NewsDetail
Doha, 20 January 2014: The genetics of human obesity and insulin resistance was the focus of the first 2014 lecture in the immensely popular Academic Health System (AHS) Lecture Series. The lecture held at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) was delivered by Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, Chairperson of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine at the University of Cambridge, and was attended by about 140 participants composed of physicians, clinical scientists and health professionals from a wide range of specialties across the eight AHS member organizations.
Professor O’Rahilly is one of the most distinguished clinical scientists in the world and has won many awards for his scientific work. Among other prestigious memberships, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the greatest scientific honors. Currently, he is also Co-Director of the Institute of Metabolic Science and Director of the Metabolic Research Laboratories at the University of Cambridge, as well as Director of the Medical Research Council’s Metabolic Diseases Unit in the UK.
“Professor O’Rahilly’s work uses molecular and genetic science to diagnose and treat patients. He has discovered that obesity is often an inherited disorder that results from mutations in many different genes, many of which control appetite and energy storage or utilization. Many patients in Qatar could benefit from his research particularly as he continues to search for new therapies,” said Professor Edward Hillhouse, Chief of Scientific, Academic and Faculty Affairs at HMC.
“Obesity and diabetes are major public health problems nationally and internationally, and have been increasing in frequency within the last 50-100 years. By 2030, there will be 500 million people in the world with type 2 diabetes, most of them in places which are not well-equipped to deal with this chronic medical condition,” said Prof. O’Rahilly, explaining that the increasing prevalence of obesity is driven by the reduction of physical activity in general life and working life, and this is combined with cheap, readily available and high-calorie foods.
Professor O’Rahilly continued, “We need better ways of preventing and treating obesity and diabetes; obviously one way is through public health measures such as improving diet and physical activity, but the other way will be through better drugs. The work of my group involves studying patients with particular types of disorder that tell us about how body weight is controlled and how insulin works in the body. By understanding these patients, we can get a better idea of what the normal control points in the body are, and working with the pharmaceutical industry, we can help them to make better drugs so we can improve the treatment of people with diabetes and/or obesity, and perhaps help prevent obesity and diabetes.”
Professor Hillhouse said the AHS partners are exploring collaborations with the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Metabolic Science. He added, “We are establishing an Academic Health System Institute of Metabolic Diseases which will draw together clinicians, scientists and other healthcare workers to focus on the discovery of new diagnostic and treatment paradigms for Qatar. The institute will be patient-focused and have several centers of excellence, one of which will be for obesity.”
The Academic Health System in Qatar is the first partnership of its kind in the MENA region and the world’s first nationwide AHS. This dynamic network integrates research, education and clinical care to focus on improving patient care and delivering innovative healthcare solutions. The eight partners working collaboratively in the AHS include HMC, Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar, Sidra Medical and Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, College of the North Atlantic-Qatar, the Primary Health Care Corporation, Qatar University and University of Calgary-Qatar.
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Hamad Medical Corporation
