Khalifa University’s Dr. Habiba Alsafar and a collaborative team of UAE researchers have identified eight host-specific genetic factors with a ‘highly plausible’ genetic association with hospitalized cases of Covid-19. The findings may be able to help researchers discover therapeutic approaches to combatting the virus responsible for an enormous health and economic burden worldwide.��

One of the great mysteries of the Covid-19 pandemic was why some people only contracted a mild disease, but for others it was a fatal infection. The variation in consequences range from asymptomatic to life-threatening, viral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Although some factors correlating to disease severity have been established, these risk factors alone do not explain all of the variability seen.

A research team in the UAE has found that the genetic makeup of an individual contributes to the susceptibility and response to viral infection. Although environmental, clinical and social factors affect the chance of exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, host genetics seem to play a significant role in the severity of the disease. The research team involved consisted of Dr. Habiba AlSafar, Associate Professor and Director of the KU Center for Biotechnology (BTC), with Dr. Mira Mousa, and Research Associates Hema Vurivi and Hussein Kannout, all from the BTC. They collaborated with a team from Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Dubai Health Authority, and the University of Western Australia and the work has been published in.

In a cross-sectional study, the research team looked at 646 patients who contracted Covid-19, 482 of whom were hospitalized with acute respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, severe complications, or who needed supplemental oxygen therapy. Upon examination of their genetic information, they identified eight genes expressed in the lungs are very likely to be associated with hospitalization in Covid-19 cases.

Risk factors, disease management and access to health systems do contribute to the wide variety in Covid-19 symptoms seen but multiple genome-wide association studies have demonstrated a link between the patient’s genetic makeup and their vulnerability to severe Covid-19 infection.

Previous work by Dr. AlSafar with researchers in the UAE found that infection with Covid-19 can affect the expression of various genes known to be associated with inflammatory and oxidation activities in the body. Genes that caused the production of reactive oxygen species – a type of unstable molecule that contains oxygen and that easily reacts with other molecules in a cell – were significantly upregulated, while genes that affected antioxidant production – molecules that fight free radicals in the body – were downregulated.

Now, a further eight genes have been discovered with a ‘highly plausible’ genetic association with hospitalization cases of Covid-19, thanks to the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) in the United Arab Emirates.

“Identifying genetic variants associated with Covid-19 severity may uncover novel biological insights into diseases pathogenesis and identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic and vaccine development,” Dr. AlSafar explained. “We can identify which individuals may have a greater risk of being hospitalized and improved treatments to target these patients specifically.”

The team designed their approach to uncover genetic variants shared across ancestry groups, discovering that while the eight genes were largely driven by effects in the populations with European ancestry, the effects were similar in multiple ancestral populations, demonstrating the chances of those variants modulating the risk of infection and severity in different populations.

The eight genes were all found in the lungs and are associated with tumor progression, emphysema and airway obstruction within the lung. In hospitalized Covid-19 patients, these genes were associated with respiratory failure that required invasive mechanical ventilation. Some of the genes were also found to be associated with inflammation in the lungs, further validating previous work that indicated inflammatory responses in the lungs influence Covid-19 susceptibility and severity.

While further studies are needed to fully establish the roles these eight genes play, these findings suggest that genetic diversity may be an important factor in determining why different people have different lung responses to SARS-CoV-2, and thus differing severity of Covid-19. Some of these associations could lead to therapeutic approaches, or therapies designed to improve overall health rather than merely treat symptoms, due to their expression in the lungs.

“The sample size for this study was small so caution should be exercised in translating the findings into genetic tests and clinical application,” Dr. AlSafar added. “However, based on our study, one gene, VWA8, has a 3-fold risk of being associated to hospitalized Covid-19 phenotypes. This gene is linked to types of emphysema and deformities in the lungs.

“We need to conduct further studies on worldwide population genetics to see if we can identify these genes in other populations. Then, we can begin to develop population-specific therapeutics to mitigate this worldwide challenge.”

