Program Schedule
7th MEGMA International Middle East Genetics and Metabolic Academy (MEGMA) Symposium
Dates: November 5, 2026 to November 7, 2026
Venue: Voco Hotel, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Clinical, Biochemical and Laboratory Genetics — Day 1 Morning
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Dr. Dalal Bubshait
Saudi Arabia
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Prof. Amal M. Alhashem
Saudi Arabia
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30 minutes
08:00 - 08:30: "Opening Ceremony"
Prof. Majid Alfadhel
Saudi Arabia
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30 minutes
08:30 - 09:00: "Unlocking the Power of Large Datasets from The Middle East to Advance Clinical Genomics"
Prof. Fowzan Alkuraya
Saudi Arabia
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30 minutes
09:00 - 09:30: "New Roads for Genetic Diseases Precision: Diagnosis and Treatment"
Prof. Tawfeg Ben-Omran
Qatar
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30 minutes
09:30 - 10:00: "From Genomics to Clinical Practice: Kuwait's Experience in Precision Medicine for ADPKD"
Dr. Hamad Ali
Kuwait
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20 minutes
10:00 - 10:20: "Lipodystrophy from Clinical Clues to Treatment: The MENA Experience"
Dr. Imad Brema
Saudi Arabia
Clinical, Biochemical and Laboratory Genetics — Day 1 Mid-Morning
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Dr Rawda Sunbul
Saudi Arabia
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Prof. Malak Alghamdi
Saudi Arabia
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25 minutes
10:50 - 11:15: "The Windows That Matters: Treatable Rare Diseases"
Prof. Amal M. Alhashem
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
11:15 - 11:35: "Cytosolic aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetase Deficiencies: a Growing Group of Conditions with Treatment Implications"
Dr. Khalid Al-Thihli
Oman
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20 minutes
11:35 - 11:55: "The Role of Clinical Trial Design in Successful Translation"
Prof. Johannes Häberle
Switzerland
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20 minutes
11:55 - 12:15: "The Transport Vehicle™ (TV) Platform for Diseases Impacting the Brain and Body"
Prof. Simon Jones
United Kingdom
Clinical, Biochemical and Laboratory Genetics — Day 1 Afternoon
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Dr. Marwa Almahroos
Saudi Arabia
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Dr. Shirin AlSharfa
Saudi Arabia
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25 minutes
13:30 - 13:55: "Old Challenges, New Methods, New Challenges: An Ethical Perspective"
Prof. Zuhair Al-Hassnan
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
13:55 - 14:15: "Rethinking Propionic Acidemia: from Current Care to Future Therapies"
Dr. Marcello Bellusci
Spain
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20 minutes
14:15 - 14:35: "MPS IVA and VI: Anticipating Complications Before They Declare Themselves"
Prof. Christina Lampe
Germany
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20 minutes
14:35 - 14:55: "New Horizons in Skeletal Dysplasia: From Supportive Care to Disease-Modifying Therapies"
Prof. Moeenaldeen AlSayed
Saudi Arabia
Clinical, Biochemical and Laboratory Genetics — Day 1 Late Afternoon
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Dr. Najma Hassan
Saudi Arabia
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Dr. Maha Alharbi
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
15:20 - 15:40: "Treatment with Rebisulfigene Etisparvovec (UX111) Reduced Cerebro-Spinal Fluid (CSF) Heparan Sulfate (HS) Exposure and Stabilized or Improved Functioning in Children with MPS IIIA"
Dr. Mireia del Toro
Spain
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20 minutes
15:40 - 16:00: "EB Management: From Evidence to Everyday Practice"
Dr. Ashjan Alhajji
Saudi Arabia
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30 minutes
16:00 - 16:30: "A Century of Inborn Errors of Metabolism: Historical Milestones and Contemporary Advances Objectives"
Prof. Sylvia Stockler
Canada
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20 minutes
16:30 - 16:50: "What Can Radiogenomics Tell Us about Rare Bone Diseases?"
Dr. Maryam Alhashim
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
16:50 - 17:10: "Rare Diseases: Towards a New Era of Precision Health"
Prof. Neveen Soliman
Egypt
Genetic Counselling Workshop — Gray Zones in Genetic Counseling
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Dr. Khadijah Bakur
Saudi Arabia
- Ms. Alya Qari
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20 minutes
08:00 - 08:20: "Beyond the Diagnosis: Navigating Difficult Decisions in Prenatal Genetic Counseling"
Reem Bakhsh
Kuwait
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20 minutes
08:20 - 08:40: "Secondary Findings"
Ms. Maria Al Hinai
Oman
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20 minutes
08:40 - 09:00: "When Family Secrets Become Genetic Risk: Non-disclosure, Predictive Testing, and Li-Fraumeni Syndrome"
Dr. Chantel van Wyk
United Arab Emirates
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20 minutes
09:00 - 09:20: "Premarital Genomic Screening: Are We Answering the Question — or Creating More?"
