Sidra forum looks to advance preventive medicine

Sidra Medical and Research Center (Sidra) will probe the limits of medicine when it holds its symposium on the Molecular Interception of Disease on November 6-7 at the Qatar National Convention Centre.
Local and international speakers at the forefront of research into disease interception will gather to share knowledge, advance research and explore opportunities for collaboration.
Disease interception is a preventive medicine concept. It involves identifying and addressing the root causes of disease through cutting-edge research, medicine and technology. If molecular symptoms of disease can be stopped or slowed before clinical symptoms appear, health outcomes may be transformed.
The concept of preventive medicine is integral to Sidra’s mission, and its research strategy is geared towards it. Sidra’s chief research officer Dr Francesco Marincola said: “We are no longer treating merely the symptoms. The idea is to intervene and stop the disease from initialising. Disease prevention is the ultimate goal. This involves thinking differently about healthcare and starting the preventive journey while individuals are healthy.”
Damien Chaussabel, director, system biology, translational medicine, at Sidra, expressed his hopes for further collaborative research. “There is enormous potential to advance the research in this field. We hope that this symposium will be a platform for local and global discussions around how we can really harness the benefits of molecular interception with our international peers. As always, collaboration is central
to Sidra’s research approach.”
Sidra speakers at the symposium include Damien Chaussabel; David Furman, investigator, System Biology and Immunology; Dr Davide Bedognetti, director, Tumor Biology Immunology and Therapy, Translational Medicine. Prominent international speakers include Dr Virginia Pascual from Baylor Institute for Immunology Research in Texas, USA, and Dr David Klatzmann from Pierre and Marie Curie University and Medical School in Paris, France.