Highlights from the 1st King Fahd Medical Research Center (KFMRC) Conference

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The 1st Conference of the King Fahd Medical Research Center (KFMRC) took place on April 20, 2025, at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The event was held under the patronage of the university’s president and featured collaboration with the Saudi Society. 

As iWisdom, we are deeply committed to advancing understanding and solutions for both COVID-19 and MERS. 

Moderation duties were expertly handled by Prof. Esam Azher from King Abdulaziz University and Dr. Sharif Hala from the Public Health Authority in Session 1: Infectious Diseases and Pandemic Preparedness of Day 1. 

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Ziad Memish, who spoke powerfully on pandemic preparedness, posing the crucial question:  

 Are countries ready? 

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Key Takeaways

Global need for stronger pandemic preparedness strategies 

• Importance of enhancing surveillance systems, international collaboration and equitable access to healthcare resources. 

• Warning that many countries remain unprepared for future pandemics. 

• Urgency of proactive planning based on lessons from recent health crises 

Following the keynote, Prof. Peiying Hong from KAUST presented a compelling talk on establishing a national defense strategy through epidemiology wastewater surveillance, highlighting innovative approaches to public health monitoring. 

• Introduction of wastewater surveillance as a tool for early detection of outbreaks 

• Demonstration of how microbial data from wastewater reflects community health 

• Advocacy for integrating wastewater analysis into national health monitoring systems 

Next, Prof. Mohammed Yasir from King Abdulaziz University delved into the metagenomics of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within the Saudi ecosystem, emphasizing the urgent need for genomic insights in tackling AMR. 

How do we tackle AMR? 

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Key Takeaways

• Focus on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) using metagenomic approaches within the Saudi ecosystem 

• Revelation of a complex resistome influenced by environmental factors and human activity 

• Emphasis on the role of metagenomics in identifying and understanding AMR patterns 

• Need for targeted, data-driven strategies to combat the growing AMR threat 

The final talk in the morning session was delivered by Dr. Bandar Alosimi from King Fahad Medical City, who shared research findings on a decade-long cellular and humoral MERS-CoV immunity that cross-recognizes SARS-CoV-2—offering valuable perspectives on long-term immune responses. 

We are diving deeper into the compelling insights from Dr. Bandar Alosaimi’s presentation, which investigated the longevity of immune responses in individuals who recovered from MERS-CoV infection up to 10 years ago, focusing on their potential cross-reactivity with SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. 

Does long-term MERS immunity protect against SARS-CoV-2?

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Key Takeaways 

• Evidence that MERS-CoV-specific antibodies and memory T-cell responses can persist for up to 10 years after infection 

• Demonstrated cross-reactivity between MERS-CoV immunity and SARS-CoV-2, including variants 

• Revealed that COVID-19 vaccination in individuals previously infected with MERS-CoV enhances cross-reactive immune responses 

• Highlighted the potential for developing broad-spectrum pan-coronavirus vaccines based on long-term immune memory 

These presentations underscore the importance of understanding long-term immunity and cross-reactivity in the context of emerging infectious diseases, informing future vaccine development and public health strategies. 

For a detailed overview of the conference proceedings, you can watch the full recording here:  KFMRC 1st Conference Day 1.