Qatar-based Nour Majbour from Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI) is one among the top nine contestants of Stars of Science, season 10. 
The ‘edutainment reality’ programme, follows the journey of nine Arab innovators through prototyping and customer validation episodes until only four finalists remain to compete for a share of $600,000 in seed funding. The ranking is determined by jury deliberation and online public voting. 
Majbour, a full-time research associate at QBRI, skilfully fought her way through the casting stage with her proposed innovation in early Parkinson’s disease (PD) detection. 
She said: “My Parkinson’s Early Detection Kit aims to surpass the current limitations in disease diagnostics through the use of antibodies - a type of protein integral to the body’s immune system that may be leveraged to identify biological signs of the onset of PD.
“For a neurodegenerative disease without a known cure, early detection and treatment are instrumental in relieving symptoms and improving the patients’ quality of life, particularly those who suffer from a lack of options and resources to seek treatment. Witnessing the rapid degenerative process of PD in family members has impacted my research, which aims to honour their legacy and ease the suffering of many other patients worldwide.”
Majbour’s participation in a public platform that actively empowers Arab youth promoted her to an ambassador for women’s entrepreneurship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) – a traditionally male-dominated profession. Her mentor and acting executive director at QBRI Dr Omar El-Agnaf said, “Nour’s entrepreneurial spirit and dedication have crafted an inspirational story for young women whose involvement in STEM is essential to closing the persisting gender gap; today, women still only make up thirty percent of the world’s researchers.”
HBKU’s dedication to fostering talented women in STEM is underlined by the university’s lasting collaboration with Stars of Science – a programme that aims to promote access to knowledge and opportunity across broad viewership demographics.




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