Jade Sterling
Science Writer
24 January 2022

The post Eight Genes Found to Influence Covid-19 Severity appeared first on Khalifa University.

• Al Falasi: The UAE will thrive to become a preferred hub for global innovation
• The six winning teams, focusing on key areas of UAE Vision 2021, have been announced and will showcase their solutions at the Swedish Pavilion in Expo2020��
• The six winning teams proposed solutions tackling key topics in the vision including healthcare, sustainable environment, and education
• The grand prize winner will get the chance to visit Ericsson’s headquarters in Sweden to present the team’s solution and interact with the entrepreneurial community

Under the patronage of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Economy, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) organized the “Together Apart” Hackathon and the time has come to unveil the six winning teams who contributed with unique solutions that are in line with UAE Vision 2021 tackling key topics in the vision including healthcare, sustainable environment, and education.

The “Together Apart” Hackathon aim is to accelerate the journey towards a more connected future and solving global challenges by working with innovators, disruptors, and creative people of the UAE to build technology-based solutions aligned with the UAE Vision 2021. Participants from across the UAE were invited to contribute their innovative solutions, showcasing the power of connectivity and 5G, while taking inspiration from the six broad themes of UAE Vision 2021 – World Class Healthcare, First Rate Education System, Competitive Knowledge and Digital Economy, Sustainable Environment and Infrastructure, Safe Public and Road Safety, and Cohesive Society and Preserved Identity.

The finalists presented their solutions in front of the judging committee which selected six winners. Members of the judging committee consisted of senior representatives from the public and private sector including BecanWellness Solutions, Du, Dubai Future Foundation, Ericsson, Etisalat, Nasdaq and SOMA MATER.

The winning solutions are:

RenAIssance.

Members: Himanshu Upadhyay, Siddiq Anwar, Mohammad Yaqub, Mecit Can Emre Simsekler

Quoting the team about their solution: “RenAIssance re-imagines a world where high-quality medical care can be consistently provided to improve healthcare outcomes across the globe. RenAIssance endeavors to provide risk-based decision-making tools to healthcare providers looking after patients suffering from kidney disease by leveraging its cutting-edge AI platform. It integrates disruptive technologies and innovations in medical Internet of Things (IoT) devices and 5G technology with its cloud-based, medical Intellectual Property (IP)-rich AI platform to deliver its services.”

Read the complete article here: ��

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Two Khalifa University student papers have been accepted at the 43rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.

The and will cover diverse topics of cutting-edge research and innovation in biomedical engineering and healthcare technology.

Fitting the theme of ‘Changing Global Healthcare in the Twenty-First Century’, Dahlia Hassan investigated the efficacy of a model in determining how to help patients suffering from fainting, while Feryal Alskafi, MSc in Biomedical Engineering student, developed a model to identify emotions from bodily responses. Dahlia is currently a Teacher’s Assistant for Dr. Herbert Jelinek, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and will begin her Master’s degree in Spring 2022.

Heart Rate Model to Help Reduce Fainting

Vasovagal syncope is a medical condition that can lead to fainting. This is caused by a temporary drop in the amount of blood that flows to the brain from a sudden drop in blood pressure or a drop in heart rate. It is considered to be the most common cause of fainting that becomes even more common with age.

Patients with vasovagal syncope often undergo a self-training program at home to improve their condition. In the training program, the patients are asked to stand against a wall without moving, twice a day for up to 30 minutes. After a few weeks of doing this daily, the patients are given the ‘head-up tilt test’ to determine whether the standing practice helped decrease their symptoms.

In a head-up tilt test, the patient begins lying flat in bed and the bed is gradually tilted to a maximum angle of 80 degrees. Gravity causes blood to pool in the legs, resulting in a blood pressure drop above the patient’s center of gravity. Baroreceptors sense the decrease in blood pressure and cause an increase in heart rate. In healthy individuals, although the blood pressure initially increases, the heart rate quickly returns to normal. In syncope patients, the heart rate remains high. While useful for diagnosis, the head-up tilt test is time-consuming, not available in all clinics, and carries the risk of inducing cardiac arrest.

