Dr. Cristina Skrypnyk, Medical Director of the Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Ibrahim Center and a consultant in medical genetics, received the Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Rare Diseases —in the physicians’ category—during the Fifth Middle East and North Africa Conference on Rare Diseases, which was recently held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
This honor recognizes Dr. Cristina’s three-decade-long contributions to the fields of medical genetics and rare diseases, as well as her significant efforts in the areas of genetic diagnosis, genomic medicine, medical education, scientific research, support for patients and their families, and raising public awareness of rare diseases.
Throughout her career, Dr. Cristina has contributed to the development of the rare disease care system in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the region by promoting early diagnosis, raising awareness, and supporting multidisciplinary medical care, as well as applying rapid advances in genomics to clinical practice, thereby helping to improve the quality of care provided to patients and their families.
Dr. Cristina participated in the conference’s scientific program and delivered a lecture titled: “Combining Genomics and Artificial Intelligence: A New Era for the Discovery and Care of Rare Diseases,” in which she addressed the growing role of the integration of genomics and artificial intelligence in bringing about a paradigm shift in the diagnosis and discovery of rare diseases.
The lecture highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence to integrate genomic and clinical data with patients’ phenotypes, thereby helping to shorten the diagnostic journey, improve the interpretation of genetic variants, and uncover previously unknown disease mechanisms, ultimately leading to more precise and personalized healthcare tailored to meet each patient’s needs.
This recognition and active scientific engagement reflect the growing presence of Arabian Gulf University and the Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Ibrahim Center in the fields of rare diseases, genomic diagnostics, and precision medicine, both regionally and internationally. It also embodies ongoing efforts to care for patients, train medical professionals, raise community awareness, and translate scientific progress into tangible improvements in the quality of life for patients and their families.
This recognition underscores the role of Arabian Gulf University and Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Ibrahim Center in advancing genomic medicine and rare diseases, and in strengthening the Kingdom of Bahrain’s position as a regional center of excellence in genetic diagnostics and precision medicine.