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   * Communicating your Science with the Public
   * 3rd Kuwait-imec Symposium
   * Enriching Research Using Artificial Intelligence
   * Google Certified Trainer Course
   * Food Allergies
   * Science Month in Kuwait
   * KFAS sponsors online training courses on renewable energy and energy
     efficiency in association with Renewables Academy in Berlin
   * وفاة المغفور له حضرة صاحب السمو أمير البلاد الشيخ نواف الأحمد الجابر الصباح
     رحمة الله
   * وتستمر مسيرة العطاء ..
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 * العربية


STI FLUENT HUMAN CAPITAL



Our funding supports fostering the national stock of STI capability by enhancing
public perception of STI, increasing proficiency in STEM, and creating
incentives to advance STI knowledge.



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FUTURE-READY ORGANIZATION



Our organization is efficient and sustainable, with high-caliber employees,
strong governance and a collaborative culture prepared for the future.



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DEVELOPED INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM



Our funding, projects and partnerships aim to support a stronger innovation
ecosystem by creating and disseminating accessible and reliable data, enabling
STI agents to capture opportunities and informing the STI policy infrastructure.



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WHO WE ARE



THE KUWAIT FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCES (KFAS), A PRIVATE
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

The Foundation’s efforts toward fostering STI to address national challenges
first began through the pledge made by the private sector shareholding companies
to fund the Foundation based on a set percentage of their annual profits —
currently at one percent — as well as through the incorporation of a unique
governance modality, in which the Board of Directors is chaired and appointed by
the Amir of the State of Kuwait. Today, KFAS’s impact is prominently embedded
within the country’s scientific and technological accomplishments and
advancements.

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HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

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 * Scientist or Researcher
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 * Prizes
 * International Collaborative Research
 * Research Supports / Grants
 * Scientific Missions
 * Training Grants Program

Prizes

PRIZES ANNOUNCEMENTS.



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Prizes

KUWAIT PRIZE

Summary For each field, the prize amounts to KD 40,000 (forty thousand Kuwaiti
Dinars approximately $130,000 (one hundred thirty thousand U.S. dollars), a gold
medal, a KFAS shield and a certificate of recognition to one or more of the
citizens of Kuwait and other Arab countries.

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Prizes

JABER AL-AHMAD PRIZE FOR YOUNG RESEARCHERS

Established in 1988 in an initiative by His Highness the late Amir of the State
of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah - May God rest his soul – to
encourage research intensity in Kuwait by recognizing distinguished Kuwaitis
holding a PhD who are accomplished producers of scientific papers. The prize,
which amounts to KD 10,000 per field has grown over time to include 6 fields
annually.

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Prizes

ANWAR AL NOURI PRIZE

KFAS oversees and fully manages the Anwar Al Nouri Prize, launched in 2015 and
funded by the Anwar Al Nouri Philanthropic Trust, and in recognition of the
pivotal role the late educator played in the fields of education and learning in
the State of Kuwait and the Arab world over more than 50 years. The prize is
also in appreciation of his relentless efforts in serving KFAS as a former
member of its Board of Directors.

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Prizes

AL SUMAIT PRIZE

The Al-Sumait Prize for African Development is an intiative by The Amir of the
State of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, which was
announced at the “Third African Arab Summit” hosted by the State of Kuwait in
November 2013 in honour of the late Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumait. Dr. Al-Sumait
dedicated his life towards humanitarian and charity work for health, education
and food projects for the less fortunate in African Nations.

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Prizes

LAUREATES



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SUCCESS STORIES

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INTISAR AL-HATLANI: ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY MAKES EVERY DROP COUNT

