Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Leading experts from Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London (GOSH) will be showcasing their latest innovations in paediatric research at this year’s Arab Health Exhibition and Congress.  

The Congress will feature a presentation from Professor Dame Lyn Chitty, Professor of Genetics and Fetal Medicine at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, on ‘New trends in prenatal diagnosis – genomic medicine in prenatal diagnosis’. Professor Chitty will also participate in a UAE-UK Business Council roundtable on ‘Innovation in Cancer Services – putting the patient first’. Professor Chitty, the UK’s only Professor of Genetics and Fetal Medicine, was recently made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2023 UK’s New Year Honours List for services to medicine. Her intricate research into rapid and non-invasive prenatal diagnosis has helped families from around the world lower risk options when finding out about the health of their unborn child.

Additionally, Mr. Simon Blackburn, Consultant Neonatal and Paediatric Surgeon at GOSH, will be presenting a session on ‘Virtual reality in surgical planning: the separation of conjoined twins’ as part of Healthcare UK’s session on ‘Next Generation Solutions: NHS perspectives on Digital Healthcare’. This innovation was created by UCL’s Virtual Reality and Imaging team based at the Zayed Centre for Research.

Dr. Pratheeban Nambyiah, Consultant in Paediatric Anaesthesia, will also be presenting a talk on ‘Innovation in Simulation’.

With its 170-year legacy and recently named one of the top three paediatric hospitals in the world by Newsweek, GOSH is a world-leader in pioneering paediatric research. GOSH’s dedicated International and Private Care service supports over 5,000 children from 80 different countries every year, with 1,500 children being treated from the Middle East.

In 2019, the hospital’s research efforts were bolstered further with the opening of the Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children. The Zayed Centre for Research is a partnership between GOSH, University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, and was made possible thanks to a generous £60 million gift in 2014 from H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation.

Matthew Shaw, Chief Executive Officer of GOSH, said: “GOSH is proud of its long-standing relationship with the UAE in both pioneering research and medical care. The Zayed Centre for Research has opened many new and exciting possibilities in clinical research, providing new hope for children and their families around the world. Recently, researchers based at the Zayed Centre for Research, from GOSH and UCL GOS ICH, led the recent world-first delivery of base-edited T-cells for T-cell leukaemia. Through sharing our latest research and trends in paediatric care at this year’s Arab Health, our aim is to accelerate international collaboration in this critical area and inspire the healthcare community across the UAE and beyond.”

Arab Health Exhibition and Congress is taking place from 30 January – 2 February 2023 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The HealthcareUK stand is located in the UK Pavilion (Hall 2 – E30).