All posts by maria Bagnulo

Research Matters, Stories of Hope, Uncategorized

Pioneering breast cancer research gives hope

In the UAE, breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women and constitutes around 40% of all female cancers. In addition to the rising incidence, another cause for concern is the advanced stage at presentation with the majority of women in the UAE diagnosed under the age of 40 with advanced stage of breast cancer.

To tackle this important issue, Al Jalila Foundation awarded a research grant to Professor Rifat Hamoudi from the University of Sharjah with the aim to understand ‘the role HER2, Estrogen and Progesterone receptors and PI3 kinase in breast cancer pathogenesis to provide deeper understanding of how the interplay of those biomarkers can initiate breast cancer and later lead to more aggressive forms of breast cancer in patients’. Understanding the underlying mechanism, pathogenesis can potentially discover therapies that can prevent the progression of the disease.

The study developed a pioneering technique by merging methods from classical pathology, molecular biology, mathematics, computer science and advanced bioinformatics to understand the role of progesterone receptor on breast cancer pathogenesis.

In summary, the research project led to the identification of various diagnostic, prognostic and potentially therapeutic biomarkers for breast cancer, facilitating the development and implementation of personalised medicine including prevention, early diagnosis and targeted combination therapy approaches giving hope to patients.

Stories of Hope, Uncategorized

Mother helps son with autism realise his full potential

According to the World Health Organization an estimated one in 160 children worldwide has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

To support families of children with autism in the UAE, Al Jalila Foundation’s Ta’alouf Parents Training program equips parents with the best possible tools to nurture their children of determination.

Iman, mother of 13-year-old Mohamad who has autism, attended Ta’alouf training in 2019 as she was eager to support her son to live to his full potential.

The program was able to offer her great insights on how best to communicate with her son and how to solve the problems that parents face with autistic children. Positive behaviour in education, skill development and self-protection were some of the key discussions and lectures from the program that Iman was able to apply in her family’s everyday life.

Iman cannot recommend the program enough, “The Ta’alouf program was inspiring. It provided new strategies which I was able to apply daily to support my son to flourish. Through the program, I learned a lot, and it gave me immense hope to focus on my child’s abilities and strengths.”

To date, Al Jalila Foundation has trained 521 parents and families of children with autism.

Stories of Hope, Uncategorized

Muhammad has a second chance at life

In May 2018, 2½ year old Muhammad was diagnosed with acute blood cancer (leukemia). Muhammad’s parents were devastated to learn of their toddler’s diagnosis and although there was hope that the disease was treatable, the family’s medical insurance was insufficient to cover the cost. More funds were needed to undergo Muhammad’s full medical plan and his parents were steadfast in their commitment to provide the best possible treatment for their son.

Undeterred by circumstance, his parents reached out to various channels for support and with the help of Al Jalila Foundation the case was supported by long standing partner, Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) who lead a company-wide fundraising campaign to raise the much-needed funds to facilitate Muhammad’s lifesaving treatment.

Muhammad’s parents are filled with appreciation, “We cannot express enough how grateful and respectful we are of the UAE community. At a time when we were losing hope and needed help, our community lifted us up and pulled together to save our son. We are forever grateful.”

With the generosity and support of donors and his incredible medical team, today, 6-year-old Muhammad is in remission. He is a happy, energetic young boy who received a second chance.

Stories of Hope, Uncategorized

Deutsche Bank empowers children of determination

Through its global ‘Born to Be’ youth engagement programme, Deutsche Bank’s Middle East Foundation is continuously working to change the lives and prospects of the next generation in the region. Because every young person deserves the chance to become who they were born to be.

As part of this initiative, Deutsche Bank supported the 8th cohort of Ta’alouf Teachers Training program by Al Jalila Foundation, equipping 65 teachers in the UAE with the necessary skills to empower children of determination in their classrooms.

The Ta’alouf program was born out of the principle that every child, no matter their ability, has enormous potential and it must be channeled to empower the child to live a happy and productive life regardless of their abilities.

