HM’s visit a turning point
in research at SQU
R
ESEARCH at Sultan Qaboos
University (SQU) has undergone
considerable improvements in
recent years, and this is noticeable in the
increase in the number of researchers
and research studies. SQU is a leading
educational institution in this regard.
Dr Rawyah bint Saud al Busaidiya, the
Minister of Higher Education and Head
of the University Council, shed some
light on the university’s research efforts
in a recent interview.
The minister talked about research
and stressed its importance for universities and communities in general. She
said that research is considered a most
essential aspect of higher education,
underpinning also teaching and community service. Hence, the government
has taken serious steps to enhance the
role of research and to promote it. As
the premier institution of higher education in the Sultanate, SQU is taking the
lead amongst all the tertiary educational
institutions, in research.
SQU supports and encourages
research in a variety of ways, including
providing all the necessary facilities,
such as libraries and laboratories
as well as liaising with outstanding
academic expertise inside and outside
Oman. The historic visit of His Majesty
Dr Rawyah bint Saud al Busaidiya
Minister of Higher Education,
Chair, SQU Council
Vision and
accomplishments
W
The Research Council and SQU share objectives
Sultan Qaboos to the University
in 2000 marked a turning point in
the advancement of research as His
Majesty supports research financially
and encourages research ideas.
The minister added, “The progress
any university makes is measured by
the research it carries out and the scientific studies it undertakes. SQU has
observed these standards and worked
towards meeting them. This has been
done through establishing research programs and offering higher education
studies.”
Regarding the role of research
centres in promoting research, she
pointed out that these centres are vital in promoting and coordinating research projects. Thus, the University
has established nine research centres,
namely: Oil and Gas Research Centre,
Omani Studies Centre, Remote Sensing
and GIS Centre, Earthquake Monitoring Centre, Communication and Infor-
mation Research Centre, Environmental and Research Studies Centre, Water
Research Centre, Centre of Excellence
in Marine Bio-Technology and Humanities Research Centre. These centres act
as communication channels between
researchers within the Sultanate and
those in other countries.
Postgraduate studies
The University offers a number of
postgraduate programs at the masters
and doctoral levels. The Minister of
Higher Education noted that SQU had
made advances in this area in recent
years, through offering an increasing
number of masters and doctoral programs. To make these advances possible the University adopted a systematic
approach based on continual revisions
of existing postgraduate programs carried out by local and external audit
committees. These committees evalu- The Research Council and its
ate the programs and make recommenrelationship with SQU
dations that help to ensure the continuIn discussing the relationship beity, relevance and the quality of these
tween The Research Council and SQU,
programs.
Dr Rawyah characterized the commitment made by SQU in this regard as
Research publications
an extension of the Research Council’s own efforts in establishing a firm
The publication of research results research base in the Sultanate. Since
is important in disseminating informa- SQU is one of the leading academic intion and promoting the research proc- stitutions in the Sultanate and possesses
ess. The minister pointed out that SQU cutting edge technological facilities, it
has been working hard to improve the is qualified to initiate collaborative reprocess of writing and publishing sci- search work with the Research Council.
entific research.
Dr Rawyah concluded, “In the coming
Through its many research activi- years, we will work hard to reinforce
ties, SQU aims to find appropriate so- the scientific investment that will help
lutions to the problems faced by soci- achieve the goals stated by His Majesty
ety. The publication of research is not Sultan Qaboos in upgrading scientific
restricted to SQU academic staff; it is research and improving its tools. This
also made accessible to all researchers upgrade should match the national needs
and students within certain criteria and while taking current global changes in
research into consideration.”
specifications.
HEN His Majesty Sultan Qaboos —
blessed with wise leadership — laid
the foundations of the modern Sultanate, he
embraced a gradual approach to building
this country and developing it in all sectors:
economic, social and political. This approach
has become a model worth following because
time has proven its success and its ability to
withstand the different challenges affecting the
world.
When Sultan Qaboos University (SQU)
was inaugurated in 1986, its development was
based on that same vision of His Majesty. Thus,
there was neither a rush nor tardiness. Rather,
the university proceeded steadily to establish
itself as an academic institution respected
worldwide.
From the very beginning, scientific research
received a great deal of attention at SQU as it
is considered the cornerstone of university education. Research was facilitated and reinforced
through the hiring of highly qualified and distinguished academic staff from all over the
world, building state-of-the-art laboratories and
providing the latest equipment and programs in
order to create an environment conducive to research. Following the practice of prestigious
universities worldwide, special quality standards were established right from the beginning
to develop research and researchers in order to
guarantee high quality outcomes that meet our
ambitions for this great establishment.
The rapid scientific growth the world is witnessing in all walks of life and the feverish race
for scientific achievements that contribute to
the advancement of humanity add to the weight
of responsibility on the shoulders of SQU —
the largest and the most prominent scientific
and educational institution in the Sultanate.
This responsibility is characterized by an active
presence in a world of tremendous scientific
progress — a great challenge the university
seeks to measure up to. The accomplishments
of the last two decades are testimony to the fact
that the university is following the right path
which His Majesty’s wise foresight has envisioned for it.
