UNDERSTANDING THE FUNDAMENTALS:

MEDICAL RESEARCH OVERVIEW

PREPARED BY:
HATEM F. RAMADAN
NURSING SUPERVISOR
SEPTEMBER 20, 2023
 Contents
• Introduction
• Types of Medical Research
• Types of Study design
• The research process
• Common Challenges in Medical Research
• Ethical Considerations in Medical Research
• Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• Future Directions in Medical Research

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Introduction
- Brief history of medical research
- Contributions of Medical
Research
- Definition of medical research
 The earliest known medical trial was conducted in Babylonia in 500 BC.

First vaccine discovered - Smallpox Vaccine (1796-1979): Edward Jenner .

19th century was the start of great progress in medical research.

Brief History Discovery of Penicillin (1928-1940s): Alexander Fleming.

of Medical
Discovery of Insulin (1921-1922): Frederick Banting and Charles Best.

Development of the Polio Vaccine (1930s-1950s): Jonas Salk.

Research Stem Cell Research (1960s-ongoing): James Till and Ernest McCulloch.

The Framingham Heart Study (1948-ongoing): Various researchers at the National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute

Human Microbiome Project (2008-ongoing): Various researchers and organizations.

Human Genome Editing with CRISPR-Cas9 (2012-ongoing): Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle
Charpentier (for CRISPR-Cas9)

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 Identifying Identifying new medical interventions

Evaluating the effectiveness and safety of existing

Evaluating treatments

Contributions of Exploring Exploring the causes and risk factors of diseases

Medical Research
Understan Understanding the mechanisms underlying diseases
ding

Improving healthcare decision-making through evidence-

Improving based practices

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Definition Medical research is the systematic
investigation of health-related
of Medical topics to generate new knowledge
Research and improve patient care.

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Types of Medical
Research
 Primary research:
Original research that is conducted to generate new
Medical knowledge.

Research • Basic research

• Clinical research
can be • Epidemiological research

classified Secondary research:

into two Research that is conducted to summarize and
interpret the results of primary research.
main types: • Systematic reviews
• Meta-analyses

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Types of
Study design
Definitio A study design is the plan for
n of how a study will be conducted.
study •It includes the study's objectives, methods, and
procedures.
design

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Medical research encompasses various study designs, each
with its own strengths and weaknesses, including:

Observational studies
• Cohort studies
• Case-control studies

Experimental studies
• Randomized controlled trials
• Nonrandomized controlled trials

Translational research

Epidemiological studies

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The Research Process
The research process involves the following
steps:
Question • Identifying research questions or hypotheses

Review • Conducting a literature review

Design • Designing the study

Approval • Obtaining ethical approval

Collecting • Collecting data

Analyzing • Analyzing data

Interpreting and discussing • Interpreting and discussing the results

Publishing • Publishing findings

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Common Challenges
in Medical Research
 - Limited funding and resources
Medical
- Recruitment and retention of participants
research must
be conducted - Ethical dilemmas
ethically to - Data quality
protect the
- Interpretation bias and limitations
rights and well-
being of - Publication bias
participants: - Long Timelines

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Ethical
Considerations in
Medical Research
 - Avoidance of
- Informed
harm (Non-
consent
maleficence)
Medical research
must be
conducted
- Data
ethically to - Respect for
confidentiality
protect the rights Autonomy
and privacy
and well-being of
participants:
- Compliance
- Conflict of
with
interest
regulations
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Institutional
Review Board
(IRB)
 IRB
To protect the rights and welfare of the participants.
IRBs are not just recommended but mandated by law.
Research may require approval from multiple IRBs, even if it is conducted within the same country.

There are 13 IRBs in Qatar. Listed below:

• Qatar Biobank for Medical Research has its Institutional Review Board ID as IRB-QBB-2019-001, with an expiration date of 20-08-2025, led by Chairperson Khalid Al-Ansari.
• Aspetar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-AOSM-2020-007
• Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-CMUQ-2021-012
• Doha Institute for Graduate Studies / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-DIGS-2020-003
• Georgetown University in Qatar / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-GUQ-2020-005
• Hamad Bin Khalifa University / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-HBKU-2022-013
• Hamad Medical Corporation / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-HMC-2021-011
• Primary Health Care Corporation / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-PHCC-2020-004
• Qatar Biomedical Research Institute / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-QBRI-2020-010
• Qatar University / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-QU-2020-006
• Sidra Medicine / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-SIDR-2020-009
• University College London in Qatar / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-UCLQ-2019-002
• Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar / Institutional Review Board ID: IRB-WCM--2020-008 19
Future Directions
in Medical
Research
Medical research is constantly evolving, and there are
many exciting new directions that are being explored:

THE INTEGRATION OF PRECISION MEDICINE AND EMERGING FIELDS

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PERSONALIZED
AND BIG DATA ANALYTICS HEALTHCARE

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THANKS