As an alternative to the head-up tilt test, Hassan proposed a new way of determining whether the self-training program can help patients with syncope. She developed a model that uses a patient’s electrocardiogram (ECG) data, which are electrical signals from the heart, to predict heart rate changes and determine the efficacy of the home-based training program.

The data from her model can be used by clinicians to assess whether extended periods of standing can help decrease the amount of fainting episodes the patient experiences based on subsequent five-minute heart rate recordings, without the need to perform a head-up tilt test.

While the model can be used to determine heart rate changes at any time of day, relying only on the heart rate as an input is limiting. Hassan plans to further her work by including blood pressure as a parameter for the model.����

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Monitoring Our Emotions

Wearable sensors are already used to monitor health—heart rate sensors are commonly used to keep an eye on heart health and predict any adverse events. Further advances in sensors have also been used to recognize emotions using physiological signals. However, there is no universally accepted model for emotions, which Alskafi set out to change.

Emotions play a vital role in human behavior and psychology, exerting a powerful influence on processes such as perception, attention, decision-making, and learning. Emotions can be categorized by how they are felt, using valence, arousal and dominance. Valence is the positivity or negativity of an emotion; arousal is the level of excitement different emotions elicit; and dominance relates to feeling in or out of control in our response.

In healthcare, an individual profile that recognizes sources of stress, anxiety, depression or chronic diseases can be built by tracking emotions using wearable trackers. Alskafi recognized that while emotions are usually conveyed through body language and facial expressions, physiological manifestations of emotions could provide a more accurate representation. These are much harder to conceal and more difficult to manipulate when compared to body language, but some conditions cause people to present emotions differently. The physiological responses should be the same among all people as expression of emotions is shown through changes in heart rate, temperature and breathing patterns.

Alskafi fed these parameters into her model to classify physiological responses into different emotions. Anger and joy tend to be high arousal emotions, while sadness and reflection have low arousal levels. Fear and anger tend to be negative valence emotions, while joy has positive valence.

Her results found that the model performed best when it had fewer emotions to choose between, showing that the study can be used as a basis for further research in machine learning classification and algorithm development.

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Jade Sterling
Science Writer
20 September 2021

The post Student Biomedical Engineering Papers Accepted at EMBC appeared first on Khalifa University.

Partners Foresee Multiple Projects for Collaboration to Support the UAE’s Vision, Especially in Precision Medicine and Advancing Research on Genomics and Proteomics

Khalifa University and G42 Healthcare, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42, announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in research and academic areas related to the healthcare sector and artificial intelligence.

The MoU was signed by Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University, and Ashish Koshy, CEO, G42 Healthcare, at a virtual ceremony in Abu Dhabi.

According to the MoU, both partners will cooperate on research and the publication of research outcomes by faculty, scientists and researchers, as well as on academic programs. The two will also implement a student exchange program.

Dr. Al Hammadi said: “Khalifa University is delighted to enter into this research collaboration MoU with G42 Healthcare and advance the healthcare vision of the UAE. Our academic and research capabilities are acknowledged widely, as our collaborations expand into various areas including smart healthcare, genomics, bioinformatics, systems biology, diagnostic engineering, and cyber-physical systems, as well as advanced technology. We believe the synergy resulting from our joint activities, especially through our dedicated research centers, will inspire innovation that will benefit the wider community.”

Mr. Ashish Koshy said: “We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Khalifa University, one of the leading academic institutions in the country, on collaborative research, publications, joint academic programs and student exchange programs. During this pandemic, we have all understood and witnessed how strategic collaboration between entities is critical for future proofing the health of our nations.”

Both partners agree that there are multiple projects they can collaborate on, to support the UAE’s vision for the future, especially in introducing precision medicine and working closely with the pharma industry and advancing research on genomics and proteomics.

