JOSEPH VARGHESE

DOHA NOBEL Laureate Dr Kirk R Smith and Professor Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand will deliver keynote presentations at the Sixth International Conference on Environmental Mutagens in Human Populations (ICEMHP) to be held from March 26 to 29.

The sixth ICEMPH is being organised by the Qatar Foundation, the Environmental Mutagens Society (EMS) and the International Association of Environmental Mutagen Societies (IAEMS).

The conference aims to promote collaborative research in understanding the relationship between environmental factors, DNA mutation and human disease. This is yet another attempt by Qatar Foundation to promote science and research activities in the country and the region.

The current edition will focus on local and regional application of genetic testing, risk assessment and policy-making to protect both human health and environment.

Dr Abdelali Haoudi, Vice- President for Research, Qatar Foundation, will give an introductory speech on March 27.

The four-day conference is part of a series of global conferences designed to identify solutions for human health problems caused by the environment.

The objective of the conference is to develop local, regional and global cooperation in identifying the environmental causes of DNA damage and finding solutions to human health. Its highlight will be a keynote speech by Smith, professor of Global Environmental Health and director of the Global Health and Environment Programme at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkley.

Smith has devoted his career in understanding how environment pollutants influence human health. He conducted most of his research in developing countries.

On his participation at the ICEMHP 2012, Smith said, “I am excited to get an opportunity to visit the Gulf region and contribute to the ICEMHP in Qatar. Many of the dominant health concerns in this region can be linked to the environment and this is why it is important to work on the development of this field of study. This conference will provide an impulse in this direction and platform for cooperation among experts in understanding the relationship between environmental factors, DNA mutation and human disease.” The other speakers, including renowned scientists, will discuss several topics such as environment contamination and health concerns, basic mechanisms of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, specific environment health concerns in developing countries, biomarkers for human population studies, DNA repair and signaling in response to insult from environment mutagens, epigenetics and gene-environment interactions in human disease, genomic and proteomic technologies in environment health, efficacy and safety of drug use in developing countries, environment contamination in adverse reproductive outcomes and non-cancer disease, application of scientific knowledge for disease prevention and ethical issues on environment health.

The sixth conference will bring together more than 200 academics, scientists and researchers. Outstanding presentations from students and junior investigators will be on display, with an awards presentation at the end.

The ICEMHP, which was earlier held in Egypt (1992), the Czech Republic (1995), Thailand (1998), Brazil (2003) and Turkey (2007), is focused on bringing the latest knowledge and expertise to the countries hosting the conference.