Ms. Aljoharah S. Alaskar
Saudi Arabia
Clinical, Biochemical and Laboratory Genetics — Day 2 Morning
- Zahra Alsahlawi
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Dr. Talal Alanzi
Saudi Arabia
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30 minutes
10:30 - 11:00: "Precision Medicine for Patients with Undiagnosed Rare Genetic Diseases in GCC Through SUNRISE Study"
Dr. Naif Almontashiri
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
11:00 - 11:20: "Inborn Errors of Immunity: Recognise Early, Act Fast"
Dr. Hamza Alghamdi
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
11:20 - 11:40: "Next Generation Therapy for Pompe Disease Patients — The Future for Achondroplasia Care"
Dr Rawda Sunbul
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
11:40 - 12:00: "New Horizons in NF1 Management"
Dr. Mohammed Almuqbil
Saudi Arabia
Clinical, Biochemical and Laboratory Genetics — Day 2 Afternoon
- Abdulmajeed Bukhamseen
- Aziza Mushiba
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20 minutes
14:00 - 14:20: "Vesicular Transporter Defects: An Emerging Class of Neurotransmitter Disorders"
Prof. Malak Alghamdi
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
14:20 - 14:40: "Beyond Short Reads: the Path to Diagnostic Answers"
Dr. Ahmad Abou Tayon
United Arab Emirates
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20 minutes
14:40 - 15:00: "Shaping the Future for Achondroplasia Care"
Dr. Maha Faden
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
15:00 - 15:20: "MLD: Every Day Counts — From Disease Burden to Newborn Screening and Early Intervention"
Dr. Wejdan Hakami
Saudi Arabia
Clinical, Biochemical and Laboratory Genetics — Day 2 Late Afternoon
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Dr. Noura Alsaleh
Saudi Arabia
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Dr. Naif Almontashiri
Saudi Arabia
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25 minutes
15:45 - 16:10: "Advancing Alpha-Mannosidosis Care: from Diagnosis to Clinical Practice"
Prof. Mohamed Sarar
Saudi Arabia
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25 minutes
16:10 - 16:35: "Highlights on Gene Therapies as DEB Management Option"
Prof. Cristina Has
Germany
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20 minutes
16:35 - 16:55: "From Data to Diagnosis: Integrating WES and WGS into Clinical Practice"
Dr. Allison Faber
United States of America
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20 minutes
16:55 - 17:15: "Biotin-Thiamine Responsive Basal Ganglia Disease in Kuwait: an Update"
Dr. Hind Alsharhan
Kuwait
Clinical, Biochemical and Laboratory Genetics — Day 3 Morning
- Maryam Bushehail
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Dr. Mohammed Almannai
Saudi Arabia
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25 minutes
09:00 - 09:25: "Integration of Multiomics from Bench to Bedside"
Dr. Ahmed Alfares
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
09:25 - 09:45: "Expanding the Phenotype of CPT1A Deficiency"
Dr. Shirin AlSharfa
Saudi Arabia
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25 minutes
09:45 - 10:10: "Ramadan Fasting Practices and Outcomes in Patients with Inborn Errors of Metabolism: A Clinical Survey"
Ms. Farah Al Kindy
Oman
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20 minutes
10:10 - 10:30: "Implementing Rapid Precision Medicine Testing to Prevent Permanent Hearing Loss in Newborns"
Dr. Hazim Najjar
Saudi Arabia
Clinical, Biochemical and Laboratory Genetics — Day 3 Mid-Morning
- Omamah Alshehri
- Afaf Alsubhi
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20 minutes
10:55 - 11:15: "Beyond the Diagnosis: The Complexity of Genetic Medicine in Oman — Past, Present and Future"
Dr. Nadia Alhashmi
Oman
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20 minutes
11:15 - 11:35: "Advances in Phenylketonuria Management: Current Care and Emerging Clinical Data"
Prof. Fuad Almutairi
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
11:35 - 11:55: "Maximizing Treatment Response in SMA: Evaluating High Dose Nusinersen"
Dr. Rana AlSheikh
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
11:55 - 12:15: "The Genetic Basis of Hypophosphatasia: From Mutation to Manifestation"
Dr. Mohammed Almannai
Saudi Arabia
Clinical, Biochemical and Laboratory Genetics — Day 3 Afternoon
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Prof. Amal M. Alhashem
Saudi Arabia
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Prof. Majid Alfadhel
Saudi Arabia
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Dr. Hind Alsharhan
Kuwait
- Anwar Alhamad
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30 minutes
13:30 - 14:00: "Urea Cycle Disorders Beyond Ammonia Removal"
Prof. Johannes Häberle
Switzerland
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20 minutes
14:00 - 14:20: "Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1: Translating Genetic Insights into RNAi-Driven Disease Management"
Dr. Talal Alanzi
Saudi Arabia
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20 minutes
14:20 - 14:40: "Li-Takada-Miyake Syndrome: A Case Report with a Literature Review"
Ms. Amna Ali
Qatar
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20 minutes
14:40 - 15:00: "Prenatal Genetic Services and Diagnostic Outcomes in Qatar"
Ms. Shaza Alkhidir
Qatar
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10 minutes
15:00 - 15:10: "Discussion"
Discussion
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50 minutes
15:10 - 16:00: "Award for the best poster"
Prof. Majid Alfadhel
Saudi Arabia
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10 minutes
16:00 - 16:10: "Closure of The Symposium"
Closure of The Symposium