Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation, opened on Saturday the second edition of the Mena (Middle East and North Africa) Microbiome Conference 2026 in Doha, to explore the latest advances in microbiome science and their potential applications in healthcare.
Held under the theme ‘From Biomarkers Discovery to Microbiota-based Therapeutics’, the first day focused on the role of the microbiome in women's and children's health, precision nutrition, and innovative therapeutic strategies, highlighting the potential of microbiome research to improve disease prevention and treatment.
Women’s and infant health was a central focus of the first day, with scientific discussions examining how the microbiome influences reproductive health, pregnancy outcomes, and early infant development.
Conference co-chairs Dr Souhaila al-Khodor and Dr Annalisa Terranega presented research on the role of microbial genomics in maternal and child health and precision nutrition.
Their key sessions highlighted how the maternal microbiome contributes to an infant's microbial development during the first 1,000 days of life as well as the role of breast milk microbiome in infant health and the impact of pregnancy complications on early interactions between the immune system and microbiome.
“We are immensely proud to organise and host the Middle East’s first conference dedicated to Microbiome health,” they said. “Through the Mena Microbiome Conference 2026, Sidra Medicine continues to advance scientific collaboration and support research that could contribute to more personalised healthcare for women and children in Qatar and the wider region.”
A key highlight of the first day was the announcement of QMicrobe, an initiative aimed at establishing Qatar's first dedicated paediatric donor stool bank for therapeutic research.
The programme, led by Dr al-Khodor, will combine carefully screened donor samples, clinical assessments, advanced metagenomic sequencing, and computational analysis to identify microorganisms with potential therapeutic value.
Supported through a Joint Funding Call programme by the Qatar Research Development and Innovation Council and the Ministry of Public Health, QMicrobe aims to strengthen Qatar's microbiome research capabilities and support future therapeutic development.
It will also help establish standardised research protocols and create opportunities for collaboration across healthcare, academia, and biotechnology.
Dr al-Khodor, who is the director of the Reproductive and Perinatal Health Translational Research Programme and principal investigator at Sidra Medicine, said: “By establishing a collection of samples from carefully screened healthy paediatric donors, QMicrobe will provide researchers with a resource to investigate microorganisms and microbial functions with potential therapeutic value.”
“The initiative could support future research into metabolic disorders, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, infections, and certain neurodevelopmental conditions,” she said.
QMicrobe will be done in collaboration with Dr Majdi Osman, physician scientist from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
Dr Osman’s session at Mena Microbiome addressed advances in faecal microbiota transplantation and emerging microbial therapies.
He also discussed current clinical applications, ongoing research, and the opportunities and challenges involved in developing microbiome-based treatments.
While QMicrobe will initially focus on establishing research infrastructure and demonstrating feasibility, its long-term goal is to support the development of microbiome-based therapies and future clinical studies in Qatar.
The initiative will also help generate locally relevant research data reflecting Qatar's diverse population.
Day 1 also spotlighted a new study by Sidra Medicine, investigating how the type of fat a mother eats during pregnancy shapes her child’s brain development, and whether it influences the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.
The study, led by Dr Terranegra in collaboration with Oxford University's Wellcome – Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, is a result of a grant awarded to her by the Waterloo Foundation in the UK.
“Neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, are a significant public health concern in Qatar, and the country has made this a national priority through the Qatar Foundation’s Autism Strategy 2025-35,” Dr Terranegra said. “Our project directly supports that strategy by addressing prevention and early identification, not only treatment, through a modifiable factor: maternal nutrition during pregnancy.”