The mission of SQU also includes a commitment to collaborating and maintaining
contact with the local community. Hence, this
column has been created to keep the public informed about the efforts the university and its
staff have exerted
in research and
knowledge generation. It also
seeks to keep
readers
up-todate with the latest findings in the
fields of science
and the humanities, as well as
with the various
activities the uniDr Ali bin Saud al
versity organises
Bemani,
in this respect.
Vice-Chancellor
Sultan Qaboos University sets a scientific record
23 MAY 2009
L
IFE threatening obesity and the
other diseases resulting from it are
on a steady rise in Western societies, and it seems that our Arab societies,
and the Gulf in particular, are following
suit, thanks to the abundance of fast food.
Much research has been conducted in the
West to address the issue and find ways
to tackle this growing phenomenon, but
with no conclusive results, mainly because there are a variety of factors that
could lead to obesity in humans.
In 1990, scientists discovered a hormone in the human body (ISB) which experiments demonstrated to be responsible
for storing fat in the body and acting as a
stimulus for obesity, like insulin. The discovery was quite a breakthrough for all
those interested in the area.
In light of this discovery, Dr Jumana
Saleh, Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry in the College of
Medicine at Sultan Qaboos University,
conducted a study to establish the relationship between this hormone and obesity in both men and women, as well as
in newborns. Dr Saleh’s study provided
some very interesting results and was
published in a number of specialized
journals and on websites.
To shed more light on her study and
the details of this discovery, we interviewed Dr Jumana Saleh, who said:
“I got my PhD from McGill University in Montréal, Canada in 1999, for
studies on the chemistry of fat in the human body and the factors controlling its
storage, especially ISB. McGill University is the place where the hormone was
initially discovered. I worked with a team
of scientists to study the protein and its
effects on humans as well as on lab rats.
We made some very important discoveries that pointed to the connection between
ISB and obesity as well as a number of
A study reveals that diabetes is not the direct cause of newborns’ obesity
other diseases resulting from it. Before I
came to Oman, I worked at the University
of Toronto, in the same department whose
labs witnessed the discovery of insulin by
Banting and Best in 1890. I got a scholarship from the department to do more
research in the same field, as I was interested in finding the connection between
these hormones — as well as a number of
other factors in fat chemistry — and the
diseases of obesity and diabetes.”
“When I joined SQU, I decided to con-
tinue working in the same research area,
especially when I saw that the University
gives so much support for scientific research through funding and publications.
There is also excellent infrastructure for
research and the laboratories have all the
Dr Jumana Saleh, Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry in the College of Medicine,
Sultan Qaboos University, is seen at the college laboratory
6
facilities that researchers need. There is
also a very important reason that has encouraged me to do this research in Oman,
which is the country’s geographic location and the fact that there is so much
genetic homogeneity among Omanis.
There are more similarities among Omanis, when compared with other countries,
in social customs, types of food eaten
and their daily activities. Obesity is quite
a new phenomenon in Omani society,
where most people tend to have fit bodies, especially in the North. However,
recent studies indicate that obesity and
other diseases related to it, such as heart
diseases, are increasing in Oman, especially in men.”
“I always wanted to know how and
why there are differences between men
and women in the manner that their
bodies store fat. Women’s bodies tend
to store more fat in the hips and on the
thighs while men store more fat in the
belly, which might cause health risks
such as heart disease. This difference is
often attributed to the difference in male
and female hormones.
The question that arises here is, ‘How
do the hormones cause the storage of
fat?’ I have felt from my experience and
research that ISB can play a key role in
this as it is, besides insulin, one of the
most efficient hormones in storing fat
directly in cells. The question that drove
this study was, ‘Could ISB be responsible
for the differences in the distribution of
fat in men and women?’ I then decided to
do this study in Oman.”
Important findings
Dr Saleh made some important findings about ISB that had hitherto never
been reported. She has shown that ISB
is more strongly linked to obesity in females than in males. Previous studies
have been inconclusive and inconsistent in determining this relationship. The
current study looked into the connection
between ISB and the female hormones
in young unmarried Omani women and
showed that a clear connection exists.
The researcher found that ISB increased
significantly with the hormones during
the second phase of the normal menstrual
period and dropped when the amount of
blood decreased. This finding was published in the European Hormones journal.
Another finding from this study was that
ISB rose dramatically during pregnancy,
increasing the level of fat stored during
the initial phases of pregnancy. This finding was published in the international
Obesity journal.
A separate study
In another study, she investigated
the relationship between ISB and body
weight among Omani newborns. The
relationship was indeed positive, caused
by the amount of fat in the mothers who
were healthy and did not suffer from diabetes. This study caught the attention of
researchers in the field of obesity and
fat. It was cited in the news websites that
specialise in research on fat, such as the
Newswire and the Online websites. A
similar study on diabetic pregnant women was conducted in Germany and found
the same results.
See also page 26 for related article