AB002. Human genetics at the National Research Centre in Egypt: history, achievements and challenges

Background: The National Research Centre (NRC) of Egypt is a multidisciplinary research institute that has a wide spectrum of research fields and interests. It is the largest center of all institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Scientific Research in Egypt. The NRC was established in 1956 as a national center to conduct basic and applied research. The Division of Human Genetics and Genome Research (HGGRD), as one of the most distinguished divisions at the NRC, had its origins as the Department of Human Genetics was established in 1976 by Prof. Samia Temtamy and a small number of scientists.

Methods: The journey of the HGGRD at the NRC through 40 years of expansion and development was retrospectively reviewed.

Results: The achievements and challenges of this unique field of science in Egypt as one of the largest Arab Mediterranean countries will be highlighted in the presentation.

Conclusions: This is the first of this kind of private genetic service in Hong Kong. The experience of the NRC of Egypt can serve as another model for establishment of basic and applied research center in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Keywords: Research center; Egypt; genetics; service