Improvements in forensic technologies help law enforcement identify suspects and
solve cases more quickly. Intisar Al-Hatlani is a pioneer in analytical
chemistry in Kuwait, as she works to achieve the goals she dreamed of while she
was in school. About this, the analytical chemistry specialist at Kuwait
University said: “I used to follow all the TV programs that dealt with solving
crime mysteries. I would see them using the same tools that we have in our lab.
I know the episodes weren't realistic, but it was so engaging to me. I saw how
chemistry is being used in a real and important field, and all I wanted to do
was do it.” Al-Hatlani's interest in analytical chemistry grew at the University
of Hull in the United Kingdom, where she spent her scholarship to complete her
postgraduate studies, and the required major was analytical chemistry. The
winner of the 2020 Jaber Al-Ahmad Prize for Young Researchers in the Field of
Natural Sciences and Mathematics, awarded by the Kuwait Foundation for the
Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), said: “I found it really fascinating. If you can
analyze something to determine what it contains and how much, you can answer
many questions.” Her interest in the subject stems in part from the challenge of
solving puzzles. Comparing scientific research to solving a crime, she said,
"You have several clues and they are all important, but it is up to you to
decide which one is more important. Chemical analysis may help by extracting as
much information as possible from each piece of evidence.” For example,
fingerprints have been a staple for detectives for more than a century, but
experts like Al-Hatlani can get a lot more out of them than was previously
possible. Al-Hatlani said that fingerprints are “more than just a print,” and
analyzing them in various ways can provide information about race or gender,
among other details. Some of her research has focused on improving our ability
to use fingerprints to tell not only who the owner is but also what object was
in his hand. Discovering and identifying traces of drugs when analyzing
fingerprints can be very useful in determining what happened at the crime scene,
especially with the exacerbation of the drug problem in Kuwait. Al-Hatlani
investigates this by looking at a modification of the surface-assisted laser
desorption/ionization (SALDI) technique. It shines a laser on the sample,
ionizes it, and then determines what the ionized particles are using a mass
spectrometer, a very precise technique. Al-Hatlani developed the process when
she wondered if the method could be improved by spraying fingerprints with metal
oxide nanoparticles. When they tried the idea, members of Al-Hatlani's team
found that it reduced background noise that could muddy the analysis. The
researchers were able to reliably detect traces of the drug on the fingerprints
after a week, after the samples were stored at cool or moderate temperatures.
Her team is now working to extract more information from the fingerprints. One
student is working to identify traces of cosmetics in fingerprints, and perhaps
even the specific brand, while another student is trying to discover more
information about the “self-characteristics” – or the characteristics of the
person who left the fingerprint. Identifying a person's traits from a small
sample of saliva. She spent her sabbatical at Igor Lednev's lab at the
University at Albany, learning the technique of Raman spectroscopy. When Raman
spectroscopy is used, the sample is illuminated with a laser and changes in the
energy of the emitted photons are used to determine the sample's molecular
composition. Lednev admired al-Hatlani's work and said: “We immediately realized
that she had an excellent background and a lot of experience in spectroscopy and
spectrometry. Her research was excellent in my lab, and we published a joint
paper in the most prestigious scientific journal in the field.” The research
paper that was on the cover of that issue of the magazine dealt with whether the
trace saliva came from a smoker. By training a machine learning system on Raman
spectra from smokers and non-smokers, the researchers developed a model that can
accurately identify the source of a sample. “This is probably very useful for
law enforcement, especially at the beginning of the investigation, because it
will provide additional information about potential suspects,” Lednev said.
Handheld Raman spectrometers are available, and this enables the analysis to be
performed directly at the crime scene. During her sabbatical, Al-Hatlani also
developed an improved method for diagnosing Celiac Disease. Lednev's team had
been using Raman spectroscopy to diagnose celiac disease based on a blood
sample, but their approach required statistical analysis to detect subtle
changes in the Raman spectrum. By adjusting the wavelength of the lasers used,
Al-Hatlani found conditions that produced spectra that were much easier to
analyze. “Now the differences are very big,” Lednev said. You can see it with
the naked eye.” Although the findings are important, Lednev noted that they
should be validated using a larger sample set and then published. He added, “We
are even considering patenting it.” The central theme of much of Hatlani's work
has been to extract as much information as possible from the limited materials
available. This applies to another contribution I made to the treatment of drug
addiction. Through the same techniques used to analyze fingerprints, Al Hatani
and her team were able to tell if a drink contained a drug from just a few parts
per millionth of a liter — less than a drop. The analysis of narcotics has
always occupied Hatlani's attention. About that she said: “I think it's a
problem now. It has been a problem in the past, and it will always be a problem
that will only get worse over time. If we have people who can work on this and
keep up with the changes using technology, maybe we can contain the situation.”
Obtaining as much information as possible from each piece of evidence is vital
in forensics, since the materials available are limited and irreplaceable.
Another important advantage of the techniques developed by Al-Hatlani is their
speed. She says that forensic experts in Kuwait have to deal with a very large
number of cases, so they will benefit from each increase in speed and
efficiency. In the long term, she hopes, through a collaborative center between
Kuwait University and the Ministry of Interior, it will be possible to bring
together researchers and forensic experts to advance the analyzes and discover
new applications.

