The list of Emirati [EMIRATES] scientists with
breakthrough inventions has grown longer as one youthful scholar has
made a mark in the field of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), who came up
with a tool that has made it precisely clear to identify a sexual
offender without confusing him with his relatives.
Previously,
when samples were taken, the results could zero in on the suspect but it
would remain difficult to differentiate the offender from his
biological kinship such as son or brothers.
“The previous
research depended on Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat (Y-STRs). Now, our
tool does away with any confusion or mixture and saves us from the
necessity to dwell on the female victim’s sample,” explains the 28-year
old Dubai-born, Dr Capt. Rashed Alghafri, who solely developed the DNA
tool marker.
His alma mater, the University of Central Lancashire
(uclan) in the United Kingdom (UK), where he did his PhD, was swift to
work with the UK’s Intellectual Property Rights body to patent the
coveted tool.
His invention has won him accolades from the
country leadership and security personnel. During the 43rd National Day
celebrations last December, he was among the 43 Emirati pioneers in
various fields who were honoured by the Vice President, Prime Minister
of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The
scientist was awarded for inventing the “world’s first male genetic
print for forensic use.”
Other scientists honoured on the same
occasion included professor Ali Al Naqbi, for inventing the first
artificial liver from hollow fibre in the world; Dr Habiba Al Saffar,
the first Emirati woman to invent genome mapping for prevention and
early detection of diabetes; Dr Hawa Al Mansouri, the first Emirati
woman to invent a catheter through a vein for intensive heart surgeries,
Ahmad Al Harithi, the first Emirati to invent genetically engineered
algae for industrial uses and Mohammad Mattar Al Shamsi, the first
Emirati international robotic expert.
In this month alone, Dr
Rashed has been honoured, separately, by the Deputy Chairman of Dubai
Police and Public Security, Lt Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim and the
Commander of Dubai Police, Maj. Gen. Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina.
General
Dhahi commented on the young scientist: “His findings have taken us
many steps forward in nailing offenders, especially those engaged in
sex-related crimes. Rashed is an excellent example of a creative Emirati
youth, in both his studies and professional conduct.”
He was
spotted early on, from his days in Dubai secondary school to being
enlisted in the police force at the age of 17, in 2004. General Dhahi,
the then Commander of Dubai Police, sent him to Australia where he
obtained a bachelors degree in Forensic Analytical Chemistry at Flinders
University of South Australia.
 “Again,
in 2009, the Dubai Police sent me for an MSc in DNA Profiling, which I
studied at Bond University in Australia, and further to the uclan in the
UK for a PhD in 2011,” he says, seated in his office at the Criminal
Investigations Department, where he holds the office of the DNA and
Biology Expert in the Department of Forensic Sciences and Criminology.
“All
the credit goes to the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan Bin
Mohammed Bin Rashid, who met my sponsorship. I also thank the General
Dhahi Khalfan, General Al Mazeina and my colleagues who offered me a
conducive environment.” Whereas his parents, Hamdan Nassar Al Ghafri are
his “world and idol figures.”
Dr Rashed’s dissertation
findings are in a tome of eight chapters titled, “Development,
Validation and Application of a Nouveau Multiplex Assay RM-Yplex:
Amplifying 13 Rapidly Mutating Y Chromosome Short Tandem Repeat
Regions.’ “They have been discussed in the prestigious forensic DNA
journal, Forensic Science International Genetics,” he says.
Global forensic labs rush for tool
 Gen.
Dhahi Khalfan says that a number of scientific establishments are
coming to the police and reports indicate to Rashed’s university, uclan,
requesting to share the knowledge to buttress their forensic databases. He mentions establishments from the Netherlands, China, Malaysia, Italy, Switzerland, and South Korea. “Officials
from the Czech Republic have been here,” Dr Rashed says. “Since we have
patented this tool, we are now thinking of commercialising. This is
being organised by the UK’s IPR and hopefully, it will soon be sold for
any buyer to access.” He adds that there are several indicators
for the significance of the findings, among them is the number of visits
and downloads made on the Researchgate portal where scholars upload
their academic research and studies.
“The website
shows you a weekly report, and, for a year since I uploaded my research
work, I have gotten not less than four people viewing my paper per
week.”
To him, there are still many forensic
challenges to seek solutions for in all forensic laboratories. “I am
focusing on issues and offering strategies that will help to save the
expenses we and other labs are incurring. Hopefully, we shall develop
tools to solve, if not all the cases, I would say most of them.”
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