Doha College has again succeeded in bringing together secondary school students from across the country who share a passion for medicine during the Qatar Medical Review School Conference, organised in collaboration with COBIS – Council of British International Schools. This event, launched in 2014, is the first of its kind in Qatar.
The conference’s sole objective is to provide a platform for students taking their first steps towards a career in medicine. The event allows them to showcase their knowledge and in-depth research capabilities by presenting on the latest ground-breaking developments in the field of medicine.
This year, Doha College had 38 teams from nine participating schools who researched six set topics: hereditary and metabolic diseases; cancer; technology in medicine; radiological, pathological and diagnostic updates; and epidemiology of infectious diseases.
The morning session had teams present their research to impartial teacher judges from participating schools. The four teams with the highest scores did a presentation again before an esteemed panel of judges, consisting of highly sought-after doctors: Dr Satyawan Bhatt and Dr Salman Qureshi from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC); and Dr Nesrin Ghazi Elkhatib and Dr Osama Hassan Salha from Elite Medical Center.
Keynote speakers included Professor Peter Woodruff of Hamad Hospital and Sanjith Ganesan, Doha College alumnus studying medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College – Qatar.
Winning Presentations
First place – Al Khor International School (Nassima Zerouali, Asmaa Modak and Safira Awanis)
‘The Silent Muscle Crippler’ – the research spoke volumes about the nature of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), which causes degeneration of the muscles in the body. It questioned whether paralysis is the only answer or, could new developments like gene editing and CRISPR technology be a cure or, are there natural remedies that could alleviate the symptoms of this disease?
Second place – Park House English School (Toleen Masarweh, Wardah Shah and Nuhansa Wijesuriya)
‘Uncovering the Mysteries of Parkinson’s Disease’ – they captured the attention of the audience with recent research that provided evidence on how the disorder may not start in the brain, but in the appendix.
Third place – Doha College (Hisham Khan and Zakki Sarwar)
‘Regenerative Knee Surgery’ – their presentation focused on the work of Professor Hideo Ochi of Hiroshima State University in Japan, who spent the last 12 years perfecting a non-invasive method to cure knee osteoarthritis with the use of stem cells and modern technology.
Doha College principal Dr Steffen Sommers said they were impressed by the number of schools in attendance, and the quality and calibre of the presentations. The list of participating schools include:
- Al Khor International School – British Curriculum
- Al Khor International School – CBSE
- GEMS American Academy
- GEMS Wellington, Qatar
- Lebanese School
- Park House English School
- Sherborne Qatar
- Newton British Academy
- Doha College
For more information about Doha College available at dohacollege.com.