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A LESS INVASIVE APPROACH TO TREATING CANCER

Although radiation and chemotherapy are powerful tools for treating cancer, they
cause serious side effects. Along with cancer cells, they damage or kill healthy
cells. Dr. Saad Makhseed of Kuwait University is working on a technique that
promises to kill cancer cells without harming their healthy neighbors. The
approach, known as photodynamic therapy (PDT), relies on a combination of three
ingredients - oxygen, light and a molecule known as a photosensitizer - each of
which is harmless on its own but can kill a cell if combined correctly. When
illuminated at the correct wavelength, the photo-sensitizer reacts with nearby
oxygen and converts it into a more active form known as singlet oxygen. These
highly reactive oxygen molecules are toxic to cells, damaging their components
and eventually causing their death. By making sure that the photosensitizer is
absorbed only by the cancer cells and illuminates them as accurately as
possible, doctors can administer PDT to kill cancer cells without harming any
healthy tissue. Makhseed, a chemist, is interested in studying molecules known
as phthalocyanines (Pcs) in an effort to improve their performance as catalysts.
While reading about these molecules, he discovered that they are used in PDT.
“Medicine fascinates me, so I started reading more about this research approach
and the difficulties and challenges, and the kinds of properties needed to use
these molecules in photodynamic therapy,” he said. Pcs are in principle very
efficient at producing monooxygenase, but some drawbacks have limited their
practical uses. The first challenge is that the Pcs particles are not soluble in
water and thus tend to clump together and form agglomerates that stop
interacting with oxygen. To get around this, he designed and built traps for Pcs
molecules with large attachments stacked on top and bottom, like the stuffing
between two donuts. By using electrically charged attachments, he hoped to
prevent the particles from clumping up. Makhseed reached out to Petr zimčík at
Charles University in the Czech Republic to help him analyze the new molecules.
“We had some facilities that Makhseed did not have at that time, so we were able
to evaluate the photo-physical properties of the compound,” zimčík said. He
added, “The amendments completely hampered the agglomeration process, which is
really important in this field. We really liked these molecules.” Through his
continued collaboration with zimčík, Makhseed was able to improve the design of
pcs. In the latter structure, the zinc present in the core of the molecules was
replaced by indium metal, thus increasing its efficiency in the production of
monooxygenase. A second major challenge is ensuring that only cancer cells
absorb the Pcs particles. He was able to do this by attaching specific
functional groups to the molecules to make them more attractive to cancer cells.
For example, because cancer cells divide rapidly, their metabolism rates are
higher than normal cells, so attaching Pc to a sugar molecule will make the
cancer cell more willing to absorb it. Synthesizing large and complex molecules
is not an easy task. Thanks to funding from the Kuwait Foundation for the
Advancement of Sciences, Makhseed now has facilities to test the physical
properties of the molecules he developed, but he still needs to send them to
zimčík and other collaborators for testing in cell cultures and, eventually, in
animal models. Makhseed recently overcame the challenge of developing repetitive
synthesis techniques. "We've developed a building block with specific
functionality that allows us to bind anything we want to phthalocyanines," he
said. Using this technology, he can produce pcs with different add-ons to target
cancer cells, whether from carbohydrates, amino acids or lipids, for example.
"Using information available from biological research, we should be able to
design molecules that are highly selective and favored by cancer cells,"
Makhseed said. Makhseed registered a patent for these molecules and their new
synthesis technology, and he has high hopes for them. He said, “These
technologies will not only benefit the Kuwaiti society, but also the Gulf region
and even the entire world.” He added, “This type of treatment does not involve
invasive procedures, so it can be performed as often as needed. It can be very
selective, so it does not cause side effects in patients, and there is no need
for surgery.” zimčík plans to include Pcs particles in a global project to test
the efficacy of different Pcs zimčík. Besides the compounds Makhseed has
synthesized, zimčík collects molecules from labs in China, Russia, Spain, Poland
and elsewhere. “The biological evaluation of PDT activity is performed
differently in each laboratory, which makes it difficult to compare results,”
said Makhseed. So, we wanted to standardize the protocol and collect and compare
the best published molecules to see what differences there are between them.”
Makhseed's new technique of modifying the structure of phthalocyanines also
opens up the possibility of synthesizing them for use as catalysts, bringing it
back to the starting point. In addition to his work on photodynamic therapy, the
researcher is developing modified Pcs particles to absorb carbon dioxide or
purify water, and is in the process of initiating a collaboration with a
laboratory at Durham University, UK, to develop organic light-emitting diodes.
“The knowledge we gain is very important for Kuwait,” Makhseed said. This
research gives us new information and helps us develop optimal molecules more
quickly. I am working on building cooperative relations with external parties
and returning that knowledge to Kuwait.” Makhseed hopes that his work will
develop into an effective treatment for cancer and become available to everyone.
He said: “What we have now can be used as a drug in the future if funders help
us find the right research teams and prepare clinical trials. I want to be part
of a field where we help people get treatment and even a full recovery.”

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وتستمر مسيرة العطاء ..

تتقدم مؤسسة الكويت للتقدم العلمي ومراكزها وشركاتها التابعة من حضرة صاحب السمو
أمير البلاد الشيخ مشعل الأحمد الجابر الصباح - حفظه الله ورعاه - بأصدق التهاني
وأسمى التبريكات لتولي سموه مقاليد الحكم.
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وفاة المغفور له حضرة صاحب السمو أمير البلاد الشيخ نواف الأحمد الجابر الصباح رحمة
الله

تتقدم مؤسسة الكويت للتقدم العلمي وشركاتها التابعة وجميع العاملين فيها من حضرة
صاحب السمو أمير البلاد الشيخ مشعل الأحمد الجابر الصباح ومن آل الصبـاح الكرام
والشعب الكويتي الكريم بأحر التعازي القلبية والمواساة بالمصاب الجلل بوفاة المغفور
له بإذن اللّه تعالى حضرة صاحب السمو الشيخ نواف الأحمد الجابر الصباح أمير دولة
الكويت
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KFAS SPONSORS ONLINE TRAINING COURSES ON RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
IN ASSOCIATION WITH RENEWABLES ACADEMY IN BERLIN

Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences offers an opportunity to
finance a variety of online training courses on renewable energy and energy
efficiency in association with Renewables Academy (RENAC). Training includes
intensive support, real-time online classes, in addition to teaching materials
through multimedia and self-assessment tests. Participants receive a certificate
from RENAC Academy when they successfully complete the program.
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KUWAIT FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCES (KFAS) ANNOUNCES THE SECOND
ANNUAL SCIENCE MONTH IN KUWAIT

KFAS is proud to announce the commencement of its second annual Science Month
celebration, set to run from November 15th to December 12th, 2023.
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FOOD ALLERGIES

What are Food Allergies? - Food allergies are adverse health effects such as
hypersensitive or abnormal immune system response to specific foods.- There are
eight main food allergens to be disclosed when used as an ingredient (listed on
menu, labelled correctly and inform customers when they ask).- Other Food
Allergens are: Celery and their products, Mustard and their products, Sesame
seeds and their products, Clams and their products, Legumes, Lubin and their
products, and Sulphite (concentration of 10 ppm or more) - Based on Technical
regulation: Labeling of Prepackaged Food Stuffs GSO 9/2013. For more
information, click here to view the Food Allergies poster. Click here to
download Food Allergies icons for print, applications and web usage.
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GOOGLE CERTIFIED TRAINER COURSE

Google Certified Trainer course (train the trainer) enables educators to lead
training workshops for other teachers on behalf of Google and empowers educators
to learn and use Google for Education products to make their classrooms more
efficient, improve student outcomes, and foster leadership skills. Date:  8 - 12
October, 2023 Time:- Morning: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm- Evening: 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm For
Registration, please click here
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