SQU woman scientist wins prestigious Unesco fellowship

From the Times of Oman: SQU woman scientist wins prestigious Unesco fellowship
MUSCAT: Rayhanah Abdul-Munim Mohammad Al Mjeni, a senior biomedical scientist at the Genetics Department of College of Medicine & Health Sciences at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), has won the Unesco-L’Oreal Pan Arab Regional Fellowship for Young Women in Life Sciences.

This prestigious fellowship programme was instituted to encourage young women to select scientific careers. The fellowship is aimed at celebrating the achievements of the region’s women scientists, including their contributions to the advancement of science and, empowering Arab women scientists. The programme extends to 17 Arab countries.

First Omani scientist
Rayhanah Al Mjeni is the first Omani scientist to win this fellowship. She is currently pursuing a PhD at SQU, and is currently researching the genetics of glaucoma in adults and pediatric stages.

This disorder affects the optic nerve, which is usually undetected until more than 40 per cent of the peripheral vision is impaired and eventually leads to irreversible blindness. It is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness.

It has a prevalence of about 5 per cent in individuals aged 30 years and above within the Omani population.

A family history of the disorder puts the members at a risk ranging from 7-10 times higher than that of the general public. The cause of the deterioration of the optic nerve is not known.

The current treatment management does not stop the degeneration but reduces the rate at which it occurs. Therefore, in order to preserve and maintain sight for glaucoma-affected individuals, treatment should be initiated during the earlier stages of optic nerve damage.

Considering that vision loss is not noticed until more than 40 per cent of peripheral sight is affected, the disorder needs to be diagnosed earlier and individuals at risk need to be identified.

According to Rayhanah, the genetic knowledge of this disease in Oman will allow for better diagnosis and prognosis of the disorder along with an impact on the prospects of therapy.