Clinical Epidemiology Group

The rising problem of chronic diseases has been well documented and the burden from these diseases represent a major threat to human health and development. Chronic diseases such as cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (asthma), diabetes and cardiovascular diseases have been labeled as the world's leading killers by the WHO and are likely to continue rising globally.  This is no different for the United Arab Emirates where factors such as globalization, genetic, cultural and environmental variations may contribute significantly to the rise of chronic diseases locally and regionally. However, despite the alarming increase, there are gaps in our knowledge of the true burden from chronic diseases in the UAE, especially identifying those most at risk of developing diseases and specific risk factors associated with these diseases. Information on the short- and long-term consequences of chronic diseases and the effectiveness and safety of current practices is also scarce.
The role of the clinical epidemiology research group is to conduct large-scale long term research into the epidemiology of diseases (such as respiratory diseases, diabetes, cancer, mental health and periodontal diseases) and to derive population specific incidence rates and prevalence, investigate the biological, social and psychosomatic factors underlying and associated with health and lifestyle behaviors as well as identify genetic and environmental risks.

• Conduct well-designed and well-resourced research in epidemiology to identify chronic disease patterns prevalent in the UAE such as asthma, respiratory diseases, certain cancers, diabetes, and periodontal diseases.
• Use innovative approaches and advanced statistical methods to analyze secondary data derived from disease registries and publicly available big data to describe patterns and trends of chronic disease morbidity and mortality across geographic areas locally and regionally.
• Investigate the genetic, biological, social, and psychosomatic factors underlying health and lifestyle behaviors of chronic diseases.
• Conduct research on the epidemiology of specific modifiable risk factors to inform the design of clinical trials and future public health interventions.
• Develop novel statistical and computational methods to correlate complex data from different modalities such as genetics, psychosomatic and lifestyle factors, and chronic diseases

External Grants

•  An epidemiological study to evaluate the levels of nicotine, carbon monoxide and peak expiratory flow amongst midwakh users in the UAE and its impact on their overall health.  Sheikh Hamdan Award for Medical Science Research Grant
• Prevalence of exposure to workplace carcinogens among migrant workers in the UAE   Zayed Center for Health Sciences UAEU

Internal Grants:

•  Evaluating the levels of nicotine and carbon monoxide associated with midwakh use among youth in the UAE. University of Sharjah-Competitive Grant

Projects currently working on:

•  Worker wellness program: Measuring worker wellness using WHOOP wearable devices in construction workers in the UAE
• Workplace exposure to carcinogens in migrant workers
• Evaluating the levels of nicotine and carbon monoxide in midwakh users
• Adolescents perceptions and behaviors towards tobacco smoking and other tobacco related products in the UAE
• The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of university students, healthcare workers, parents and teachers.

• Cancer prevalence in different populations and the specific trends and specific risk factors associated with these cancers                                                                             
• Respiratory disease trends such as Coronary Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases and asthma and associated behavioral, metabolic and environmental risk factors     
• Oral health (Periodontal disease and Oral Cancer prevalence and risk factors)                             
• Diabetes and its complications including lifestyle behaviors                                                                           
• Nutrigenomics and its effect on metabolic disorders                                                                           
• Population Health

Internal Projects

External Projects