regional collaboration in biomedical science in general, and with the research infrastructures IT Future of Medicine (ITFoM) and Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI) in particular, was discussed at a meeting held on the 2nd of February in Dubai.

The meeting was hosted by the United Arab Emirate’s National Research Foundation (UAE NRF) and under the directorship of Dr Husam Sultan Al-Ulama. The meeting was chaired by Declan Kirrane (ISC) and attended by Prof Kurt Zatloukal (BBMRI), Prof Hans Lehrach (ITFoM), Mrs Avril Doyle (former MEP), Prof Peter Boyle (iPRI), and Markus Pasterk (iPRI) amongst others.

The meeting was a direct follow-up to the European Parliament hearing held on the 22nd November 2011, chaired by Dr Angelika Niebler, MEP, which sought the optimal format for scientific dialogue between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the EU.

Four conclusions arose from the meeting:

1) The NRF articulated a firm commitment to the pursuit of high quality science and the health of the UAE population;
2) The NRF committed to pursuing a Science Cooperation Agreement with the EU;
3) Both the NRF and university representatives (UAE, UAEU) expressed a firm intent to participate in both projects, ITFoM and BBMRI; and
4) The NRF committed to hosting a conference symposium in biomedical science in October 2012, with focus on BBMRI and ITFoM.

Amongst general all-round praise for the manner of the meeting, Dr Eyed Abed, Dean Faculty IT UAEU, underlined UAE’s enthusiasm and credentials for collaboration: “There is interest, real interest. We are highly motivated. It’s the right time, right place, and we’re the right people to do it. Let’s make something tangible”. Dr Husam Sultan Al-Ulama (NRF) echoed His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research, in calling the prospect of collaboration a “wonderful opportunity”. Prof Kurt Zatloukal, Medical University of Graz and Coordinator of BBMRI, clinched the opportunity of future collaboration for both sides in one sentence: “UAE could be the first-mover, the paradigm, a visible demonstration that the EU’s policies are successful”.

Countries

United Arab Emirates, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom