Because of their ability to become any type of cell in the body and potentially restore damaged tissues, stem cells have long been the focus of research. Yet progress in the field of stem-cell-based regenerative medicine has all but reached a stand still. The two main focal points of this research—embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells—have not yet reached consistency in terms of their ability to produce disease-free cells that regrow organ tissue. Researchers based in New York City and Doha are working on an approach that involves the endothelial cells that make up the vascular system as a supportive "niche" for growing stem cells.

 Compared to studies in the fields of biology and engineering, nonlinear dynamics might not be so obvious in terms of its worth. In reality, it is an area of physics research that permeates the natural world and a field integral to so many others. Dr. Milivoj Belic won the 2012 QNRF Research Team of the Year Award for his prolific contributions in this field, accounting for more than ten percent of Texas A&M at Qatar’s publications. His team’s specific focus is nonlinear optics, wherein they research the behavior of materials and laser light as they interact.

The content of this issue reflects the continual evolution of QNRF as it aligns its services and programs with the needs of researchers and the Qatar National Research Strategy. As a special addition to this issue, the strategy is discussed in a high-profile interview with Qatar Foundation's President of Research and Development, Mr. Faisal Alsuwaidi.

December saw the launch of an innovative series of QNRF–driven QF R&D seminars designed to connect researchers and the wider public audience in Qatar. By giving the researchers a forum in which they can shed light on the nature of their research in a context understandable by the layman, they can showcase their achievements and how it will benefit the general population, be that local, regional or global.

At the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN), physicists and engineers use the world’s largest and most sophisticated scientific instruments to study the simplest forms of matter. This facility most recently drew worldwide attention as the grounds of the recently discovered Higgs boson, a discovery that won the 2013 Nobel Prize in physics.

Born and raised in Qatar, Noor Al-Merekhi has been working with QNRF since the inception of its National Priorities Research Program (NPRP). As its manager, she says one of the strengths of the Program and QNRF at large is the application of lessons learned.

QNRF recently announced the results of the third cycle of its Junior Scientists Research Experience Program (JSREP). This year, grants worth a total of $1.78 million have been awarded to nine winning projects from four academic and research institutions. Four of the research grants were awarded to Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, and two each to Qatar University and Texas A&M University at Qatar. ASPETAR—Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital—received the final JSREP grant, the first of its kind to receive QNRF funding, for research in the field of sport and fitness sciences. The project will study the regulation of prolonged self-paced exercise in hot-climatic conditions.

Over the past five cycles, QNRF's flagship National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) has attracted some of the world's most renowned scientists and funded 567 original and competitively selected research projects. Twenty-nine Qatari research institutions have collaborated on the research projects with 323 international institutions from 48 countries across the globe, helping to advance scientific innovation nationally and strengthen Qatar's position within the global academic community.

QNRF is pleased to acknowledge the publication of "Research News" by Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar). Developed in order inform the communities at SFS-Qatar, Education City, in Doha, and at Georgetown's main campus about the scope and diversity of research undertaken by faculty and research staff in Doha, SFS-Qatar Research News will be a comprehensive look at research updates, to be released once every semester.

Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) recently concluded the most recent cycle of its Secondary School Research Experience Program (SSREP) in an awards ceremony recognizing 89 outstanding student researchers. The students were awarded for their projects, which covered a wide range of research topics and achieved an average score of 80% or above. The Supreme Council of Education (SCE) collaborated with QNRF to ensure the quality and relevance of the students' research.

QNRF is delighted to announce that it has now developed and put in place a strategic public relations framework to handle its increasingly high visibility in the research community, both domestically and internationally. The plan involves a phased strategy to incorporate all mediums in a coordinated approach to communication related to building a research culture in Qatar while taking into account QNRF's varied target audiences.

Dr. Thomas Zacharia received a PhD in Engineering from Clarkson University in the field of computational materials science. Prior to his new role at Qatar Foundation, he served as Deputy Laboratory Director and Chief Research Officer of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, overseeing annual expenditures of $1.6 billion throughout a range of sectors, including energy and engineering sciences, computing and computational sciences, life and environmental sciences, and national security.

 By working through unexpected findings, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) have moved closer to understanding a process that could contribute to more intelligent cancer therapies. The college’s Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, Dr. Khaled Machaca, is principal investigator on a project involving zinc and its role in cancerous cell division. While at first, the team suspected zinc to have an influence on a widely known cancer target, they were soon lead to a more profound effect of the mineral’s changed levels.