dagher, michael american university of beirut faculty of medicine (aubfm), lebanon , bilani, nadeem american university of beirut faculty of medicine (aubfm), lebanon , zgheib, nathalie k. 1american university of beirut faculty of medicine (aubfm) - department of pharmacology and toxicology, lebanon

Precision Genetic and Genomic Research in Lebanon: How Can We Move Forward?

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Purpose : Precision or personalized medicine continue to gain prominence in clinical practice and research settings. This paper investigates the genetic and genomic research in Lebanon to comment on its strengths and provide suggestions for future growth. Methods : We performed a literature search for any genetic or genomic publications produced by Lebanese institutions between 2010 and 2015. We evaluated the quality and number of research papers, noting trends in study design, technology used, sample sizes and collaboration status. Results : One hundred and sixty-one articles were surveyed, but only ninety-two were found to be pertinent and included in the study. The majority of research used cross-sectional or case-control study designs. Appraisal of these articles showed a growing trend in the use of high-throughput technologies and a capacity for large sample sizes independent of the collaboration status. Conclusion : This study suggests that Lebanon is making fine steps towards implementing precision genetic and genomic research. This might be facilitated through further funding, training, and collaboration.

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precision medicine , personalized medicine , Lebanon , genetics , genomics

Lebanese Medical Journal

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