Doha: Nations worldwide attach great importance to scientific research and provide platforms to help researchers overcome obstacles and difficulties and consolidate scientific research culture in society, especially among youth.
Since all the inventions and discoveries are products of the scientific research process, the importance lies in considering it as the building block of development, renaissance, and progress for all people.
This prompted the Qatar University Young Scientists Center (QU-YSC), in cooperation with the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies (VPRGS), to launch a research funding program titled “The National Science Promotion Program” (NSPP) in December 2020.
The winning projects of the research grants were announced recently. The programme aims to build and consolidate the researcher’s identity among Qatar’s youth by involving them in research grant projects and by allowing them to invest their minds and creative energies in various research fields that fall under the national research vision in Qatar. All the winning research projects have gone through an audit and review process by a specialised committee of researchers to select the distinctive projects that confer great scientific benefit.
The next stage will be the selection of high school students to participate in research. Schools will have to nominate two Qatari students from grades 10 or 11 to participate in one research project, and the admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
The undergraduate students from the STEM colleges at Qatar University are selected to participate in the winning research projects based on evaluating the participation letter and the supporting documents submitted by the students.
Since the launch of the NSPP and the announcement of receiving research proposals in February 2021, many proposals have been submitted from colleges and research centers at QU, including science, medicine, and engineering.
All the proposals were evaluated based on specific criteria such as the importance of the topic for Qatar, research relevance, the impact of the project, the plan for conducting the research and the provision of appropriate research criteria for the participating students. The selection process was carried out by experts from medicine, biomedical, pharmacy, science, and engineering.
These grants will enable students to conduct scientific research under the supervision of experts, researchers, and faculty members from QU. They will give them the necessary hands-on training in laboratories with high-tech equipment.
The student will have a unique experience that will help them refine their research, analytical and critical skills and continue their career in research.
The winning project proposals for the NSPP grant are, “Toxicity evaluation of two surfactants with anti-corrosion properties on the embryonic development of zebrafish” by Dr. Gheyath K. Nasrallah; “The Effect of the Aryl hydrocarbon receptor Inhibition on the CTLA-4 Immune System in Colon Cancer Stem Cells” by Dr. Hesham M. Korashy; and “Application of Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) and Ni-Co-S (NCS) – decorated nano sorbent for Wastewater Treatment” by Dr. Marwa El-Azazy.
Other winners are “SIRT1, a novel potential target that underpins CD44-promoted breast tumour cell invasion” by Prof. Allal Ouhtit; “Bio-sludge Atlas for Qatar: Characterization of bio-sludge from municipal and industrial sources” by Fares Almomani; and “Silver grafted Ti3C2-MXene Nanocomposite as Novel Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion-Batteries” by Abdul Shakoor.
Professor Noora Jabor Al Thani, Director of QU-YSC, said, “The National Science Promotion Program has been developed to provide a valuable opportunity for Qatari youth to embark on a smooth and successful research experience that makes them the leaders of the development and progress of the country.”
