The second international genomic medicine conference (2nd IGMC, 2013): brief report and outcome

Abstract

Centre of Excellence in Genomic Medicine Research (CEGMR, at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) [1], is a leading centre in the field of medical genomics research in the Western province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 2007 with the aim of addressing important health concerns nationally and internationally. One approach the CEGMR implemented to help achieve this aim was to host an annual international conference. An initiative considered to be an excellent opportunity to interact with the international science community, discuss and exchange ideas, and set up collaboration through networking. In November 2012 at KAU, CEGMR represented by its Director (Professor Mohammed Al-Qahtani), Deputy Directors (Professor Adel Abuzenadah and Dr Adeel Chaudhary), the supervisor of the continuing education and postgraduate studies (Professor Mamdooh Gari), and all research and technical staff organized its first International Genomic Medicine Conference (1st IGMC). In November 2013, CEGMR continued its leading role in genomics and organized its 2nd IGMC. The conference was well received and attended by 505 international and national participants. Among the international participants was Professor Erwin Neher, a Nobel laureate with Bert Sakmann in 1991 in Physiology or Medicine, who gave the keynote talk on the first day of the conference on his discovery of “The function of single ion channels in cells” with notes on their function and role in disease. His presence and talk was an excellent opportunity for junior and senior national researchers in Saudi Arabia to meet and learn from a scientific pioneer. The 2nd IGMC scientific committee led by Dr Muhammad Abu-Elmagd worked tirelessly hard and managed, for the first time ever for the conference, to publish 98 IGMC abstracts and more than 24 peer-reviewed full articles in two separate special supplements in a high impact factor (IF) journal in the field, the BMC Genomics (IF: 4.04) [2]. These two supplements mark an unprecedented success for the CEGMR and the IGMC.