Muscat An International Conference on Consanguinity (ICC 2012), to be held from March 17-19 in Muscat, will focus on the advancement in research on consanguinity and its impact on health care in the Middle East region.
The Conference is organised by the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in collaboration with the University of Bologna Medical School in Italy.
"Genetic disorders represent a significant source to the burden of disease in the Middle East," said Dr. Allal Ouhtit, the Head of the Genetics Department at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences and Chairperson of the Conference.
According to him the previous studies aiming at measuring the genetic effects of consanguinity have often been poorly designed and failed to control important socio-demographic variables.
"Research on consanguinity and its social determinants will unravel positive effects of consanguinity on the health of individuals, for example resistance to infectious diseases," he added.
The new generation genomic technologies produced an explosion in data collection and spurred new genomic advances.
"Focusing on consanguinity research, the Middle East Conference in Human Genetics (MECHG) will not only help the families affected with the genetic disorder but ultimately contribute to increasing our knowledge of the human genome, added Dt Ouhtit.
The Conference brings together national and international experts in genetics, genomics, medicine, archaeology, and epidemiology to present their research and findings as they relate to the field of Human Genetics.