Our CEO Dr Abdulkareem Al Olama was delighted to welcome Loïc Voide, Deutsche Bank Co-CEO of Middle East and Africa and Chairman of Deutsche Bank Middle East Foundation, to Al Jalila Foundation to have their name engraved on Bassmat Rashid Bin Saeed donor recognition wall alongside fellow champions of hope.

Deutsche Bank is a wonderful example of how multinational corporations can make a positive impact by joining forces with a local non-profit to transform lives in the community.

Stories of Hope

Working together to ‘beat diabetes’

According to the World Health Organization, at least 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, and 1.5 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes each year.

For over a decade, Landmark Group has been leading the fight against diabetes in the region and in 2019 was honoured with the first Sports Imprint Award by Dubai Crown Prince, HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Al Jalila Foundation is proud to be the charity partner for the month-long Landmark Group ‘Beat Diabetes’ initiative that raises funds across its outlets in the UAE and then matches the donations raised dirham-for-dirham to double the amount collected to support diabetes research. In addition to fundraising, the annual Beat Diabetes Walk brings together over 10,000 participants to educate the public about the condition.

Diabetes is a crippling but preventable disease and unfortunately many patients are unable to get the treatment they need. This year, Landmark Group has committed to support Al Jalila Foundation’s A’awen treatment program with a pledge of AED5 million to help patients.

Renuka Jagtiani, Chairwoman and CEO of the Landmark Group, is passionate about the cause, “We have been committed to the fight against diabetes for more than a decade and our pledge is a vital step towards ensuring easier access to life-saving treatment for those who need it.”

Research Matters, Stories of Hope

Improving treatment for liver cancer

Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide and incidence is increasing dramatically in the Gulf region.

As treatment options are limited Al Jalila Foundation awarded a research grant to Dr Kirsten Sadler Edepli from New York University Abu Dhabi who is looking at targeting the epigenetic changes and genomic instability that occurs in hepatocellular carcinoma as a promising avenue for developing new therapies.

The research aims to provide an understanding of how epigenetic changes lead to cancer. The team focus on the epigenetic regulator and oncogene, UHRF1, which is overexpressed in all human solid tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma.

Using zebrafish to decipher how UHRF1 causes cancer by overexpressing UHRF1 in hepatocytes, this model enables investigation into how precancerous cells develop, and how they are converted to malignant, tumor forming cells.

The study found that UHRF1 overexpression activates senescence as a tumor suppressive mechanism and stops hepatocyte proliferation, accompanied by the activation of DNA damage repair mechanisms.  DNA damage response is required for senescence induction and a pro-inflammatory immune signature and the recruitment of immune cells to the pre-cancerous liver tissue may halt tumor growth by eliminating cells damaged by high levels of UHRF1. Unfortunately, senescence can be bypassed so that precancerous cells can develop into cancer. Cells which are damaged by UHRF1 overexpression become malignant and form tumors. The investigation in the mechanism of senescence bypass continues, which is an important area to target to prevent pre-cancerous lesions from developing into tumors.

To learn more about this study please click here.

Stories of Hope

Emirati student on the path to genomic expertise

In August 2020 Abdulrahman Alzarooni received the exclusive international postgraduate scholarship from Al Jalila Foundation to study for a Master of Medical Genetics and Genomics (MSc Med Sci) at the University of Glasgow, UK.

Through the scholarship, coupled with Abdulrahman’s hard work and passion in the field of genetics, he has now graduated from the Master’s program with high merit and recognition.

Abdulrahman had always been interested in tackling genetic diseases, which affects families, individuals and children and this scholarship was the first key step into pursuing this mission. His studies allowed him to learn a great deal more about the molecular basis of human diseases inherited by mutations and chromosome aberrations, as well as understanding the theory of genetics diagnostic techniques, and their clinical applications.

