Research Program Expert at QRDI Council Dr. Sara Abdulla
Doha, Qatar: Several biomedical research projects supported by the Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation (QRDI) Council have led to innovations that reflect Qatar’s growing capabilities in health-focused research and commercialisation.
In an interview with The Peninsula, Research Program Expert at QRDI Council Dr. Sara Abdulla shared the council’s strategic role in enabling translational research that bridges academic innovation and real-world healthcare solutions, supporting Qatar’s national priorities in precision medicine, neurological and mental health, artificial intelligence-driven healthcare, biopharma and biotech.
“QRDI plays a key role in shaping Qatar’s biomedical research and innovation landscape through a multifaceted approach. Our efforts integrate strategic planning, targeted funding, infrastructure development and regulatory reform to foster a robust, dynamic, and responsive research ecosystem aligned with national health priorities,” she said.
According to Dr. Abdulla, QRDI Council integrates biomedical challenges into innovation efforts.
“The Open Innovation Program invites entities like the Ministry of Public Health and Sidra Medicine to pose real-world problems that startups and researchers collaboratively address through co-developed solutions. Similarly, the Technological Innovation Program supports prototyping and commercialisation efforts,” she said.
A noteworthy example of QRDI Council-supported biomedical innovation is Pathoscope, an AI-enabled sensor developed to rapidly detect sepsis and bacterial infections. This point-of-care technology leverages nanotechnology and machine learning to deliver near-instant, culture-free diagnostics with up to 100% accuracy, potentially transforming critical care worldwide.
“Moreover, QRDI research funding supported projects at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) that have pioneered innovations such as surgical telementoring platforms, robotic surgery systems, and surgical AI, aiming to enhance the precision and scalability of surgical interventions,” said Dr. Abdulla.
Another success is NorTest, a low-cost, rapid fluorescent lateral flow assay for Norovirus detection developed by Qatar University. Additionally, QRDI has supported PurePore, a novel biomedical nanotechnology-based skincare solution designed to treat acne.
QRDI Council also focuses on creating a robust research ecosystem by providing access to infrastructure, data, and skilled talent. It facilitates this by connecting researchers with national resources and fostering collaboration with partners like Sidra Medicine and HMC. Additionally, QRDI works with regulators to improve research policies, particularly in areas such as clinical trials, data governance, and ethics.
One of QRDI’s strategic initiatives to foster collaboration is through the establishment of the Qatar BioMed Community.
“The community acts as a dynamic platform that intentionally bridges academia, industry, and government. The goal of the community is to facilitate cross-sectional knowledge exchange, co-develop solutions to pressing biomedical and health challenges and identify regulatory and policy gaps that may hinder biomedical advancement. Through the community, QRDI will facilitate webinars, workshops and networking pipelines to help translate research into tangible outcomes, while ensuring alignment with national priorities,” said Dr. Abdulla.
In addition to the BioMed Community, QRDI strengthens collaboration through research grant calls, which are deliberately shaped to encourage joint efforts and partnerships. The calls are designed to embed translational goals, co-design principles, and in many cases, attract co-funding or cost-sharing. The research calls aim to solve national health challenges through collective expertise.
“By shaping calls around community input and national priorities, QRDI ensures that the research it supports is both scientifically rigorous and practically relevant, driving innovation that can be deployed within Qatar’s healthcare system and beyond,” said Dr. Abdulla.
QRDI’s role has also been catalytic in building the foundation for precision medicine in Qatar. Through targeted funding programmes like the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP), the Path Towards Precision Medicine (PPM) initiative, and various national and thematic calls, QRDI has supported a wide range of projects in genomics, pharmacogenomics, biomarker discovery, and multi-omics research.
“These efforts have focused on health challenges especially relevant to Qatar and have helped generate large-scale genomic datasets, population-specific disease insights, and early-stage clinical tools. Much of this work was carried out by leading national institutions with several initiatives that have contributed to the growth of Qatar Precision Health Institute (QPHI),” said Dr. Abdulla.
In long-term, QRDI Council’s aims in advancing biomedical research and innovation centre around transforming Qatar into a regional biomedical hub that not only addresses national health priorities but also contributes towards economic diversification.
“The funding mechanisms we design aim to foster a fully integrated ecosystem that is capable of translating research into solutions and eventually commercial products,” said Dr. Abdulla.
