Earlier this month, RCSI Bahrain hosted on campus its Annual Research Conference, under the patronage of His Excellency Lieutenant General Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Health. He was welcomed by Professor Sameer Otoom, President of RCSI Bahrain; Professor Alfred Nicholson, Vice President for Academic Affairs/Head of School of Medicine, and Professor Stephen Atkin, Head of School of Postgraduate Studies and Research, RCSI Bahrain.

The Research Conference started with four research update presentations by RCSI Bahrain senior faculty members - Professor Naji Alamuddin, Deputy Head of School of Medicine, on ‘Clinical Trials in Diabetes and Obesity’; Professor Paul Murray, Professor and Head of Department of Pathology, on ‘Spatial phenotyping identifies pathogenic mechanisms in the tissues of patients with severe COVID19’; Professor Michael Keogh, Associate Professor in Human Biology and Director of Research Laboratories, on ‘Gene activated biomaterials to improve Diabetic Foot Ulcers’ chronic wound healing’; and Dr Hussain Nasaif, Director of BSc Nursing Programme/Senior Lecturer in Nursing, on ‘Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Nurses in Bahrain’.

Among the 75 research abstracts received, the top six shortlisted abstracts were presented orally, with the remainder exhibited as part of the poster presentation session. Professor Atkin commented on the research abstract submissions: “This year, we had a greater level of participation from our medical students thanks to the unwavering support of our academics, alumni and external collaborators. We also witnessed that the quality of research and type of research, from laboratory based, clinical based, case studies, clinical audits, literature reviews to systematic reviews, led by students, have enhanced significantly compared to previous years. More RCSI Bahrain medical students have their research papers published in Q1 (ie first quartile) scientific journals, which is a global quality marker. I would like to extend my congratulations to all winners and my sincere thanks to all participants.”

The top six abstsact winners for oral presentation were Ms Aysha Sanad Albuarki, Nurse Educator, at King Hamad University Hospital for her research titled ‘Perceptions of Students on a Patient Care Assistant Program about effective characteristics of Nursing Preceptors: A cross-sectional study’; Ms Prianna Menezes, Senior Cycle 1 medical student, on her research ‘Prevalence of Computed Tomography Overuse for Mild Head Injury in Adults: A Single Center Experience’; Mr Mohamed ElHennawi, Senior Cycle 1 medical student, on his research ‘Pain assessment and management after sleeve gastrectomy: A Comparison Study of Robotic Versus Laparoscopic Approaches’; Mr Mustafa Hammad, RCSI Bahrain alumnus (Class of 2021), on his research ‘Polymorphisms of Metabolizing Enzymes with the Serum Concentration of Paracetamol and its Metabolites’; Dr Abu Saleh MD Moin, Postdoctoral Research Fellow under Dr Alexandra Butler, Senior Research Fellow at RCSI Bahrain, for their latest research on ‘Expression of Amyloid-Related Proteins associated with Dementia in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome’; and Ms Renad Hesham AlAnsari, first year medical student, on her research ‘Effect Of Bovine Serum Albumin Decorated Silver Nanoparticles on Breast Cancer Cells’, who also won the Best Oral Presentation.

For the first time, three poster abstracts were extended the opportunity to participate in a soapbox,  equivalent to a spontaneous public address, which generated great enthusiasm around the poster presentations. The soapbox winner was declared as Ms Sara Ali Hasan, first year medical student, on ‘Investigating the Effects of Dietary Gum Based Macromolecular Crowding on Age-Related Wound Healing’. The remaining soapbox participants were Ms Kawther Nemrish and Ms Khadeja AlHoussani, both Senior Cycle 1 medical students, on ‘A clinical audit on the application of cardiotocography comparison of current national practice to international guidelines’ and Ms Zainab Al Kheyr, Senior Cycle 1 medical student, on “Assessment of self-confidence and body image satisfaction amongst women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome”. 

RCSI Bahrain promotes mutually beneficial and meaningful research cooperation between students and academics to foster more impactful research projects and encourage a positive, inclusive research culture.