More recently, G42 Healthcare and the Khalifa University Center for Biotechnology conducted a SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing study that has identified the genomic source of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will help determine the spread and evolution patterns of the virus ever since the disease was first recorded in the UAE, while providing additional insights for sustainable screening of the SARS-CoV-2 dynamics and will help the country better prepare for future outbreaks. The entire study is expected to be published soon.

Dr. Habiba Al Safar, Director, Center for Biotechnology, and Associate Professor, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Khalifa University, has already been investigating the nuances of the Emirati genome, following a research published last year describing the sequence of the first complete Emirati genome. She and other researchers have since been investigating the specific genome variants that may point to risk factors for certain diseases and seeking to understand how these genetic variations can help develop more personalized treatment plans.

Dr. Walid Zaher, Chief Research Officer, G42 Healthcare has been leading the viral genome sequencing and Emirati Genome Program, among other projects and commented, “Our collaboration spans an array of research projects that draw upon combined expertise in technology and innovation. The longitudinal viral genome sequencing study assesses the potential emergence of a more virulent subtype and its potential effect on the country’s infection control strategies and will in turn translate into improvements in diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity. Similarly, our Omics Centre of Excellence has analyzed more than 1,000 human genomes on NGS and TGS platforms to create a standard Emirati reference genome which sets the precursor for a wider scale roll out of the program”.

At present, some of the Khalifa University research centers involved in healthcare-related research include the Center for Biotechnology (BTC), Healthcare Engineering Innovation Center (HEIC), Center for Cyber-Physical Systems (C2PS), and the Khalifa University – Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KU-KAIST) Joint Research Center.

Clarence Michael
English Editor Specialist
22 February 2021

The post Khalifa University and G42 Healthcare Sign MoU on Research Collaboration appeared first on Khalifa University.

HH Sheikh Hamed Chairs Khalifa University Board of Trustees Meeting

His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Khalifa University of Science and Technology, today chaired a meeting of the Khalifa University Board of Trustees on the Main Campus. HH Sheikh Hamed also witnessed the White Coat Ceremony that marked the start of Fall 2019 classes for the newly enrolled first cohort of students at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, and inaugurated ‘The Body Museum’ – the region’s first-ever Body Worlds Exhibition, a traveling exposition of dissected and ‘plastinated’ human bodies, at the Main Campus.

The White Coat Ceremony symbolizes the entrance of medical students to the practice of medicine, and elevates the value of humanism as the core of health care. It also symbolizes a student’s transition to a scientific approach to medicine, while signifying the commitment to the practice of medicine and the patient-physician relationship. Traditionally, the first-year students receive their first white coat of their medical school career that stands as a symbol of the medical profession.

HH Sheikh Hamed then toured the College of Medicine and Health Sciences’ medical laboratories and class room facilities.

Khalifa University’s Board of Trustees (BoT) members HE Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Cabinet Member and Minister of Education and Vice Chairman of the Board; HE Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and Chairman, Masdar, HE Prof. Maha Barakat, Senior Advisor, Abu Dhabi Executive Office, Senior Advisor, Mubadala; HE Eng. Saleh Al Abdooli, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Group, HE Abdulmunim Saif Al Kindy, Director, Exploration, Development and Production Directorate, ADNOC, HE Abdulaziz Abdulla Alhajri, Director, Refining and Petrochemicals Directorate, ADNOC, and HE Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, Permanent Representative of the UAE to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) were present on the occasion.

Others from Khalifa University included Dr Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Dr. Ahmed Al Shoaibi, Senior Vice President, Academic and Student Services, Dr. John Derek Woollins, Provost, and Dr John Rock, Founding Dean, College of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Dr. Rock said: “We extend a warm welcome to the newly-enrolled students through this White Coat ceremony as they begin their learning process, on campus and at external medical facilities. We firmly believe the first batch of students beginning their classes today will excel in their academic and practical performance, setting an excellent standard for the upcoming students to follow in the future. We look forward to celebrating your successful journey to become a physician over the next four years.”

