DR. MOHAMMED AL-OMRAN CO-INVENTOR OF U.S. PATENTED METHOD TO PREVENT, TREAT HEART DISEASE
When Mohammad Al-Omran and Subodh Vermawere senior residents at the University of Toronto, the two surgical trainees would spend much of their limited leisure time discussing potential research projects.
Eventually they incorporated one of their ideas into a research project that seven years later made Dr. Al-Omran and Dr. Verma the principal inventors of a U.S. joint patent involving an innovative treatment for cardiovascular disease.
Patent No. 8,110,185 B2, entitled Method for preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases with BRCA1, was granted to King Saud University and St. Michael’s Hospital,on February 7, 2012.
“Although it took us several stressful years to prove the concept, I am very glad and happy that we made a useful discovery and came to conclusions that might help prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases,” said Dr. Al-Omran, an associate professor and consultant vascular surgeon at King Saud University. “I hope that in a few years this discovery can be moved from the experimental phase to application on patients. Click here to read the full story
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KING SAUD UNIVERSITY, LI KA SHING INSTITUTE COLLABORATION A SUCCESS STORY
Back in 2009, a unique partnership was formed between King Saud University (KSU) College of Medicine and the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Insititue (LKSKI) inToronto, Canada. This partnership saw the creation of the KSU Medical Research Program at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital.
The vision of KSU was to improve the quality of higher education within the country by establishing international scientific relationships. “The success of the program has been a result of the real collaborative efforts and the support of our leaders atKSU.” said Dr. Mohammed Al-Omran, an associate professor and staff surgeon with KSU and scientist with the LKSKI. The LKSKI is a world-renowned centre of medical education and research and is fully affiliated with theUniversityofToronto, one of the top ranking scientific networks in the world. “KSU chose the Knowledge Institute as one of the partners of KSU because of its scientific reputation”.
“This program is different from many such programs” said Dr. Arthur Slutsky, vp of research with St. Michael’s. “Since the program started in 2009 there have been more than 130 research collaborations between the two organizations including a number of publications in peer-reviewed journals and a US patent. This is quite remarkable for a program that has only been around for a short time”. Click here to read the full story. Watch the King Saud University Medical Research program video.
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Opening of world-class research and education institute at St. Michael’s Hospital promotes the discovery, sharing and application of knowledge. By Leslie Shepherd
KSU ranked leading Arab university by Shanghai World Rankings
The annual ranking, published in mid-August, listed KSU ahead of powerful contenders such as King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), and the universities of Istanbul, Teheran, Cairo and Malaya in Malaysia.
In this latest ARWU, KSU placed among the best 300 universities in the world, at No. 261, a standing never achieved by any Arab university. The Kingdom’s largest university was listed among the top 500 in 2009 and last year was elevated to 391. KFUPM was elevated into the top 500, listed at 480, and Cairo University – one of the first Arab universities to earn top 500 status returned to the rankings after a four-year absence. Click here to read the full story
Top 40 Under 40 – Muhammad Mamdani, 39: helps Canada make drug decisions
St. Michael’s heart surgeon Dr. Subodh Verma has been named a recipient of the prestigious Canada’s Top 40 under 40.
The national program celebrates excellence in Canada leadership and honours Canadians who have achieved great success but have not yet reached the age of 40.
“I am humbled by this award and feel indebted to the many people who work within the team,” said Dr. Verma.
Dr. Verma and his peers were selected from more than 1,200 nominees by an independent advisory board, comprised of 25 business leaders from across Canada.
“Dr. Verma is one of Canada’s pre-eminent clinician-scientists,” said St. Michael’s CEO Dr. Bob Howard. “He is a remarkable individual, whose leadership, innovation achievements and community/volunteer activities continue to make an impact at the local, national and international levels.” Click here to read the full story
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UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO – The Surgical Spotlight, Science Without Borders – Summer 2009
Cardiac surgeon and Canada Research Chair in Atherosclerosis Subodh Verma is bringing scholars and technicians from the King Saud University in Riyadh to his laboratory at St. Michael’s Hospital starting this summer. They are mastering advanced cell culture, genomic and translational atherosclerosis techniques. This is part of an ambitious and dynamic new program of collaborative research – to take leading edge concepts and methods to Riyadh in the way that Saudi clinicians have brought advanced therapeutic techniques back from Toronto for many years.
The project is part of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute’s contribution to international health care education and research. Collaborators in this initiative are St. Michael’s Hospital’s internationally renowned respirologist Art Slutsky and epidemiologist Muhammad Mamdani – who will focus on epidemiological studies and clinical trials. Click here to read the full story
King Saud University Medical Research Program 