Abdulrahman believes that one’s learning cycle should never end and he plans to pursue a PhD in cancer genomics. Cancer genomics utilises the technology of reading the whole genome of cancer patients to assess and personalise treatment options, study inherited cancer syndromes and have better evaluation of prognosis.

Abdulrahman’s ambitions for the future are inspiring, “Ultimately, my goal is to be an expert in cancer genomics and be a part of developing new strategies to treat and help cancer patients in the UAE.”

Stories of Hope

Dikden is given a second chance

In January 2021 Dikden had been suffering from severe back pain and was losing weight rapidly. After several medical assessments it was confirmed that Dikden had metastatic lung cancer. The news was devastating and as the sole breadwinner for his family who works for a small company in Dubai, he had no idea how he was going to be able to handle this crisis.

Dikden began treatment immediately and his insurance provider was able to deliver the first seven cycles of his chemotherapy. He needed to continue his medical plan with immunotherapy to target the cancer, but the cutting-edge drugs he needed were not available under his insurance plan.

Having learned about the A’awen program that supports patient treatment from one of our charity partners, he applied to get the support he needed to regain his health. Dikden was able to receive the much-needed medicine and is now on his way to recovery.

He is most grateful for the support he received, “I cannot put a value on how important this is to me and my family. I would like to thank you Al Jalila Foundation for the help and the support they offered me to bring me back to health.”

Research Matters, Stories of Hope

Smoking increases the spread of cancer

Smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer and tobacco smokers are at 20 to 40 times higher risk of developing lung cancer in comparison to non-smokers.

With a research grant from Al Jalila Foundation, Dr Rania Zaarour from Gulf Medical University Ajman, is studying the effects of smoking on remodeling the tumor microenvironment and shaping stemness and immunogenicity in lung cancer.

Tobacco can be smoked using different ways, including waterpipes.  The team performed waterpipe smoke (WPS) analysis that revealed significant concentrations of toxicants including 27 known or suspected carcinogens thought to cause dependence, heart disease, lung disease and cancer.

This shows that exposing lung cancer cell lines to WPS condensate (WPSC) interferes with cell proliferation, cell plasticity, DNA damage and tumor cell recognition and killing by natural killer cells.

The results indicate that WPSC is a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. If a cancer patient continues to smoke, WPSC may serve as fuel to the cancer cells and may contribute to metastases. In fact, continued smoking is considered a strong adverse predictor of survival and increases the risk of a second lung cancer compared to those patients who stopped smoking. Therapy modalities can be more effective by eliminating smoke exposure to cancer patients and by targeting the inflammatory mechanisms to control the emergence of aggressive cancer clones with epithelial mesenchymal transition and stemness features.

Stories of Hope

The Ta’alouf Teachers program continues to flourish

The Ta’alouf Teachers Training Program was launched by Al Jalila Foundation in 2014 to equip teachers and principals with the necessary knowledge and skills to better understand and empower students of determination.

The program, now in its 8th cohort, runs each academic year fully sponsored by Al Jalila Foundation and delivered by education partner Zayed University, one of the leading universities in the region.

Ta’alouf has just welcomed Dr Efthymia Efthymiou as the program lead facilitator and as the Assistant Professor in Special Education at Zayed University Dr Efthymia is well placed to pass on her knowledge to the enthusiastic members of the cohort.

Dr Efthymia has been instructing teachers for several years in different academic environments, and believes that the program’s comprehensive structure, specialised training and supportive mentorship sessions enable the participants to gain invaluable knowledge allowing them to adopt student-oriented teaching practices for students with diverse abilities.

The 8th cohort includes 83 teachers from public and private schools across the UAE who will be prepared to adopt best practices for teaching in inclusive education environments with mindfulness.

Dr Efthymia looks to the future, “It is a rewarding experience joining the Ta’alouf team and building strong bonds with teachers to strengthen their impact in and out of the classroom. The team culture inspires teachers to make a meaningful difference in their schools for all students of determination.”