Sidra Medicine and Microsoft have entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to help Sidra Medicine’s research division achieve its digital transformation goals and quicken the pace of its genomics and precision medicine research initiatives. Dr. Khalid Fakhro, the Chief Research Officer from Sidra Medicine, and Lana Khalaf, the General Manager of Microsoft Qatar, signed the Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of executives from both organizations at the company’s Lusail office.
The MoU signals a series of strategic collaborations and implementations that will enable Sidra Medicine’s research division to expedite its technology and cloud adoption on Microsoft’s platforms, towards a complete digital transformation.
Dr. Khalid Fakhro, Chief Research Officer from Sidra Medicine, said, “The MoU with Microsoft is the start of an exciting collaborative journey with a trusted and cutting-edge technology leader, that will enable us to offer innovative solutions to research challenges. The partnership comes at an opportune time, as we are scaling up our genomics research capabilities to meet growing local and global demands. It is part of our positioning strategy to become a leading healthcare and research facility and a benchmark for precision medicine and personalised healthcare.”
The transformation, which will be led by Sidra Medicine’s Digital Health team (Research), will use Microsoft Cloud to safely store and access data more quickly and conveniently. It will allow its scientists to perform complex data operations using Microsoft’s Data and AI platforms. Sidra Medicine will also utilize High-Performance Computing (HPC) on Microsoft Azure for industry-specific services to build an ecosystem that can facilitate genomics computing.
“It is a distinct privilege to partner with Sidra Medicine’s research division as they use Microsoft Azure and its AI and machine learning capabilities to support advanced research and breakthroughs in precision medicine and genomics”, said Lana Khalaf, General Manager of Microsoft Qatar. “I am inspired by this collaboration between medicine and technology and its ambitious goals to lead the way in new discoveries and medical science innovation.”
Microsoft will also help enhance Sidra Medicine’s research teams’ digital capabilities through its National Skilling Program (in partnership with Qatar’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology) and other development initiatives including workshops and training programs.
The partnership with Sidra Medicine follows the recent launch of Microsoft’s new cloud datacenter region in Qatar, which delivers a comprehensive set of enterprise-grade cloud services for developers and businesses of all sizes to create new customer experiences, transform their business and operations and accelerate the pace of innovation. Sidra Medicine’s Research division was recognised for Innovation Excellence in High-Performance Computing at the launch event.
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