First Arab Middle Eastern genetics research in Autism going global

Doha, Qatar: On World Autism Awareness Day, Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation, celebrates the profound impact of its long standing initiati...

Doha, Qatar: On World Autism Awareness Day, Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation, celebrates the profound impact of its long-standing initiative, the BARAKA-Qatar study1 (Building a Resource for the Advancement of Knowledge of Autism in Qatar).

The study, which has been at the forefront of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) research in the region for several years and published its pilot phase in the prestigious Genome Medicine journal, has not only enhanced our understanding of ASD within the Arab world but has also pushed Middle Eastern genetics onto the global stage.

ASD presents a complex array of neurodevelopmental challenges affecting social interaction, communication, and behavior. Despite its global prevalence, our comprehension of ASD’s genetic origins in the Arab world is historically limited. The BARAKA study, conceived and conducted by Sidra Medicine in Qatar, shattered these boundaries, focusing on Middle Eastern genetics and their implications for ASD.

Dr. Khalid Fakhro, Chief Research Officer at Sidra Medicine said: “The BARAKA study significantly elevates ASD research from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to the global stage. Its findings, derived from years of meticulous clinical-research partnership, have not only improved our understanding of ASD genetics within Middle Eastern populations, but have also contributed invaluable insights to the wider ASD scientific community around the world.”

Conducted in an academic collaboration with the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Canada, the study renders Middle Eastern genetics accessible and comprehensible on an international scale. This was made possible through SickKids’s partnership with the Autism Speaks’ MSSNG Whole Genome Sequencing Project (MSSNG), an innovative open-science based collaboration platform between Autism Speaks, Google, and the research community.