Doha: The Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and the Environmental Research Group (ERG) at Imperial College London launched a new two-year strategic partnership focused on environmental health research in arid urban environments.
According to Qatar News Agency, the partnership was signed between Executive Director of QEERI Tareq Al Ansari and Director of ERG Frank Kelly. The initial two-year framework establishes a platform for long-term collaboration through joint funding applications, shared research initiatives, and sustained knowledge exchange. This effort reinforces both institutions' commitment to delivering research with tangible societal impact.
For QEERI and Hamad Bin Khalifa University, the initiative supports Qatar's national priorities around environmental resilience, sustainability, and public health. It also strengthens the country's growing role in international environmental research. The partnership addresses environmental health challenges in arid urban regions, air pollution exposure assessment across the indoor-outdoor continuum, oxidative potential and toxicology of natural dust and pollutant mixtures, and microplastics in air and water.
Executive Director of QEERI Dr. Tareq Al Ansari expressed that the partnership reflects QEERI's commitment to addressing pressing environmental challenges through strategic international collaboration. He emphasized that working with Imperial's Environmental Research Group enhances their ability to deliver impactful science that supports sustainable development and environmental health resilience in Qatar and beyond.
Director of ERG Frank Kelly noted that this partnership represents a significant step forward in advancing collaborative environmental health research in regions where natural and anthropogenic exposures intersect in complex ways. By combining their complementary expertise, the partnership aims to generate high-quality evidence that can directly inform policy and improve population health outcomes in both Qatar and the UK.