Doha College recently hosted the eighth edition of the annual Medical Review School Conference, inviting students to present their medical and scientific research and gain invaluable feedback from peers and experts drawn from the Qatar medical community.

The conference series was founded by Doha College in 2014 bringing to students the opportunity to fuel their passion for science and medicine.

While historically bringing together hundreds of teams from within and outside Qatar, this year’s pandemic-related restrictions meant that the competition was open only to Doha College students. Even under these conditions, numerous teams took part in the process, 20 were shortlisted for the main event, and three won the chance to present their research to an external panel of judges.

The topics chosen for this year’s conference are: Technology in Medicine, The Impact of Corona, Therapies in Institutionalised Healthcare, Maxillofacial Care, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutics, and finally, Medical Ethics.

Adjudicating the competition was Dr James Laughton from the Ambulance Service of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) Senior Consultant Dr Abdulrashid Siddique.

Three final entries

After presentations, discussions and questions from teachers and students, three entries made it through to the final: one on epilepsy by Fawaz Shaikh and Abhinav Gudavalli; one on the treatment of paralysis by Judy Ahmed and Zainab Shabbir; and lastly, one about ethics in the use of artificial intelligence by Laiba Qureshi, Ria Gokul and Mahroosh Naqvi.

After much deliberation by the judges, Judy Ahmed and Zainab Shabbir in Year 11 were named as winners. They impressed the panel with their ability to answer high-level medical questions. Their presentation was called Reversing Paralysis: the Use of Dancing Molecules and delved into the fascinating prospect of regaining the use of paralysed muscles – something once thought impossible.

Doha College Principal Dr Steffen Sommer was delighted that the conference could run this year, following a break due to the pandemic. He said that the Medical Review Conference is one of the many big accolades of Doha College with the conference going from strength to strength and, prior to COVID-19, was attracting international teams, in association with the Council of British International Schools (COBIS).

Last week, we saw a return of the event with a vengeance. Sadly it could only be held internally for Doha College this year, but it was still a great success. Congratulations to the winning team, Judy and Zainab from the entire community of Doha College.

Dr Sommer said they look forward to opening up the event externally again in the future as restrictions ease, to set the scene for fine applications to medical courses across the globe. Meanwhile, Biology teacher and event coordinator Rachel Hart said the judges were very impressed with the quality and level of detail.

It was with great pleasure we held the eighth annual Doha College Medical Review School Conference after a break last year due to the pandemic. We had a record number of Doha College students taking part who created some fascinating, well-researched presentations.

Congratulations to Judy and Zainab for winning the event!

Apart from inspiring interest in a field with such promise and impact on people’s lives, participating in the conference also adds value to the students’ applications to medical schools. Many Doha College students go on to study in reputable medical schools from around the world and count many top medical specialists among its alumni.

For more information about Doha College, visit dohacollege.com.

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