JEDDAH: A member of the Princess Al-Jawhara Center of Excellence for the Research of Hereditary Disorders (PACER-HD), an affiliate of the Jeddah-based King Abdulaziz University (KAU) participated recently in a Human Variome Project (HPV) workshop in Washington. The delegate, Alaa Edrees, presented a plan to raise awareness about genetic diseases. Edrees was participating in the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics. She gave an oral presentation of the education campaign, which would raise awareness of genetic diseases, and services provided for patients. The HPV is an international initiative to collect information on genetic variations and to use this information to improve human health. The Princess Al-Jawhara Center of Excellence for the Research of Hereditary Disorders was established on Sept. 1 2008. It stemmed from the need for a comprehensive genetic center in the Kingdom and was funded by a generous donation from Princess Al-Jawhara Bint Ibrahim Al-Brahim. Dr. Osama Tayeb, President of KAU appointed Dr. Jumana Al-Aama as Director of PACER-HD. Al-Aama trained in Medical Genetics at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa in Canada; and had written a proposal to establish a comprehensive genetic service based on several pilot studies undertaken at the Medical Genetic Unit at KAU over a period of three years. The PACER-HD aims to provide clinical care, public education, specialty training and high quality research related to the genetic needs of the Saudi population and to become a recognized member of the international genetics community.
