KFSHRC Bestowed Hamdan Foundation Medical Excellence Award

King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC) has been conferred the Arab Award for Research in Healthcare within the Medical Excellence Awards of 2024 by the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences for its groundbreaking study addressing challenges in diagnosing Mendelian diseases, genetic disorders caused by mutations in one gene, offering valuable insight that enhances the effectiveness of global undiagnosed disease programs.

 ‏For the study, titled "Diagnostic implications of pitfalls in causal variant identification", a cohort of 4,577 families was studied and key barriers to accurate genetic diagnoses were identified. These included phenotypic complexities, novel gene-disease associations, novel inheritance patterns, and pedigree analysis-related challenges. The research demonstrated that addressing non-sequencing challenges alone could improve diagnostic yield by 71%, and successfully identified causal variants in 54.5% of previously undiagnosed cases.

 ‏This research underscores the need for a holistic approach in reaching a diagnostic, beyond sequencing technologies, and offers valuable insight that helps improve global programs for undiagnosed diseases.

 ‏This recognition reinforces KFSHRC’s position as a leader in genetic research and healthcare innovation, underscoring its commitment to advancing scientific knowledge, fostering innovation, and delivering transformative solutions to improve patient outcomes while setting global healthcare benchmarks.

 ‏The Hamdan Medical Awards celebrate excellence in medical innovation and research across the Arab world, with categories such as Best Research in Healthcare, Innovation in Healthcare, and the Hamdan Award for Distinguished Personalities.

 ‏The award bestowed on KFSHRC highlights its leadership in advancing genetic research and delivering transformative healthcare solutions.

 The hospital has also been ranked first in the Middle East and Africa and 20th globally among the world’s top 250 academic medical centers for the second consecutive year. It was named the most valuable healthcare brand in the Kingdom and the Middle East by the 2024 Brand Finance rankings, and was included in the World’s Best Smart Hospitals 2025 list by Newsweek.