Khalifa University’s College of Medicine and Health Sciences is the first 4X4 allopathic LCME-comparable (Liaison Committee on Medical Education), post-baccalaureate medical college, which prepares its medical students for residency programs in the US and Canada.

Khalifa University has established a “Balsam” community outreach program endorsed by the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company��(SEHA) and the Authority for Social Contribution (Maan) to place inter-professional teams in household-centered care.

Khalifa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences has also developed one of the largest comprehensive 24-station OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) and Simulation Center, which is designed to test clinical skill performance. The program provides a hands-on real-world approach to learning and assessment. This program will serve hospital residency programs, military training units, and other medical schools in the UAE.

Additionally, the College of Medicine and Health Sciences has developed a state-of-the-art testing center, which is created with Prometric and Pearson VUE standards which will allow Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) testing on site.

Khalifa University has signed a six-month agreement with Body Worlds to host the exhibition at the campus in Abu Dhabi. The region’s first-of-its-kind exhibition aims to inform visitors about anatomy, physiology, and health by viewing real human bodies that are preserved through plastination. The exposition of dissected human bodies, animals, and other anatomical structures focuses on the human life-cycle, capturing the body at every stage – at its most healthy, as it changes, grows, matures, and finally wanes. The Body Worlds Exhibition being hosted at Khalifa University is open to students from across schools and universities in the UAE as well as general public.

Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi said: “By bringing the Body Worlds Exhibition to Abu Dhabi, we have demonstrated to the community the extent of learning the students will undergo at Khalifa University’s College of Medicine and Health Sciences. The exhibits demonstrate the complexity, resilience, and vulnerability of the human body in distress, stricken by disease or in optimal health. We believe the exhibition will help students in the UAE learn about the marvels of human body and gain insights into human anatomy, its various stages and how adopting a healthier lifestyle positively impacts the body.”

The intent of the exhibition is to introduce the visitor to the functions of each human muscle and nerve, while moving or concentrating as is the case with the chess player, as well as the contraction of each muscle and nerve in the back and its extension, with each movement of his hand while moving a heavy stone. The plastinated body also demonstrates the coordination of a swimmer’s feet, leg muscles and arms with every movement in water, as well as spectacular muscle growth in athletes. The display of dark gray smokers’ lungs damaged by smoking, demonstrates how bad habits damage the body.

The most visited traveling exhibition in the world, ‘Body Worlds: The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies’, was invented in 1977 by the German anatomist Dr. Gunther von Hagens. The plastination process, which can take up to a year for each body, is a technique or process used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts. The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most properties of the original sample.

With plastination, it is possible to permanently display the inside of a body in a more fascinating and aesthetic way. These plastinated specimens are practically imperishable, allowing them to be handled and understood but can be used for the training of future doctors, as well as for educating medically interested laymen.

The Body Worlds exhibition aims to urge human beings to realize the importance of the human body and keep away from diseases caused by harmful habits and behavior. The exhibition can also be described as a simplified anatomy lesson that combines visitor education and satisfies curiosity.

Preparing a whole body plastinate can take up to 800 hours of work, and it requires good anatomical knowledge, manual skill, and�� patience. However, once completed, this plastinated body ��ݮ��Ƶ only the scientific aspect of anatomy and does not in any way harness the human spirit for commercial display. Thus a student or a visitor can understand, from inside, the human body, which is otherwise only explained by a physician or can be read from a book with theoretical information, but without sufficient life-like visual details.

Located at the Main Campus of Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, the College of Medicine and Health Sciences is offering the post-graduate MD program in five strands – Biomedical Science, Clinical Medicine, Medicine and Society, Physicianship, as well as Research, Technology and Innovation.

Clarence Michael
News Writer
10 September 2019

The post HH Sheikh Hamed Attends Khalifa University’s ‘White Coat Ceremony’ and Inaugurates Region’s First-Ever ‘Body Museum’ Exhibition appeared first on Khalifa University.