The day-long ‘Frontiers in Marine Biotechnology Conference’, hosted by the Oman Centre for Marine Biotechnology (OCMB) in partnership with Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), was held at the Grand Hyatt Muscat yesterday. The proceedings were held under the auspices of Mohamed Nasser al Rasbi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Defence.
“The field of marine biotechnology has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry, one that offers much scope for economic and technology development in Oman,” said Prof Bassam Soussi, Chairman of the Organising Committee and CEO of OCMB.
“In this regard, pursuing the development of marine biotechnology in Oman, alongside efforts for collaboration and regional awareness, will not only support the country’s diversification objectives, but play a vital role in creating new commercial and employment opportunities for the local workforce,” he stated.
Following welcome remarks by Prof Soussi, a number of international experts provided a brief outlook on the new frontiers in marine biotechnology and a specialist’s take on the access and use of marine resources in the arena of legislation and ethics.
The utilization of marine biotechnology in the field of medicine and pharmaceuticals has proven successful due to the high diversity exhibited by marine organisms, as opposed to those on land. Deep-sea organisms are used by drug companies and industrial-process engineers to provide genetic material that can be altered for industrial usage. Research within marine biotechnology has furthermore resulted in several important drug discoveries.
The first session of the Conference titled ‘Marine Biotechnology – An Ocean of Opportunities and Applications’, explore the applicability of marine biotechnology in the medical field with speakers venturing beyond the cross-roads of marine and aging biology to provide insight on research at the interface between marine and medical biology.
Besides the medical field, components, bio-active compounds and genes within marine organisms like bacteria, fungi, viruses, sea plants, shellfish and fish have applications in processing industries like oil and gas, food, feed, and biofuels.
The second session of the Conference entitled ‘Biodiscovery and Sustainable Research’, featured seasoned experts uncovering the role of marine bioprospecting and biodiscovery in utilizing marine biodiversity to develop products for various industrial needs, within the framework of a sustainable bio-economy.
Presentations focused on: Benthic recycling of biogenic silica along depth and salinity gradients in the Baltic Sea, Seaweed production systems with high-value applications and Diodiversity and chemo-diversity of the cultivable fungal community associated to the Mediterranean Marine Sponge (Phorbas Tenacious). Conference proceedings also laid the groundwork for establishing Sustainable research and business cluster in marine biotechnology in the Sultanate.
Speakers included Dr Jean Paul Cadoret, Managing Director, GreenSea Biotechnologies — Marine Bioactive, France; Prof Olivier Thomas, Director, Marine Biodiscovery, School of Chemistry, National University of Galway, Ireland; Prof Eric Gilson, Director, Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging Nice (IRCAN) UMR CNRS/INSERM, University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, France; Dr Mohamed Mehiri, Director — PFTC, In-charge of the Natural Marine Group Products Bioactive Molecules Team, Institute of Chemistry of Nice, University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, France; Dr Alan Harris, Senior Vice President, Research and Development Executive Officer, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Switzerland; Dr Hans Ludwig Dankwardt, Managing Partner, Macun International LLC, Project Manager Neurorehabilitation at University of Zurich, Switzerland; Prof Denis Allemand, Scientific Director, The Scientific Centre of Monaco (CSM), France; Prof Per Hall, Chairman, Institute for Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Prof Henrik Pavia, Deputy Chairman, Institute for Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; and Dr Michele Barbier, Ethics Expert H2020, European Commission, Executive Director, Institute of Science & Ethics, Scientific Officer CIESM, The Mediterranean Science Commission, France.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
