Dr. Donald R. Love undertook his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry
Department of The University of Adelaide and then moved to The University of
Auckland in 1982 to study the genetics of thermophilic bacteria. He moved to
Oxford in 1987 to study the human dystrophin gene and discovered its orthologue,
utrophin. A Senior Research Associate position was accepted in 1991 at the
Department of Pathology, Cambridge University, to study Multiple Endocrine
Neoplasia type 2. He returned to The University of Auckland as a Senior
Lecturer in 1993, then Associate Professor in 1999, and finally Honorary
Professor in 2016. His research concerned the analysis of several heritable
human disorders and disease modeling using zebrafish. He moved to Auckland City
Hospital in 2007 as its Director of Diagnostic Genetics, focusing on
molecular-based diagnostics using innovative technology. He moved to Sidra
Medicine in 2017 with the focus of establishing a molecular diagnostic
laboratory. This focus has resulted in the local offering of Whole Exome
Sequencing in 2023, and Whole Genome Sequencing in 2024. This approach has
involved helpful collaboration with local research colleagues.
Dr. Luis R. Saraiva completed a Licenciatura (B.Sc.+M.Sc.) in Biology at the University of Evora (Portugal). After, he became a Fellow of the International Graduate School in Genetics and Functional Genomics of the University of Cologne in Germany, where he received his Ph.D. in Genetics (summa cum laude). After a brief period as a visiting scientist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, he worked as a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Linda Buck (Nobel Laureate in Physiology and Medicine 2004) at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. As he became an EBI–Sanger Postdoctoral (ESPOD) Fellow, he moved to Cambridge, where he continued his postdoctoral training at the EMBL-EBI and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Since 2015, he has been leading the Human Disease Modeling Laboratory, and he is currently also serving as the A/Director of the Disease Modeling and Therapeutics Department at the Research Branch of Sidra Medicine. From 2016–2023, he served as an Adjunct Faculty Member at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. Additionally, since 2018, he has held a Joint Faculty position at Hamad bin Khalifa University (Doha, Qatar).
Prof. Khalid Hussain is the Division Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology and Programme Director for Research for the Children’s Clinical Management Group (CCMG). He is responsible for establishing and developing the clinical endocrine and diabetes service. He leads a multidisciplinary team (consultant endocrinologists and diabetologists, insulin pump experts, endocrine nurses, diabetic educators, and highly specialized dieticians) providing care for children with all endocrine conditions, including diabetes. Specialist clinics for children with all types of diabetes are now established, and children with diabetes are managed with the latest technological advances. His vision is to create a world-class center for children with diabetes, providing the highest standard of clinical care. Prior to joining Sidra, Dr. Hussain was the GOSHCC (Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity) Professor of Pediatric Metabolic Endocrinology at The Institute of Child Health, University College London, and Honorary Consultant Pediatric Endocrinologist at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London. Dr. Hussain qualified in Medicine from Glasgow University in Scotland, and then trained in Neonatology, Metabolic Medicine, and Paediatric Endocrinology in London (Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital) and Australia (Monash Medical Center, Melbourne).
