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Dr. Omar Albagha
Acting Executive Director Professor
Dr. Omar Albagha
Acting Executive Director Professor
Educational Qualifications
PhD
MSc
Entity
Qatar Biomedical Research Institute
College of Health and Life Sciences
Biography
Dr. Omar Albagha received his PhD scholarship to investigate genetic susceptibility to osteoporosis at the University of Aberdeen. After completing his PhD degree in 2001, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher until 2002, when he was appointed as an Arthritis Research UK lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Genetics of Bone disease at the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK. In 2005, he moved to the University of Edinburgh as a Principal Investigator/Group Leader at the Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine (CGEM). In 2014, he was appointed the Associate Director of the Paget’s Association Centre of Excellence, Edinburgh.
In early 2017, Dr. Albagha joined Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) as a Principal Investigator at the Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), and in 2019 he joined the College of Health and Life Sciences at HBKU as a Professor of Genomic and Precision Medicine. His current research focuses on Genomic Medicine, aiming at understanding the genetic determinants of complex diseases with emphasis on Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. He has active collaborations with Qatar Genome Project to investigate genetics of disease-related traits in Qatar. He has published in high impact journals (Nature Genetics, JAMA, Cell Reports) and his work has been featured in news outlets such as the BBC and other international media. Dr. Albagha has received many awards from international organizations, including the European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS) and the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). He has obtained multiple research grants totaling over US$ 10 million, including the highly prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator fellowship.
PhD
University of Aberdeen, U.K.; Genetics (Medical Sciences)
2001
MSc
University of Aberdeen, U.K. Medical Molecular Genetics
1997
BSc
University of Jordan, Jordan Medical Technology (Distinction)
1996
- The genetic architecture of health-related traits in the Qatari population.
- Identification of genetic and epigenetic factors conferring susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes
- Personalized care for Qatari patients with genetic predisposition to hypercholesterolemia
- Identification of genetic and epigenetic factors contributing to Autism Spectrum Disorder
Professor
Hamad Bin Khalifa University
2019 - Present
Principle Investigator
Qatar Biomedical Research Institute
2017 - 2019
Principal Investigator in Genetics and Functional Genomics
Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, U.K. (on Leave of Absence)
2005 - present
Lecturer (Assistant Professor)
Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK
2002 - 2005
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK
2001 - 2002
- Front Genet. 2020 Oct 2;11:578523. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2020.578523. #Corresponding author.
- Metabolic GWAS of elite athletes reveals novel genetically-influenced metabolites associated with athletic performance. Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 27;9(1):19889. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56496-7.
- Ann Rheum Dis 2018 Mar;77(3):378-385
- Targeted sequencing of the Paget's disease-associated 14q32 locus identifies several missense coding variants in RIN3 that predispose to Paget's disease of bone. Hum Mol Genet. 2015, 24(11):3286-95
- Association between telomere length and risk of cancer and non-neoplastic diseases. JAMA Oncology. 2017; 3(5):636-651.
- (The Telomeres Mendelian Randomisation Collaboration). Association between telomere length and risk of cancer and non-neoplastic diseases. JAMA Oncology. 2017; 3(5):636-651.
- Optineurin negatively regulates osteoclast differentiation by modulating NFκB and Interferon signalling: implications for Paget's disease. Cell Reports 2015, 13:1-7.
- Targeted sequencing of the Paget's disease associated 14q32 locus identifies several missense coding variants in RIN3 that predispose to Paget's disease of bone. Hum Mol Genet. 2015, 24(11):3286-95
- New Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 56 bone mineral density loci and reveals 14 loci associated with risk of fracture. Nature Genetics, 2012, 44(5):491-501.
- Nature Genetics. 2011, 43(7):685-689. Selected by F1000 Prime, #Corresponding author.
- Nature Genetics. 2010, 42(6):520-4. Selected by F1000 Prime.
Active Grants:
- QNRF-PPM3: (LPI); Personalized care for Qatari patients with genetic predisposition to hypercholesterolemia: better prediction, diagnosis and management. (US$ 573,228)
- QNRF-C: (LPI); Genetic Risk Factors in Diabetes; a project in the Qatar Diabetes prevention program Cluster grant. (US$ 640,500)
- QNRF-PPM4: (PI); Pharmacogenomics of TNF inhibitors in autoimmune diseases
- QNRF-PPM2: (PI); Qatar Epigenome: Profiling of epigenetic modifications and identification of epigenome-wide predictors of Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity in Qataris from the QGP pilot study. (US$ 471,412)
- QBRI-IDRP: (PI); An integrated omic approach to identify biomarkers for Type 2 diabetes-associated complications and comorbidities. (US$1,621,950)
Honors:
- Received multiple awards from the European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS), American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), and International Biobanking conference.