Official government website of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
The Deanship of Student Affairs held an introductory lecture for the "Saudi Genome" program yesterday, Wednesday, 22/5/1442 A.H., in the presence of more than 600 male and female participants, entitled "Saudi Human Genome", presented by Dr. Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Fares, Consultant and Associate Professor of Medical Genetics at the University's College of Medicine, as this lecture comes within the university's participation as an academic partner of the program.
The lecture discussed the definition of the human genome and the genetic material in the human body, which contributes significantly to the difference in the shapes and sizes of people. The lecturer then discussed the Saudi Genome Program, which is one of the leading national projects to achieve Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.
Afterward, Al-Fares discussed the program's goals The objectives of the program are to develop a genetic map of the Saudi society, reduce the spread of genetic diseases in Saudi Arabia, establish an advanced infrastructure in the field of genomics and bioinformatics, enable scientists and researchers to benefit from it, and transfer and localize the technology of genetic detection through the use of the latest technologies, to provide health care and reduce genetic diseases.
The lecture then touched on the role of the Saudi Genome Program in reducing and preventing genetic diseases by enhancing cooperation with national laboratories through which samples are collected from different regions of the Kingdom and then analyzed with the aim of identifying the genetic variants causing genetic diseases in Saudi Arabia such as: Neurological diseases, kidney diseases, cardiovascular diseases, mental retardation, hereditary cancers and others, estimating the likelihood of the appearance and recurrence of hereditary diseases for the individual and the family, and improving treatment methods by revealing the genetic structure of the person and giving the patient the appropriate medication.
The Saudi Genome Program seeks to support several programs to reduce and prevent genetic and genetic diseases, such as pre-marital medical screening, improving the methods of treating diseases by revealing a person's genetic makeup, giving the patient the appropriate medication, early detection or before some chronic diseases and then developing the appropriate treatment plan, as well as genetic screening of fetuses and newborn screening.
At the end of the lecture, Dr. Al-Fares reviewed the achievements of the Saudi Genome Program, which examined more than 50,000 samples and documented 7500 variants causing genetic and genetic diseases in the Kingdom, including 3000 genetic variants causing more than 1230 rare genetic diseases in the Saudi community, in addition to using 25 genetic packages for genetic analysis with the participation of 600 researchers, conducting 84 studies, publishing 131 scientific papers in distinguished international scientific journals, and participating in more than 110 lectures and scientific conferences.
