Qatar Biobank, which collected 363,076 samples from 25,934 participants so far, has ensured that the genomics data acquired by the institute is stored and protected against any security breach.
“The genomics data is kept within the borders of Qatar in a secure environment so that it does not become exposed to the Internet and become vulnerable to hackers,” said Dr Nahla Afifi, director, Qatar Biobank, a part of Qatar Foundation.
The human genome is perhaps the single most vital and powerful piece of information about a human being. It reveals sensitive information about their past, present, and future –important clues to diseases.
“As long as it is anonymised data, we can share it,” Dr Afifi explained. “But it is very important, especially in Qatar, that individual data is not shared. Qatar is a small country, and if you find a variant or a genetic disease and you identify the individual, you will be able to identify the family of this person directly. I find this as a challenge here, and so we have to be careful in how we share our data.”
It is not just privacy that is often the top priority for such data; the ownership of this data also remains a critical aspect of genomic research. However, if this data is withheld, it could mean scientists will be unable to tackle chronic diseases, especially those that are prevalent in the region.
“There are different examples of data collection and governance of data,” says Dr Afifi, “If you look at the Scandinavian model, they have a very well-established database that includes information from the time a person is born until their death. It's a slightly open access model without many constraints.”
As a large-scale medical research initiative which collects data and biological samples from the local population, Qatar Biobank is working to develop customised medical solutions to the various diseases and health issues prevalent in the country.
And if hacked, as Ameena al-Emadi, IT manager at Qatar Biobank explained, “The data can be used to identify the vulnerabilities of a nation, for example and viruses can be produced to attack that country.”
“We consider genomics data as highly sensitive and is stored in a sealed environment and no external or unauthorised users can get access to it, not even for research, unless it comes through a proper request channel, said al-Emadi.
“All our systems are built in-house, and all our data is stored in locally hosted systems. Genomic sequencing for our samples is done at Sidra Medicine, where the DNA samples are also stored. This is a huge infrastructure which Qatar Foundation invested to build.”
As a large-scale medical research initiative which collects data and biological samples from the local population, Qatar Biobank is working to develop customised medical solutions to the various diseases and health issues prevalent in the country.
And through such efforts, Qatar Biobank will make it possible for scientists to conduct research to address some of the greatest health challenges facing Qatar and the region, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer.
A genome is the complete set of a living being's DNA. A single human genome contains more than 3bn DNA base pairs and takes up to 100 gigabytes of storage space. With the advancement of precision medicine and genomic research expanding, more and more genomes are being sequenced, with storage space eventually expected to run into exabytes – the equivalent of 1bn bytes.
Qatar’s investment in research, development and innovation reflects its aspirations to help revive the Arab world’s tradition of scientific discovery and innovative thinking – and shape a healthier nation and a healthier world.
The human genome is perhaps the single most vital and powerful piece of information about a human being. It reveals sensitive information about their past, present, and future –important clues to diseases.
“As long as it is anonymised data, we can share it,” Dr Afifi explained. “But it is very important, especially in Qatar, that individual data is not shared. Qatar is a small country, and if you find a variant or a genetic disease and you identify the individual, you will be able to identify the family of this person directly. I find this as a challenge here, and so we have to be careful in how we share our data.”
It is not just privacy that is often the top priority for such data; the ownership of this data also remains a critical aspect of genomic research. However, if this data is withheld, it could mean scientists will be unable to tackle chronic diseases, especially those that are prevalent in the region.
“There are different examples of data collection and governance of data,” says Dr Afifi, “If you look at the Scandinavian model, they have a very well-established database that includes information from the time a person is born until their death. It's a slightly open access model without many constraints.”
As a large-scale medical research initiative which collects data and biological samples from the local population, Qatar Biobank is working to develop customised medical solutions to the various diseases and health issues prevalent in the country.
And if hacked, as Ameena al-Emadi, IT manager at Qatar Biobank explained, “The data can be used to identify the vulnerabilities of a nation, for example and viruses can be produced to attack that country.”
“We consider genomics data as highly sensitive and is stored in a sealed environment and no external or unauthorised users can get access to it, not even for research, unless it comes through a proper request channel, said al-Emadi.
“All our systems are built in-house, and all our data is stored in locally hosted systems. Genomic sequencing for our samples is done at Sidra Medicine, where the DNA samples are also stored. This is a huge infrastructure which Qatar Foundation invested to build.”
As a large-scale medical research initiative which collects data and biological samples from the local population, Qatar Biobank is working to develop customised medical solutions to the various diseases and health issues prevalent in the country.
And through such efforts, Qatar Biobank will make it possible for scientists to conduct research to address some of the greatest health challenges facing Qatar and the region, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer.
A genome is the complete set of a living being's DNA. A single human genome contains more than 3bn DNA base pairs and takes up to 100 gigabytes of storage space. With the advancement of precision medicine and genomic research expanding, more and more genomes are being sequenced, with storage space eventually expected to run into exabytes – the equivalent of 1bn bytes.
Qatar’s investment in research, development and innovation reflects its aspirations to help revive the Arab world’s tradition of scientific discovery and innovative thinking – and shape a healthier nation and a healthier world.
